Nikki Tilroe (December 26, 1941 – September 1, 2005) was an American actress, dancer and puppeteer. She is best known for her work as the "Mime Lady" on the children's television series ''

Today's Special ''Today's Special'' is a Canadian children's television program produced by Clive VanderBurgh at TVOntario, originally broadcasting 120 episodes from 1981 to 1987. Much of the series was set in a department store, based on Simpson's then-flagsh ...

''. She also operated

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential style of musical variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, the eponymous media franchise encompasse ...

s on ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's Musical film, musical Fantasy film, fantasy television comedy, comedy puppet television series about interconnected so ...

'' and played "Beaver" on ''

Cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

. In 1993 she received an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

as the head puppeteer on the production of ''The Land of I''. Tilroe appeared on the children's television show ''

Charlie Horse Music Pizza ''The Charlie Horse Music Pizza'' is a children's television show that was shown on PBS Kids in the United States from January 5, 1998, to January 17, 1999, with reruns continuing to air until September 3, 1999. Reruns again aired on PBJ (TV netw ...

'', and was one of three puppeteers to manipulate the " Snuggle Bear", a puppet designed by Kermit Love. Tilroe also taught puppetry courses through several venues, including the

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, the Toronto Teacher's College, at festivals and conferences, and through the O'Neill Puppetry Conference. She also wrote about puppetry, including the 1996 booklet, ''Movement in puppetry performance''. Tilroe worked on the web-produced puppet films for Sammy Snail, and in 2004 she received a grant from The

Jim Henson Foundation The Jim Henson Foundation is a foundation that was founded by puppeteer and Muppet creator Jim Henson to promote and develop puppetry in the United States. Since 1992, Jim Henson's daughter Cheryl Henson has served as the president for the Found ...

for a production called Aging, produced with Larry Siegel through Tricinium Limited in

Keene, New Hampshire Keene is a city in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is the county seat and the only city in ...

. Tilroe died aged 63 at her home in

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the 4th most populous in the ...

on September 1, 2005. She had been suffering from

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

and

kidney In humans, the kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped blood-filtering organ (anatomy), organs that are a multilobar, multipapillary form of mammalian kidneys, usually without signs of external lobulation. They are located on the left and rig ...

diseases. Her remains were cremated. In November and December 2005, the two movies Friday Night Brights (DVD release film) and Escape from Octopus Shores (TV Film) were released on Happy Feet Productions in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

as posthumous releases. In 2007, the O'Neill Puppetry Conference recognized Tilroe's contribution to puppetry by providing a scholarship in her name. The Nikki Tilroe Scholarship is supported by her family and friends and it is awarded to candidates with a particular interest in "movement and dedication to the art of puppetry".

Filmography

*''

Cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.Beaver Beavers (genus ''Castor'') are large, semiaquatic rodents of the Northern Hemisphere. There are two existing species: the North American beaver (''Castor canadensis'') and the Eurasian beaver (''C. fiber''). Beavers are the second-large ...

Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

*''

Math Patrol ''Math Patrol'' was a children's educational television show produced by TVOntario from 1976 to 1978 and aired by the public broadcaster in the late 1970s and the early 1980s. The series starred John Kozak as "Sydney" – a "math detective" w ...

'' (1977) *''Today's Special: Live on Stage'' (1981) - Many characters *'' Follow That Bird'' (1985) - Board of Birds *''

The Christmas Toy ''The Christmas Toy'' is a 1986 television film directed by Eric Till and produced by The Jim Henson Company, featuring Jim Henson's Muppets, including Rugby the Tiger, who remembers being last year's Christmas Toy and thinks that he will be unwr ...

'' (1986) - Ding-a-Ling *''

'' (1981–86) - Mime Lady *''

'' (1983–87) - Merple Merggle *'' The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss'' (1996) (Episode: The Simplifier) *''Water from the Moon'' (2002)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilroe, Nikki 1941 births 2005 deaths American puppeteers American dancers American television actresses American expatriates in Canada Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from New Hampshire People from Derry, New Hampshire Female puppeteers TVO people