Puppets

• “Without the good will of manipulators and audience alike, puppets cannot sustain an illusion of life.”

• “My excitement about making the [puppet] team was slightly tempered by the fact that everyone who auditioned had made the team.”

• “A good character is almost always derived from an aspect of the performer's personality.”

• “Working as I do with movement of puppet creatures, I'm always struck by the feebleness of our efforts to achieve naturalistic movement. Just looking at the incredible movement of a lizard or a bird, or even the smallest insect, can be a very humbling experience.”

• “Kids come to visit the [Sesame Street] studio and they and the puppets are old friends. Those puppets are in their living rooms every day. As soon as a puppet goes up on somebody's arm, the puppeteer ceases to exist. The child comes right up to talk to Grover or the Count. They don't look at the puppeteer. They don't look at the monitor.”

• “Well, the thing to remember here is that my own personality has absolutely nothing to do with this weirdo.”

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.