Joey Mazzarino

Joseph Mazzarino (born June 4, 1968) is an American actor, puppeteer, writer and director. He is best known for his roles on Sesame Street as Murray Monster, Stinky the Stinkweed and other Muppets,[1] and being Head Writer and Director on Sesame Street, winning 22 Emmy Awards for his work.

Joey Mazzarino
Born
Joseph Mazzarino

(1968-06-04) June 4, 1968
New York City, U.S.
Occupation
  • Actor
  • puppeteer
  • writer
  • director
Years active1986–present
Spouse(s)
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2

Career

Former Muppet performer Camille Bonora influenced Mazzarino when she taught an improvisation class at his university, and eventually introduced him to Jim Henson. Mazzarino later became the head writer for Sesame Street and also worked on The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Muppets From Space, and Kermit's Swamp Years.[2]

When Mazzarino auditioned for Sesame Street, he wrote a sketch called "Colambo" and soon found himself cast in the title role. Since then, he had been a prominent member of the Sesame Street cast where he performed Horatio the Elephant, Ingrid, Murray Monster, Papa Bear, Stinky the Stinkweed, and various characters until 2015, when he resigned.

Mazzarino spent the past few years as a writer/producer on the Showtime original series Kidding starring Jim Carrey. He directed all 13 episodes of the Julie Andrews’ Netflix series Julie’s Greenroom, where he also served as a writer.[3] Mazzarino spent over 20 years on Sesame Street in multiple roles: Head Writer, Director, Lyricist and Muppet performer. He received 25 Emmy Awards for his work in multiple categories (Outstanding Original Song, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series).

Mazzarino is currently writing on a new PBS series from the Fred Rogers Company entitled Donkey Hodie and is about to begin his third season as a writer for the PBS animated series Nature Cat.

Personal life

Mazzarino is married to actress Kerry Butler.[4] They have two adopted daughters, one named Segi for whom he wrote the Sesame Street song "I Love My Hair." The Muppet who sang the song was also named Segi.[5]

Filmography

Television
  • Aliens in the Family – Spit (voice)
  • Big Bag – Chelli, Lyle the Sock
  • Blue's Room – Boogie Woogie, Roary, Sprinkles (season 2)
  • CityKids – Captain (Inside the Head)
  • Dog City – Artie Springer
  • Elmo's World – Big Foot, Brown Bunny (in "Elmo Has Two! Hands, Ears & Feet")
  • Journey to Ernie – The Mighty Joke Tree, Sammy (squirrel), Artist Walrus, Penguin (voice), Kittens 2 and 3
  • Muppet Time – Icky No-No, Kirby, one of the Frog Scouts
  • Nick Jr. – Flexy ("Little Big Room" segments)
  • Nature Cat – Cruiser
  • Panwapa – Bill the Bug
  • Sesame Street – Murray Monster, Blögg ("Abby's Flying Fairy School" segments), Colambo, Horatio the Elephant, Ingrid, Joey Monkey, Merry Monster, Narf, Old MacDonald, Papa Bear, Stinky the Stinkweed, Two-Headed Monster (left head, 2001–2016), The Fairy Godperson, Zostic ("Super Morphin Mega Monsters" segments)
  • Sheep in the Big City – General Lee Outrageous, Buddy Somebody, Count D'Ten
  • The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss – Elwood the Jester (in "The King's Beard"), Lester McBird (in "Lester Leaps In")
  • Team Umizoomi - Brachiosaurus (voice) (Uncredited)

Film

Crew work

Awards

Nominations

References
  1. "Interview With Sesame Street Head Writer Joey Mazzarino". April 5, 2015.
  2. Hennes, Joe (February 23, 2009). "A Chat with Joey Mazzarino, part 1". ToughPigs.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
  3. "Joey Mazzarino". Muppet Wiki. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  4. "Broadway Buzz - Videos, Interviews, Photos, News and Tickets - Broadway.com". www.broadway.com.
  5. "'I Love My Hair': A Father's Tribute To His Daughter". NPR. October 18, 2010.
  6. "Daytime Emmy Awards". Muppet Wiki. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  7. "WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 WRITERS GUILD AWARDS | Press Room". Writers Guild of America, East. February 8, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  8. "Awards / History / 2014". www.dga.org. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  9. "Awards / History / 2015". www.dga.org. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
Preceded by
Jerry Nelson		 Performer of Two-Headed Monster (left head)
2001–2016		 Succeeded by
Eric Jacobson
Preceded by
None		 Performer of Murray Monster
2005–2016		 Succeeded by
None
Preceded by
None		 Performer of Horatio the Elephant
1996–2016		 Succeeded by
Peter Linz
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.