Eric Jacobson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eric Jacobson
Jacobson at San Diego Comic-Con in 2015
Born	(1971-01-15) January 15, 1971 (age 54) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	NYU Tisch School of the Arts (BFA)
Occupation	Puppeteer
Years active	1994–present
Spouse(s)	Mary Jacobson
Children	2

Eric Jacobson is a super talented American puppeteer! He was born on January 15, 1971. Eric is famous for bringing many of your favorite characters to life.

He performs iconic the Muppets like Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle. He also plays beloved Sesame Street characters such as Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, and Guy Smiley. Eric took over these roles from the original puppeteers, Frank Oz, Caroll Spinney, and Jim Henson.

Eric has been a regular performer on Sesame Street since 1994. He has even been nominated for special awards called Daytime Emmy Award and Primetime Emmy Award for his amazing work! Since 2001, he has been a big part of the Muppets cast. You can see his work in movies like The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014). He also appears in TV shows like The Muppets (2015) and The Muppets Mayhem (2023) on Disney+.

Becoming a Puppeteer

Eric Jacobson was born in Fort Worth, Texas. He was inspired to become a puppeteer after the famous Jim Henson passed away. In 1992, Eric was studying at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. During that time, he got to intern at the Jim Henson Company. He worked in their special library, learning all about their history. Eric earned his degree from Tisch the next year.

Bringing Characters to Life

Eric started his puppeteering career on Sesame Street in 1994. He often worked alongside Frank Oz, helping to perform Grover and Bert. When Frank Oz stopped performing these roles, Eric became their main puppeteer. Since 2005, Eric has also performed Guy Smiley. After Caroll Spinney retired in 2018, Eric became the full-time performer for Oscar the Grouch.

For his fantastic work on Sesame Street, Eric has been nominated for some big awards. These include the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance.

For the Muppets, Eric began performing Miss Piggy in 2001. He first showed off his Miss Piggy skills at a fan event called "MuppetFest." The next year, he started performing Fozzie Bear and Animal. Their first appearance with Eric was in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. In 2005, he also took on the role of Sam Eagle in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. All these characters were originally played by Frank Oz. Eric even talked with Frank Oz to make sure he played the characters just right!

Other Fun Projects

Besides his work with Henson, Eric has worked on other children's TV shows. These include The Puzzle Place and Jack's Big Music Show. He has also performed in live puppet theater shows.

For Disney, Eric performed Harry the Duck on Bear in the Big Blue House. He also puppeteered Piglet on The Book of Pooh. In 2007, he was both a puppeteer and a writer for Bunnytown on Playhouse Disney.

In 2013, Eric was the puppeteer for Shaggy Rogers in the movie Scooby Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map. The voice for Shaggy was done by Matthew Lillard.

Eric's Life

Eric Jacobson is married to Mary Jacobson. They met when Mary was working as a production assistant on Sesame Street.

Movies and TV Shows

Eric Jacobson has been in many movies and TV shows! Here are some of the main ones:

Movies

Television Shows

Video Games

Other Appearances

Eric's characters have also appeared in theme park shows, web series, and live performances!

Awards and Nominations

Eric Jacobson has been nominated for several awards for his amazing puppetry!