Gardner, Madeline Kahn, Big Bird, and Kermit Love behind the scenes of Episode 1576
Rob Gardner is a puppeteer, puppet builder, and puppet wrangler who has worked on several Muppet and Henson projects.
After first meeting Kermit Love at a San Luis Obispo puppet festival in 1977, Gardner worked as a production assistant and puppet wrangler on Sesame Street for four years. Gardner served as Big Bird's "valet," helping to take care of the costume, helping Caroll Spinney in and out of it, and occasionally standing in as the character for still photos.
Gardner was later credited as a puppet designer/builder in the Muppet Workshop on several projects in the 1990s.
Other credits as a puppet wrangler and puppeteer include various projects with Muppet crew connections such as Between the Lions, Eureeka's Castle, Blue's Room, the video Wrinkles: In Need of Cuddles, and the video series MATHmatazz. He was also among the puppeteers on the Chappelle's Show parody "Knee High Park," and contributed template illustrations for frequent collaborator Noel MacNeal's book 10-Minute Puppets.
Muppet/Henson credits[]
- Sesame Street: Production assistant (credited in Episode 1320, seasons 12 and 13)
- Follow That Bird: Puppet wrangler
- The Secret Life of Toys: Muppet Workshop
- The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (season 2): Muppet Workshop
- Bear in the Big Blue House (season 2): Muppet Workshop
External links[]
- "When Madeline Met Big Bird" — Madeline Kahn: Being the Music • A Life blog
- IMDb