# Noel MacNeal

Noel MacNeal (born September 15, 1961), sometimes credited as Edward Noel MacNeal, is an American puppeteer, actor, director, singer and writer. He is best known as the performer of Bear on Bear in the Big Blue House. He also starred as Kako on Oobi, Leon MacNeal on The Puzzle Place and as Magellan on Eureeka's Castle. Since 2014, MacNeal has served as resident puppeteer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, portraying puppet characters such as Mr. Nutterbutter.

## Career

MacNeal began his career in puppetry in 1982 as a puppet wrangler on Sesame Street. In 1983, he succeeded John Lovelady as the performer of Knock-Knock the Woodpecker on The Great Space Coaster.
In 1997, MacNeal gained widespread recognition for his role as Bear in the Disney Channel preschool series Bear in the Big Blue House. In 2003, he received a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series.
In addition to puppeteering, MacNeal has written for a variety of children's programs including Eureeka's Castle, and The Puzzle Place. MacNeal has also directed several programs, including episodes of Between the Lions. In 2023, he directed an episode for season 53 of Sesame Street.
Since 2014, MacNeal has served as resident puppeteer and performed various characters on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

## Personal life

On November 6, 1999, he married author Susan Elia at Manhattan's Union Theological Seminary. In 2005, their son Matthew was born.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Production | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | Follow That Bird | Madame Chairbird | Performer |
| 1993 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III | Raphael | Facial assistant |
| 2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Sweetums | Performer; Television film |
| 2009 | Old Dogs | | Puppeteer |

### Television

| Year | Production | Role | Notes |
| 1983–1986 | The Great Space Coaster | Knock-Knock | Performer |
| 1983–present | Sesame Street | Mommy Snuffleupagus, Gretel, Additional Muppets | Performer |
| 1985 | Little Muppet Monsters | Rat, Cow, Magic Book | Performer |
| 1989–1995 | Eureeka's Castle | Magellan, Webster | Performer, writer |
| 1990 | The Cosby Show | Cheese | Puppeteer; Episode: "Cliff's Nightmare" |
| 1991 | Dinosaurs | Additional characters | Puppeteer |
| 1992 | Dog City | Officer Fuzzy, Doctor | Performer |
| 1993 | CityKids | Koozebanians | Performer |
| 1995–1996 | The Puzzle Place | Leon MacNeal, Blue Piece Police | Performer, writer |
| 1997–2006 | Bear in the Big Blue House | Bear, Moss, Billy | Performer |
| 1997 | Sally's Lighthouse | | Writer |
| 1998 | Gullah Gullah Island | | Writer; Episode: "Magic Show" |
| 1999 | Cosby | | Puppeteer; Episode: "My Spy" |
| 2000–2005 | Oobi | Kako | Performer |
| 2006 | Breakfast with Bear | Bear | Performer, writer |
| 2001–2003 | The Book of Pooh | Rabbit | Performer |
| 2004 | Chappelle's Show | | Puppeteer; Episode: "Knee High Park" |
| 2006–2007 | Blue's Room | Blue | Puppeteer (season 2) |
| 2009–2010 | Between the Lions | Lionel Lion (seasons 9-10), Monkey, Squeaky the Wheel | Performer |
| 2014–2021 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | | Puppeteer |
| 2015 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | | Puppeteer; Episode: "Kimmy's in a Love Triangle!" |
| 2017 | Julie's Greenroom | Additional characters | Performer |
| 2022 | Pause with Sam Jay | | Puppeteer; Episode: "Dead Momma Episode" |