Allan Trautman (born May 25, 1955) is an American

puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object called a puppet to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from the ...

, best known for his work with

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to as Henson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is kn ...

Early life

He is originally from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. Trautman has a B.A. in Physics and Drama from

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

. He later obtained an MFA in Acting from the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a Private university, private art school in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for ...

in 1978.

Career

He had his first job as a puppeteer during college working on The Letter People. Trautman spent two summers performing at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. He stayed in Los Angeles after graduation and performed with

Sid and Marty Krofft Sid Krofft (born July 30, 1929) and Marty Krofft (April 9, 1937 – November 25, 2023), known as The Krofft Brothers and born as Cydus and Moshopopoulos Yolas, were a Canadian sibling team of television creators, writers and puppeteers. Through ...

. Trautman began working with the Muppets in 1990 on ''

Muppet*Vision 3D ''Muppet*Vision 3D'' was a 3D film attraction featuring the Muppets formerly located at Disney's Hollywood Studios, at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and Disney California Adventure, at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. Directe ...

'', still showing in the Disney theme parks. He has been working with

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Jim Henson's Creature Shop is an American animation and special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based in Hollywood, California, United States. History Jim Henson's Creature Shop was ...

since 1991 on animatronic projects as well as The Henson Digital Performance Studio. He is a cast member of Henson Alternative's puppet improv show, ''

Puppet Up! ''Puppet Up! – Uncensored'' is a adult live puppet musical show produced by The Jim Henson Company combining puppetry and improvisational comedy created by Brian Henson and Groundlings performer Patrick Bristow. The show is advertised for " ...

'' (a.k.a. ''Stuffed and Unstrung''), touring to such places as Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. He has also teaches Improvisation at

College of the Canyons College of the Canyons (COC) is a public community college in Santa Clarita, California. It comprises the Santa Clarita Community College District. The college is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and has campus loca ...

in Santa Clarita, California.

Filmography

Film

* ''

The Return of the Living Dead ''The Return of the Living Dead'' is a 1985 American comedy horror film written and directed by Dan O'Bannon (in his directorial debut) from a story by Rudy Ricci, John Russo, and Russell Streiner, and starring Clu Gulager, James Karen, ...

'' (1985) — Tarman Zombie * '' Return of the Living Dead Part II'' (1988) — Tarman Zombie * '' Cold Dog Soup'' (1990) — Joseph * '' Muppet Classic Theater'' (1994) — Banker, Father Pig * ''

Jack Frost Jack Frost is a personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, winter, and freezing cold. He is a variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather, nipping the fingers and toes in such weather, coloring the foliage in autumn, a ...

'' (1998) — Puppeteer * '' Muppets from Space'' (1999) — Additional Muppet Performer * ''

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas ''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas'' is a 2000 American romantic comedy film directed by Brian Levant, written by Jim Cash, Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan, and Jack Epps, Jr., and is the prequel to Levant's ''The Flintstones'' (1994), based ...

'' (2000) — Juicer (voice, uncredited) * '' Monkeybone'' (2001) — BBQ Pig (voice) * ''

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie ''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'' is a 2002 American musical fantasy comedy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher and written by Tom Martin and Jim Lewis. The film premiered November 29, 2002 on NBC and is the first televi ...

'' (2002, TV Movie) — Eugene, Performer of Joe Snow * ''

Intolerable Cruelty ''Intolerable Cruelty'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film directed, co-written and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, and produced by Brian Grazer and the Coens. The script was written by Robert Ramsey and Matthew Stone and Ethan and Joel Co ...

'' (2003) — Convention Lawyer * '' Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave'' (2005) — Tarman Zombie * ''

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz ''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' is a 2005 musical fantasy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher, and the third television film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor, Quentin Tarantino, David Alan Grier, Queen L ...

'' (2005, TV Movie) — Crow, Old Tom * ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

'' (2016) — Animal Voices (voice) * '' The Happytime Murders'' (2018) — Octopus, Puppet Doctor * '' Muppets Haunted Mansion'' (2021) — Supporting Muppet Performer

Television

* '' The Letter People'' (1974-1976) — Mister C, Mister K, Mr. V (puppeteer) * ''

Dinosaurs Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

'' — Fran Sinclair (face performer), Grandpa Louie (performer), Winston (performer), Georgie the Hippo (suit performer and normal voice), Bradley P. Richfield (suit performer, occasionally), Mr. Pulman, Dr. Elliot Piaget, Edward R. Hero, Moolah the Cash Cow, Mr. Lizard, Mr. Otto Lynch * '' The Puzzle Place'' — Kyle O'Connor (Season 3 Puppetry only) * '' Sid the Science Kid'' — Director * ''

Unhappily Ever After ''Unhappily Ever After'' is an American television sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of five seasons. The series was produced by Touchstone Television. Synopsis The series follows ...

'' — Mr. Floppy Puppeteer * ''

'' on TBS * '' Greg the Bunny'' * ''

Muppets Tonight ''Muppets Tonight'' is an American live-action/puppet family-oriented comedy television series, created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. The series ran for two seasons between March 8, 1996 to February 8, 1998, originally ...

'' — Fairyland Police Chief ("Fairyland PD" segments) * ''

The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth ''The Adventures of Timmy the Tooth'' is an American direct-to-video musical film, musical puppet show, puppet series, aimed at children age 2 to 7, produced by Bomp Productions and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, MCA/Universal Home Video. ...

'' — Gil the Grouper, Johnny Paste, Sherry the Fairy, Sunny the Sun * '' Splash and Bubbles'' — Bob

Web series

* ''Alt/Reality'' — Various * '' Simian Undercover Detective Squad'' — Skreet the Orangutan * '' Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony'' — Deliveryman (ep. 17)

Other

* ''

'' — Performer * ''Stuffed and Unstrung'' — Performer Nichols, David C. "Theater Review: 'Stuffed and Unstrung' at the Irvine Barclay Theatre pdated" — Latimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2010. Web. 05 Jan. 2014. * '' Dr. Dolittle'' — Puppet Coordinator * ''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Cre ...

Take the Bowl'' — Additional Muppet Performer (live show at the

Hollywood Bowl The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre and Urban park, public park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in the United States by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018 and was listed on ...

, Sept. 8–10, 2017) * ''The Muppets Take the O2'' — Additional Muppet Performer (live show at

the O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...

, Jul. 13-14, 2018)

References

External links

*
Trautman is the ‘puppet master’
at the Santa Clarita Valley Signal {{DEFAULTSORT:Trautman, Allan 1955 births Living people American puppeteers Washington University in St. Louis physicists Washington University in St. Louis alumni