Changes: Noel MacNeal

Revision as of 04:08, 3 July 2020

Noelmacneal-sbeginnings — Noel and Mattie in *Moving Together*.

Noel MacNeal (b. September 15, 1961) is a performer who has worked on several Henson productions since the 1980s. Born and raised in New York City's Central Harlem, he began his career as a puppeteer on the television series The Great Space Coaster (taking over from John Lovelady as Knock Knock) and later made his way to Sesame Street, joining the show in 1982 as a "puppet wrangler."^[1] His most well-known work has been in his portrayal of Bear, the lead character in Bear in the Big Blue House in 1997. During his time on the show, he served as principal performer, director, and wrote a few episodes. In 2005, he reprised the role for Breakfast with Bear.

The first Muppet he performed was a store clerk in a sketch for Sesame Street; he had one line, to tell Grover that his register was closed and to go to another line, which he flubbed.^[2] Other characters have included the full-bodied Mommy Snuffleupagus and various Snuffleupagus relatives on Sesame Street (including Daddy Snuffle from the unaired Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce), as well as Madame Chairbird in Follow That Bird. He also doubled for Caroll Spinney puppeteering Big Bird in a scene when he's running from Bert and Ernie's plane.^[1] Years later, he puppeteered Big Bird again in the 2010 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.^[3] In addition to performing, he has played an active role in hiring and training puppeteers for local Sesame Street productions in Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Jordan, Palestine, and India.

His more prominent non-Henson credits include the baby dragon Magellan on Eureeka's Castle, Leon MacNeal in Puzzle Place, and Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III. He also puppeteered on Between the Lions (filling in as Lionel for season 9), Blue's Room, Oobi (Kako), MacNeal spent a stint as host (and writer) for Sprout's The Good Night Show and has puppeteered on more adult series including 30 Rock, Oz, Chappelle's Show (in the "Knee High Park" spoof of Sesame Street), and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. He is the resident puppeteer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.^[4] As a writer, he contributed scripts to Puzzle Place, Eureeka's Castle, Gullah Gullah Island, The Magic School Bus, and Cyberchase.

MacNeal is sometimes incorrectly credited as "Noel McNeal".

Credits

Sources

External links

[mindset-1] 1.0 ^1.1 The Muppet Mindset interview with Noel MacNeal

[2] ToughPigs.com: Noel MacNeal video interview

[3] Workman: Can you spot the Workman Author at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?

[4] Official Website: About Noel

[5] Photo on Facebook

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@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 [[Image:Noelmacneal-sbeginnings.jpg|thumb|300px|Noel and Mattie in ''[[Moving Together]]''.]]
-'''Noel MacNeal''' (b. September 15, 1961) is a performer who has worked on several [[The Jim Henson Company|Henson]] productions since the 1980s. Born and raised in [[New York City|New York City's]] Central Harlem, he began his career as a puppeteer on the television series ''[[The Great Space Coaster]]'' and later made his way to ''[[Sesame Street]]'', joining the show in 1982 as a "puppet wrangler".<ref name="mindset">[http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.com/2011/01/interview-with-muppeteer-noel-macneal.html The Muppet Mindset interview with Noel MacNeal]</ref>
+'''Noel MacNeal''' (b. September 15, 1961) is a performer who has worked on several [[The Jim Henson Company|Henson]] productions since the 1980s. Born and raised in [[New York City|New York City's]] Central Harlem, he began his career as a puppeteer on the television series ''[[Projects with Muppet crew connections|The Great Space Coaster]]'' (taking over from [[John Lovelady]] as Knock Knock) and later made his way to ''[[Sesame Street]]'', joining the show in 1982 as a "puppet wrangler."<ref name="mindset">[https://muppetmindset.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/interview-with-muppet-performer-noel-macneal/ The Muppet Mindset interview with Noel MacNeal]</ref>
 His most well-known work has been in his portrayal of [[Bear]], the lead character in ''[[Bear in the Big Blue House]]'' in 1997. During his time on the show, he served as principal performer, director, and wrote a few episodes. In 2005, he reprised the role for ''[[Breakfast with Bear]]''.
-The first Muppet he performed was a store clerk in [[Grover Sketches: Miscellaneous#supermarket|a sketch]] for ''Sesame Street''; he had one line, to tell [[Grover]] that his register was closed and to go to another line, which he flubbed.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QrMg0l1re0 ToughPigs.com: Noel MacNeal video interview]</ref> Other characters have included the [[Full-Bodied Muppet|full-bodied]] [[Mommy Snuffleupagus]] and various [[Snuffleupaguses|Snuffleupagus]] [[Relatives|relatives]] on ''Sesame Street'' (including [[Daddy Snuffle]] from the unaired ''[[Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce]]''), as well as [[Madame Chairbird]] in ''[[Follow That Bird]]''. He also doubled for [[Caroll Spinney]] puppeteering [[Big Bird]] in a scene when he's running from [[Bert]] and [[Ernie|Ernie's]] plane.<ref name="mindset" /> Years later, he puppeteered Big Bird again in the 2010 [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]].<ref>[http://www.workman.com/blog/2010/11/can-you-spot-the-workman-author-at-the-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade/ Workman: Can you spot the Workman Author at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?]</ref> In addition to performing, he has played an active role in hiring and training puppeteers for local Sesame Street productions in Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Jordan, Palesitne, and India.
+The first Muppet he performed was a store clerk in [[Grover Sketches: Miscellaneous#supermarket|a sketch]] for ''Sesame Street''; he had one line, to tell [[Grover]] that his register was closed and to go to another line, which he flubbed.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QrMg0l1re0 ToughPigs.com: Noel MacNeal video interview]</ref> Other characters have included the [[Full-Bodied Muppet|full-bodied]] [[Mommy Snuffleupagus]] and various [[Snuffleupaguses|Snuffleupagus]] [[Muppet relatives|relatives]] on ''Sesame Street'' (including [[Daddy Snuffle]] from the unaired ''[[Snuffy's Parents Get a Divorce]]''), as well as [[Madame Chairbird]] in ''[[Follow That Bird]]''. He also doubled for [[Caroll Spinney]] puppeteering [[Big Bird]] in a scene when he's running from [[Bert]] and [[Ernie]]'s plane.<ref name="mindset" /> Years later, he puppeteered Big Bird again in the 2010 [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]].<ref>[http://www.workman.com/blog/2010/11/can-you-spot-the-workman-author-at-the-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade/ Workman: Can you spot the Workman Author at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?]</ref> In addition to performing, he has played an active role in hiring and training puppeteers for local Sesame Street productions in Japan, Mexico, South Africa, Jordan, Palestine, and India.
-His more prominent non-Henson credits include the baby dragon Magellan on ''Eureeka's Castle'', Leon MacNeal in ''Puzzle Place'', and Raphael in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] III''. He is also currently the resident puppeteer for ''[[Last Week Tonight with John Oliver]]''.
+His more prominent non-Henson credits include the baby dragon Magellan on ''Eureeka's Castle'', Leon MacNeal in ''Puzzle Place'', and Raphael in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] III''. He also puppeteered on ''[[Between the Lions]]'' (filling in as Lionel for season 9), ''Blue's Room'', ''Oobi'' (Kako), MacNeal spent a stint as host (and writer) for Sprout's ''The Good Night Show'' and has puppeteered on more adult series including ''[[30 Rock]]'', ''Oz'', ''[[Chappelle's Show]]'' (in the "Knee High Park" spoof of ''Sesame Street''), and ''[[Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]]''. He is the resident puppeteer for ''[[Last Week Tonight with John Oliver]]''.<ref>[http://www.noelmacneal.com/about.shtml Official Website: About Noel]</ref> As a writer, he contributed scripts to ''Puzzle Place'', ''Eureeka's Castle'', ''Gullah Gullah Island'', ''The Magic School Bus'', and ''Cyberchase''.
 MacNeal is sometimes incorrectly credited as "Noel McNeal".
@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 ==Credits==
 ===Performer===
-* ''[[Sesame Street]]'': [[Arnold Schnuffleupanegger]], [[Mommy Snuffleupagus]], [[Cow|Cow who Jumped over the Moon]], [[Hansel and Gretel|Gretel]], [[Rosalyn]] (assistant), [[Tommy and Sally Wilson|Tommy Wilson]], [[Uncle Abe]], [[Daddy Snuffle]]
+* ''[[Sesame Street]]'': [[Arnold Schnuffleupanegger]], [[Mommy Snuffleupagus]], [[Cow|Cow who Jumped over the Moon]] ([[Episode 4079]]), [[Hansel and Gretel (Sesame Street)|Gretel]], [[Rosalyn]] (assistant), [[Tommy and Sally Wilson|Tommy Wilson]], [[Uncle Abe]], [[Daddy Snuffle]]
 * ''[[Follow That Bird]]'': [[Madame Chairbird]]
 * ''[[Little Muppet Monsters]]'': [[Rats|Rat]], Magic Book
 * ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' ("Cliff's Nightmare"): Cheese
-* ''[[Sing Yourself Silly!]]: Additional Muppeteer''
+* ''[[Sing Yourself Silly!]]'': Additional Muppet Performer
 * ''[[Dinosaurs]]''
 * ''[[A New Baby in My House]]''
@@ Line 28: / Line 28: @@
 * ''[[Telling the Truth]]'': [[Sheep]]
 * ''[[Lead Away!]]''
-* ''[[Bear in the Big Blue House]]'': [[Bear]], [[Moss]]
+* ''[[Bear in the Big Blue House]]'': [[Bear]], [[Moss]], [[Billy (Bear in the Big Blue House)|Billy]]
+* ''[[Sing Yourself Sillier at the Movies]]'': Announcer
 * ''[[Elmo's Musical Adventure: Peter and the Wolf]]'': [[The Wolf]]
-* ''[[Elmopalooza]]'': Additional Puppeteer
+* ''[[Elmopalooza]]'': Additional Muppet Performer
+* ''[[Let's Eat!: Funny Food Songs]]'': Spoon
 * ''[[Moving Together]]'': Himself (with son Mattie and other adult/baby pairs in live-action scenes)
 * ''[[Elmo's Christmas Countdown]]''
 * ''[[A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa]]'': [[Sweetums]] (credited as Edward Noel MacNeal)
+* ''[[Old Dogs]]'' (credited as Edward Noel MacNeal)
 * [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]]
 ** 2010: [[Big Bird]] (puppetry only)
 * ''[[Julie's Greenroom]]''
+* ''[[The Muppets Take the Bowl]]'': [[Sweetums]] (puppetry only)
+* ''[[The Muppets Take the O2]]''
+* ''[[Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration]]'': [[Alphabet Characters|Letter C]]<ref>Photo on Facebook</ref>
 ===Writer===
 * ''Bear in the Big Blue House'': [[Episode 206: You Learn Something New Every Day]]
 * ''Bear in the Big Blue House'': [[Episode 235: And to All a Good Night]]
+* ''Bear in the Big Blue House'': [[Episode 314: Wait for Me]]
 * ''Bear in the Big Blue House'': [[Episode 410: At the Old Bear Game]]
-* Consultant: [[Hikayat Simsim (Jordan)]], [[Hikayat Simsim (Palestine)]], [[Galli Galli Sim Sim]]
+* Consultant: [[Hikayat Simsim (Jordan)|''Hikayat Simsim'' (Jordan)]], [[Hikayat Simsim (Palestine)|''Hikayat Simsim'' (Palestine)]], ''[[Galli Galli Sim Sim]]''
 ===Director===
 * ''Bear in the Big Blue House'': [[Episode 420: Volunteers of Woodland Valley]]
-==Non-Henson Credits==
-;Performer
-* ''[[30 Rock]]''
-* ''[[Blue's Room]]''
-* ''[[Oobi]]- Kako''
-* ''[[Eureeka's Castle]]''
-* ''The Puzzle Place'': Leon
-* ''The Great Space Coaster'': Knock-Knock
-* ''[[Chappelle's Show]]'': [[Knee High Park]]
-* ''Oz '': Miss Sally's Schoolhouse
-* ''The Good Night Show'': consultant (Season one)
-* ''[[Between the Lions]]'': Lionel Lion (Season 9), Monkey (Under Construction), Beetles Member, Squeaky the Wheel
-* ''[[Last Week Tonight with John Oliver]]''
-;Writer
-* [[PBS Kids Sprout]]: ''The Goodnight Show''
-* [[PBS]]: ''Cyberchase'', ''The Puzzle Place, The Magic School Bus''
-* [[Nickelodeon]]: ''Eureeka’s Castle'', ''Gullah Gullah Island'', ''Nate the Great''
 ==See also==
@@ Line 75: / Line 64: @@
 *[http://noelmacneal.blogspot.com/ Noel's This and That Blog]
 *[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0573823/ IMDb]
-*[http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.com/2011/01/interview-with-muppeteer-noel-macneal.html The Muppet Mindset interview with Noel MacNeal]
+*[https://muppetmindset.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/interview-with-muppet-performer-noel-macneal/ The Muppet Mindset interview with Noel MacNeal]
 *[http://www.toughpigs.com/noel-macneal-part-1/ Tough Pigs interview with Noel MacNeal, part 1] [http://www.toughpigs.com/noel-macneal-part-2/ Part 2] [http://www.toughpigs.com/noel-macneal-part-3/ Part 3]
+__NOWYSIWYG__
 {{DEFAULTSORT:MacNeal, Noel}}
 [[Category:Muppet Performers]]

Muppet Wiki

Changes: Noel MacNeal

Revision as of 04:08, 3 July 2020

Contents

Credits

Performer

Writer

Director

See also

Sources

External links