David Rudman

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This article is about the American puppeteer. For the wrestler and judoka, see David Rudman (wrestler).
David Rudman
Rudman at SXSW in 2015
Born (1963-06-01) June 1, 1963 (age 60)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupations
  • Puppeteer
  • puppet builder
  • writer
  • director
  • producer
Years active1981–present

David Rudman (born June 1, 1963) is an American puppeteer, puppet builder, writer, director, and producer known for his involvement with the Muppets and Sesame Street. Rudman currently performs the roles of Scooter, Janice, and Beaker for The Muppets Studio, which were all originated by Richard Hunt, as well as Cookie Monster and Baby Bear on Sesame Street.

Career[edit]

David Rudman has been a Sesame Street Muppet performer since 1985—currently performing Cookie Monster (since 2001), Baby Bear and the right head of the Two-Headed Monster (since 1998). He has received four Emmy nominations as Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his work on Sesame Street. Rudman has also directed several web videos for Sesame Street such as "Cookie Monster Auditions for Saturday Night Live" and "Conversations with Bert". He has performed in numerous television shows and specials including Saturday Night Live, The Colbert Report, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Muppets, where he performed characters originally portrayed by Richard Hunt, such as Scooter, Janice, Bobby Benson and Wayne. His film credits include The Muppets Take Manhattan, Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, A Muppet Christmas Carol, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted. Following the departure of Steve Whitmire in 2016, he became Beaker's new performer in 2017.

Personal life[edit]

Rudman attended Highland Park High School and graduated in 1981. He has been a speaker at the school's biennial Focus on the Arts program since 2003. He attended college at the University of Connecticut.[1]

Rudman was the speaker at the 2005 graduation ceremony for the Illinois Institute of Art – Chicago.[2]

Spiffy Pictures[edit]

Spiffy Pictures
IndustryTelevision production
Founded2003; 21 years ago (2003)
Founders
  • David Rudman
  • Adam Rudman
Headquarters
Chicago
,
Illinois
ProductsTelevision programs

Spiffy Pictures is a Chicago-based production company that was founded by David and Adam Rudman in 2003. The studio consists mainly of live-action television shows developed for networks such as Noggin, Disney Channel, the Nick Jr. Channel, and PBS.

In addition to his work on Sesame Street and with the Muppets, Rudman is co-owner of Spiffy, Pictures where he co-created, executive produced, directed and performed in Jack's Big Music Show (Noggin), Curious Buddies (Nick Jr. Baby), Bunnytown (Disney Junior), Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map (Warner Bros.), Frankie and Frank (Nick Jr.), Donkey Hodie (PBS Kids) and is the creator, executive producer, character designer, director and voice director of the animated series Nature Cat on PBS Kids, voicing several characters including Leo the Mammoth, Prospector Jones, Nevin, and the Seeker.

Filmography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Folder Contents".
  2. ^ www.ilic.artinstitutes.edu Archived September 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Adams, Erik (May 19, 2020). "The Not-Too-Late Show With Elmo is the next best thing to a streaming Muppet Show". The AV Club. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "Video: The Muppet Christmas Caroling Coach Debuts at Disney Merriest Nites". laughingplace.com. November 11, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.

External links[edit]

Preceded by
Rickey Boyd
 Performer of Scooter
2008–present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Performer of Janice
2008–present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Performer of Swedish Chef
1992 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Performer of Bobby Benson
2011–present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Performer of Wayne
2011–present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Performer of Mommy Snuffleupagus
1980s – 1990s 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Performer of Sully
1992–1999 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Performer of Sonny Friendly
1992–2000 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by
Adam Hunt
 Performer of Two-Headed Monster (right head)
1998–present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Performer of Cookie Monster
January 2, 2001 (2001-01-02) – present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by Performer of Beaker
September 2, 2017 (2017-09-02) – present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by
None
 Miss Poogy
September 1, 2011 (2011-09-01) – present 		Succeeded by
None
Preceded by
None
 Baby Bear
April 29, 1991 (1991-04-29) – present 		Succeeded by
None
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