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Sisti

Sisti on the set of Cats & Dogs

Macys Parade 2016 Electric Mayhem

Sisti (far left) under Animal's drums during a rehearsal for the 2016 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Michelansisti-turtlesuit

Sisti relaxes in the Michaelangelo suit

Tilden-Sisti

Leif Tilden and Sisti.

Michelan Sisti (b. May 27, 1949) is an actor and puppeteer who has performed many full-bodied characters in Jim Henson's Creature Shop productions. Born to army parents in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but raised in the States and abroad, Sisti's height of 5 feet and 2 inches lent itself to unusual roles, such as Michaelangelo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel. This was followed by Dinosaurs on ABC, performing the body of Charlene Sinclair, the body and voice of Sid Turtlepuss, and appearing on-camera as various cavepeople. For over a decade, Sisti served as Animal's drumming hands with The Electric Mayhem.[1]

Sisti has also served as performance coordinator and animatronic puppeteer on other projects and an assistant/additional puppeteer on various Muppet commercials and appearances. Sisti was originally offered the role of Barkley on Sesame Street in 1993, but chose to stay in Los Angeles, and instead recommended his friend Bruce Connelly, who he'd worked with in "ORKIDSTRA," a mime company.

Prior to working with Henson, Sisti was a musician and theatrical actor for twenty years. Sisti performed in many NY productions on-and-off-Broadway. Broadway credits include the 1981 revival of Fiddler on the Roof (as Motel) and the Joe Raposo-scored Raggedy Ann (as Panda, opposite Ivy Austin). In 1987, he appeared in the Broadway revival of Cabaret, as Bobby and understudy for star Joel Grey. It was during this production that Grey lost his voice, and for more than thirty performances, Sisti sang and spoke the Emcee role over the sound system, while Grey acted onstage. Later shifting to film and television, Sisti guest starred on Star Trek: The Next Generation, as the Ferengi Tol in the 1994 episode "Bloodlines" and later guest starred on Babylon 5.

Sisti also appeared in fellow Henson puppeteer Julianne Buescher's short film Resculpting Venus as Dr. Moreau, and served as movement supervisor for the motion-capture performers on Sid the Science Kid.

Muppet/Creature Shop Credits[]

Henson Company Non-Muppet Credits[]

See also[]

External links[]

Sources[]

  1. The Hollywood Reporter "Disney's Muppets Problem: Can the Franchise Reckon With Its Boys' Club Culture?" by Seth Abramovitch, November 02, 2020
  2. Facebook post by Sisti
  3. Facebook post by Matt Vogel, April 25, 2012
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