Kathryn Mullen

Kathryn Mullen and Mokey Fraggle.

Kathryn Mullen assists Kermit the Frog and Jim Henson in The Muppet Movie.

On the set of The Muppet Movie: Steve Whitmire with Kermit, Kathryn Mullen with Camilla and Dave Goelz with Gonzo.

Mullen (wearing a Great Muppet Caper shirt) and Kira.

Mullen with the actor who played Kira in wide shots.

Mullen manipulates Yoda on the set of The Empire Strikes Back with Frank Oz as Miss Piggy, director Irvin Kershner, Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, and Gary Kurtz.

Kathryn Mullen (b. ca. 1945) joined the Muppets in 1978, starting with The Muppet Movie, and became the third full-time female puppeteer on The Muppet Show (after Eren Ozker and Louise Gold). She had originally aspired to become an actress and did not join the Puppeteers of America until after a visit to the Muppet Workshop.

Mullen started out with mostly episodic and background characters (notably, Gaffer the cat), as well as assisting on the Muppet feature films. She advanced to a lead puppeteer on The Dark Crystal (operating the heroine Kira) and was one of the core regulars on Fraggle Rock, as Mokey Fraggle and Cotterpin Doozer, among others. She continued to work with the Muppets on a more sporadic basis in the late 1980s and 1990s on The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (as a first season regular, notably playing Morton the Elephant Bird, and as a second season director).

One of the creators and performers of Between the Lions, Mullen's other non-Muppet credits included assisting Frank Oz with Yoda in The Empire Strikes Back and the series Allegra's Window where she played the title character. In 2004, Mullen and husband Michael Frith worked with No Strings International to create and perform an educational puppet show for children in Afghanistan, which eventually evolved into The Flying Tent.

Muppet/Henson credits

for a complete character gallery, see Kathryn Mullen characters

Puppeteer

• The Muppet Show: Gaffer and others...
• Fraggle Rock: Mokey Fraggle, Cotterpin Doozer, and others...
• Sesame Street: Grover's Mommy (in season 16) and others...
• The Muppet Movie
• The Muppets Go Hollywood
• John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together
• Muppet Meeting Films: Salad in "Meal Break"
• The Great Muppet Caper
• The Muppets Go to the Movies
• The Dark Crystal: Kira (puppeteer)
• The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show
• The Muppets Take Manhattan: Jill
• Follow That Bird: Grouches, various Anything Muppets
• Little Muppet Monsters
• Labyrinth: Goblins (puppeteer)
• The Christmas Toy: Apple
• A Muppet Family Christmas: Mokey
• Free to Be... a Family: Miss Piggy (puppeteer)
• Inner Tube: Babs
• The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson: Joy Buzzer, Mokey
• Billy Bunny's Animal Songs: Mother Bunny
• The Muppet CD-ROM: Muppets Inside
• The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss: Little Cat A, Eliza Jane, Junior Kangaroo, and others...

Writing

• Little Muppet Monsters
• Fraggle Rock animated series
  • "Laundry Never Lies" (with Larry Parr, John Semper, and Cynthia Friedlob)

Directing

• The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss
  • "The Cat in the Hat's Big Birthday Surprise"
  • "The Cat in the Hat Gets a Package"
  • "The Cat in the Hat's Art House"
  • "Lester Leaps In"
  • "Talkin' with the Cat"
  • "Cat's Play"

Miscellaneous

• The Muppet Movie: Muppet designer
• Dog City: voice coach (first season)

See also

• Miscellaneous cameos

External links

• IMDb
• No Strings International
• No Strings Productions
• ToughPigs.com interview, August 2013 - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Audio
• Vox Creative interview October 26, 2015
• Royal Gazette interview December 21, 2015 (archived)
• Under the Puppet interview July 1, 2019