Who is David Rudman?

Answer 1

Well, you don't actually know him, but know his handiwork. David

Rudman is the Muppeteer who brings Baby Bear to life. Here's how he,

and his furry alter ego, found their way to Sesame Street.

Like many of us, Rudman grew up watching Sesame Street and other

Muppet specials. It was watching one such special at the age of eight

that inspired Rudman to work with puppets. "At the end of the show,

the cameras pulled back and I saw the Muppeteers working the puppets,"

he says. "It seemed like a combination of so many art forms in one

performance--and a really cool job."

Rudman then started creating his own puppets and performing at local

birthday parties in his hometown of Chicago. In 1981, on a trip to New

York City at the age of 18, Rudman impressed the staff at Jim Henson's

Muppet Workshop with his homemade puppets. He was hired by the

Workshop for the summer before starting college.

During that summer, Rudman made a video of his puppetry and sent it to

Jim Henson. Henson told Rudman to stick with his college plans, but

that he could come back to the Workshop during school vacations until

he graduated. And he did.

Stints at the Workshop led to Rudman's first full-time job as a Sesame

Street Muppeteer in 1985. At first he played various "anything

Muppets," which are honkers, monsters, game-show contestants, and

everything in between. He also spent much of his time as a

"right-hander" to such real-arm Muppets as Ernie and Cookie Monster.

(The main Muppeteer controls the character's mouth and left hand and a

second Muppeteer controls the Muppet's right hand.) Working with

established Muppeteers like Frank Oz (Cookie Monster, Bert, Grover,

Ernie) and Richard Hunt (Snuffy, Forgetful Jones, Two-Headed Monster)

was a fantastic learning experience for the young performer.