Brian Giuseppe Meehl (also known as Brian Muehl; born August 24, 1952), is an American puppeteer and writer. He worked on ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' and ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

''. He has written several novels for young adults, including ''Out of Patience'' and ''Suck It Up''.

Biography

Meehl was born August 24, 1952, in

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

, and grew up mostly in

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's List of cities in Iowa, fifth-most populous c ...

. Meehl worked on the last six shows of ''

''. He then worked on ''

'', performing Barkley, Grundgetta, Telly Monster, and an early version of

Elmo Elmo is a Muppet character on the children's television show ''Sesame Street''. A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segmen ...

, among other characters. His work with Henson also included roles in the films, ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy, dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell (actress), Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was prod ...

'', ''

The Muppets Take Manhattan ''The Muppets Take Manhattan'' is a 1984 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Frank Oz and the third theatrical film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Muppet performers Jim Henson, Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Richard Hunt, Je ...

'' and ''

The Great Muppet Caper ''The Great Muppet Caper'' is a 1981 musical heist comedy film directed by Jim Henson (in his feature directorial debut) and the second theatrical film featuring the Muppets. The film stars Muppet performers Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerr ...

''. In 1984, Meehl left the Muppets and began writing for children's television series including ''

Between the Lions ''Between the Lions'' is an American animated/live-action/puppet educational children's television series designed to promote reading. The show is a co-production between WGBH in Boston, Sirius Thinking, Ltd., in New York City, and Mississipp ...

'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', ''

Cyberchase ''Cyberchase'' is an animated series, animated science fantasy children's television series that airs on PBS Kids. The series centers around three children from Earth: Jackie, Matt and Inez, who are brought into Cyberspace, a digital universe, i ...

'', the ''

TUGS A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, such ...

'' segments for ''

Salty's Lighthouse ''Salty's Lighthouse'' is an animated television series for preschoolers, produced by Sunbow Entertainment in association with the Bank Street College of Education in New York. Debuting in syndication in late 1997, and picked up by Discovery Co ...

'', ''

Eureeka's Castle ''Eureeka's Castle'' is an American children's puppet television series created by Debby Beece and Judy Katschke. R. L. Stine developed the characters and was the head writer of the show. It originally aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block fro ...

'', and ''

The Magic School Bus ''The Magic School Bus'' is an American edutainment media franchise which includes a book series, TV adaptations, a streaming series, and various video games. Each of the stories within the franchise focuses on the antics of the fictional ...

'', with the only exception being the general-interest nature and science documentary series '' Eyewitness'' for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and DK Vision, where he also served as script supervisor for a number of episodes in the first season before leaving the series entirely during the second season. Meehl has written seven young adult novels: ''Out of Patience'' (2008), ''Suck It Up'' (2009), ''You Don't Know About Me'' (2011), and ''Suck It Up and Die'' (2012). He released an eBook and paperback adult novel, ''

Pastime A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...

'', in 2012. More recently, Meehl has completed his Blowback Trilogy: ''Blowback '07'', (2016), ''Blowback '63'' (2017), and ''Blowback '94'' (2020) about time-traveling teenage twins who fall back into little known but pivotal events in history.

Filmography

Television

* ''

'' – Additional Muppets * ''

'' – Barkley (1978–1984, 1988), Clementine (1979–1984), Dr. Nobel Price (1979–1984),

(1980–1984), Grundgetta (1980–1984), Othmar the Grouch, Pearl, Rusty, Telly Monster (1979–1984), Additional Muppets * ''

'' – Bogge and Mr. Knack * ''

Dog City ''Dog City'' is an animated television series that was produced by Nelvana Limited and Jim Henson Productions in association with Channel 4 and Global Television Network. The series ran for three seasons, airing on Fox Kids from September 26, 1 ...

'' – Bruno * '' The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'' – Binkham Tamino McDoyal the Third (in "Norval the Great")

Film

* '' Big Bird in China'' – Barkley, Telly Monster * ''

'' – SkekEkt/The Ornamentalist, UrSu/The Dying Master, UrZah/The Ritual Guardian (puppetry only) * ''

'' – Additional Muppets * ''

'' – Tatooey Rat, Telly Monster, Clementine, Additional Muppets * '' The Song of the Cloud Forest'' – Additional Muppets * '' Big Bird in Japan'' – Barkley

References

External links

*
Author page
at

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

website * 1952 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American puppeteers American television writers American male television writers Novelists from Connecticut American male screenwriters People from Canandaigua, New York 20th-century American novelists People from Redding, Connecticut Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers {{US-novelist-1950s-stub