Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Kathy Mullen

(Note from the British Correspondent: AH-HA! I have once again found my way back to the control room of the Muppet Mindset and today I am posting...oh...Ryan already has a post ready to go...fine...I shall post that for today, but I will be back! Just keep a weather eye open...Hmm...should probably spice up this article with some pictures though... - TBC)

KATHY MULLEN

Notable Muppets...
Mokey Fraggle, Cotterpin Doozer, Gaffer the Backstage Cat, Wanda (Season 4)

Kathryn Mullen did not originally want to be a puppeteer, but rather aspired to be an actress. However, a visit to the Muppet Workshop changed her mind, and joined the Puppeteers of America. She first worked with the Muppets on The Muppet Movie in 1978, playing background Muppets. After the movie was done, she joined the cast of The Muppet Show, becoming the third full-time female puppeteer. On The Muppet Show, she played mainly one-time and background characters, most notably Gaffer the Backstage Cat and Wanda in her only 4th season appearance. She also puppeteer characters in several other Muppet projects, including The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan, the later which she performed Jill the Frog.

After The Muppet Show, she began to puppeteer more major characters, such as Kira in The Dark Crystal. However, her most major roles were in Fraggle Rock, where she performed Mokey Fraggle and Cotterpin Doozer. Mokey was one of the 5 main characters on the show, and Kathryn also performed her in A Muppet Family Christmas, and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson.

She later worked on several other Henson projects, including the first season of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, in which she performed recurring characters Morton the Elephant Bird, Little Cat A and Junior Kangaroo. She also performed Joy Buzzer in The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, Grouches in Follow That Bird, and Apple in A Christmas Toy.  She also began to write and direct, writing episodes of Little Muppet Monsters and the Fraggle Rock animated series, and co-directing several episodes of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss.

She has also worked outside of Henson, helping to create Between the Lions, assisting fellow Muppeteer Frank Oz with Yoda in The Empire Strikes, and performing Allegra, the main character in the Nick Jr. TV show, Allegra’s Window. She has also worked with her husband, former Creative Director for Jim Henson Productions Michael Firth, and No Strings International to create and perform an educational Puppet Show for Afghanistan children.






The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com