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Fran Brill performing on The Muppet Show.
Fran Brill (b. September 30, 1946) is an actress and puppeteer who has worked on Sesame Street since 1970. She was the first female puppeteer hired by Jim Henson, outside of wife Jane Henson. She is best known for performing Prairie Dawn and Zoe.
Early Career
A native of Pennsylvania, Brill began her performing career in community theater, and in 1968, while in Atlanta, she joined the cast of the play Red, White and Maddox, which ridiculed segregationist governor Lester Maddox. The show proved somewhat controversial due to its political subject matter, but transferred to Broadway in 1969, and Brill moved to New York City to join her fellow cast members, who included a young Christopher Lloyd.[1] The show closed in less than three months, after only 41 performances. Out of a job, Brill was seeking work as a voice-over actress and in radio commercials, when she answered an ad from Muppets Inc., auditioning performers for what she initially assumed was a voice-over assignment. As the puppeteer recalled, "In those days, 1970, it was a small operation and if you called, you could get Jim directly on the phone.... They were training people to do a Christmas special for The Ed Sullivan Show." The special aired as The Great Santa Claus Switch, and after a two week puppetry workshop with Henson, she was subsequently asked to join Sesame Street.[2][3]
Sesame Street Girls
For Sesame Street, Brill initially played a variety of minor roles, usually supplying little girl voices, but quickly established her first notable character, Praire Dawn:
Brill also coined the character's name: "I heard of an actress with a similar name [Prairie Dorn] and Jim loves unusual names."[2] Other characters followed, but it wasn't until 1993 that Brill established her next major role, as Zoe. Brill observed children, male and female, when developing her performance, picking up the basis for the character's laugh as well as the initial catch phrase "Don't joke me." Though Brill was initially uncertain of the character's longevity, Zoe was the only new character introduced that season who has endured and thrived. [4] Most recently, she added a new girl to her resume, playing Kami, the HIV-positive Muppet from Takalani Sesame, for all public appearances in the U.S. Outside of Sesame Street, Brill has worked on The Muppet Show pilot The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, Saturday Night Live, and Dog City, amongst many other Muppet projects.
Acting Career
Fran Brill and Bill Murray in "What About Bob?"
While puppeteering kept her busy, Brill continued to pursue an acting career on stage and screen. On stage, concurrent with her Muppet work, Brill won two Drama Desk Awards, for What Every Woman Knows (1976) and Knuckles (1981). She received considerable acclaim for her role as Fran Bachman on the soap opera How to Survive a Marriage (1974-1975), in particular for her dramatic scenes following the death of the character's husband. Her notable film credits include Being There (1979), Midnight Run (1988, as Charles Grodin's wife), and What About Bob? (1991, directed by Frank Oz). TV work includes recurring stints on such soap operas as All My Children and As the World Turns as featured supporting characters and guest spots on Law & Order, Kate & Allie, and Third Watch. She has also made several cameos in Muppet productions.
Brill's voice work includes the animated series Doug and Doug's First Movie, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and several radio and television commercials. As she noted in 1987, "I can pinch myself and say, 'I may not be a major motion picture star, but that's OK. I've done all right."[2]
Muppet Credits
- Sesame Street: Anne Phibian, Arlene Frantic, Baa Baa Walters, Betty Lou (occasionally, such as in "Amigo"), Birthday Cake, Countess Dahling von Dahling, Countess von Backwards (1994-1996), Fran, Frieda, Howie, I. C. DeForrest, Kuwa, Lavender J Friend, Lady Two, "Let's Go Driving" mother, Little Bird (1970-present), Little Bo Peep (often), Little Red Riding Hood, Mama Countess, Marylou, Ms. Carpenter, Nora Nicks, Omagrossa, Pipe Organ, Polly Darton, Prairie Dawn, Princess Geraldine, Rita Rucci, Roxie Marie, Sadie Schwartzbaum, Snow Grouch, Summer Squall, The Sun (from Elmo's World: Sky), Ursula, Vivian, Wanda Cousteau, Zoe
- Sesame Beginnings: Baby Prairie Dawn
- A New Baby in My House
- Play With Me Sesame
- The Great Santa Claus Switch: Snerf
- Saturday Night Live: Vazh
- The Muppet Show: Mary Louise, Dancers (two episodes)
- The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence: Janice, Ohreally Bird, Receptionist, Leafy Green Vegetables, Pink Stalk, Whatnot
- The Jim Henson Hour: Vicki, Merlin's Assistant, Solid Foam Drummer, Zondra, Colleen Barker ("Dog City"), Maxine ("Monster Telethon")
- Billy Bunny's Animal Songs: The Porcupine, Frog
- Dog City: Colleen Barker, Terri Springer
- Let's Eat!: Funny Food Songs: Little Miss Muffet
- The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland: Pesties
- Bert & Ernie's Word Play: The Frosty Four
- Talk, Listen, Connect: Mae
- Panwapa: Athena the Owl (puppetry only)
- Learning is Everywhere: Miss Fran
- The Producers: Pigeons
Sources
- ↑ "Viewers Praise Actress for Role in TV Serial." TV-Entertainment Review. Nov. 23-24, 1974.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Vadeboncouer, Joan E. "Voice of Prairie Dawn gives Fran Brill the freedom to choose her roles." Syracuse Herald American Stars Magazine. January 4, 1987.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Perera, Srianthi. "Street cred: Kids' reaction rewarding to Muppet creator." The Arizona Republic. December 27, 2007.
- ↑ Eckholm, Eric. "On the Set with Zoe: The Monster Is a Girl." The New York Times. August 9, 1993.