Fred Garver is a performer and juggler of note. Credited as Fred Garbo, he played Barkley on Sesame Street and related productions in the 1980s, taking over the part from Brian Muehl. He also walked the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade route in 1984 as a juggling Fraggle.[1]
In the 1970s, he established his clown act as "Garbo," a moniker he would later take on as his credited stage name. He graduated from the University of New Hampshire where he participated in the gymnastics team, and later became a gymnastics instructor for the Celebration Mime Theatre in South Paris, Maine (where he established the "Garbo and Gillian" act with Gillian Hannant) and the Canadian Mime School in Ontario, Canada.[2]
Outside of Sesame Street, he established the Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater troupe, specializing in performance using blow-up suits. His other credits include performing on Broadway in Barnum and appearing as a background juggler in the 1982 feature film Annie (along with Michael Moschen). In 2008, Garver auditioned on Season 3 of America's Got Talent as Inflatable Theater, but was rejected in the audition round.
Credits[]
- Sesame Street: Barkley (1985-1993), Garbo (1987), Dexter (hands)
- Follow That Bird: Barkley
- Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting: Barkley
Sources[]
- ↑ "Joggler's Jottings." Juggler's World. Winter 1984-1985.
- ↑ Star-Gazette (Elmira, NY) June 11, 1976