Caroly Wilcox

Caroly Wilcox (May 16, 1931 – January 9, 2021) began working in the New York Muppet Workshop in 1969, as work on Sesame Street began. Wilcox originally worked as an occasional puppeteer (assisting on Ernie and performing in such skits as "First and Last") as well as building and designing. According to Quilting with the Muppets, she also made occasional cameos as a bus driver.
Wilcox became the workshop supervisor for the Sesame Muppets, and remained in that post until her retirement in 1990. Her 1979 design sketch for a red monster would eventually become a star character as Elmo.Falk, Karen. Imagination Illustrated. p. 180 As with the other designers, not all of her ideas reached fruition: she conceived and drew "Snuffy's Baby Brother," to be operated by one smaller person and "having only two legs when young (tadpole like). Mature is 4."Falk, Karen. Imagination Illustrated. p. 115
She was also a key designer/builder for The Muppet Show and movies, notably directing the creation of a special Miss Piggy puppet for use in the underwater scenes in The Great Muppet Caper.Jones, Brian Jay. Jim Henson: The Biography. p. 321 In many cases, her task involved the practical side, adding annotations to help translate character sketches by Jim Henson into physical puppets, noting how a performer should operate a character, and even coordinating the options for shooting the parachute drop in Great Muppet Caper. Wilcox was viewed as the expert Muppet maker; she trained many of the Muppet builders.
She was interviewed in Behind the Scenes in Frogtown Hollow and a 2020 live-stream event for the Museum of the Moving Image. Jane Gootnick shared her memories of Wilcox the day after her passing on The Barretta Brothers vodcast. 
==Muppet/Henson credits==
;Designer/Builder
*Sesame Street: Workshop Supervisor; designed Elmo, built Two-Headed Monster, The Martians, various monsters (including Kermit the Forg), many animals
*Variety show appearances
**built The Snowths (with Don Sahlin) for The Ed Sullivan Show
**sketch ideas for "A Change of Face" skit version on The Dick Cavett ShowFalk, Karen. Imagination Illustrated. p. 88
*The Great Santa Claus Switch: Puppet construction
*The Frog Prince: Puppet costumes
*The Muppet Musicians of Bremen: Built Chickens, flocked hands for farmers,11/8-11/1971 – ‘Go to Chicago to Silvestri. See flocking’. Jim Henson's Red Book. Nov. 8, 2012 designed and built others
*The Muppets Valentine Show: built Mildred Huxtetter, Big Mouse
*Out to Lunch: Puppet designs/costumes
*Saturday Night Live: built Scred
*The Muppet Show: built Mildred Huxtetter, The Snowths, Sopwith the Camel, Doglion, Deer, Betsy Bird (with Cheryl Blaylock), technical design of shadow puppets (episode 205),6/21/1977 – ‘Judy Collins (MS)’. Jim Henson's Red Book. June 21, 2012. and many others
*Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas: built Harvey, Will Possum, muskrats, others
*Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
*The Muppet Movie: Muppet designer
*John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together: Lead designer/builder for Nativity Muppets
*The Great Muppet Caper: Muppet designer/builder; supervising aquatic Miss Piggy, other tasks
*The Muppets Go to the Movies: Muppet designer
*Fraggle Rock: Muppet designer, built Gobo Fraggle with Tim Miller
*Rocky Mountain Holiday: Muppet building
*Follow That Bird: built Miss Finch
*The Muppet Show: On Tour!: Underwater puppet design; adapting walk-around versions of Muppet characters9/11/1984 – ‘In Chicago for opening of The Muppet Show on Tour- LIVE.’ Jim Henson's Red Book. Sep. 11, 2013.
*Puppetman: built Earl (with Jitka Exler)
;Puppeteer
*Sesame Street (credited seasons 7 and 8)
*The Great Santa Claus Switch: Blue Bird FrackleJim Henson's Red Book. Puppeteer assignments
*The Muppet Musicians of Bremen: Full-bodied Mean FloydCrafting the Creatures and Characters of Jim Henson’s World
*Julie on Sesame Street
*The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
*The Muppet Movie
*Sing Yourself Silly!
==Gallery==
Caroly Wilcox Kermit.jpg|Wilcox with Kermit the Frog.
Carolywilcoxpuppet.jpg|Wilcox performing on Sesame Street with Caroll Spinney and Frank Oz.
Carolywilcox.jpg|Wilcox working on Betsy Bird.
CarolyWilcoxErnie.jpg|Wilcox with Ernie and Barkley.
Dexter-Workshop.jpg|Wilcox in the Muppet Workshop with Bob Flanagan and Jim Henson as they work on Dexter.
Carolywilcox-busdriver.jpg|Wilcox in one of her Sesame Street cameos.
==See also==
* Caroly Wilcox cameos
==Sources==
==External links==
* A Conversation with Caroly Wilcox, Puppetimes, October 2019
* Crafting the Creatures and Characters of Jim Henson’s World, Museum of the Moving Image, May 2020
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Category:Muppet Puppeteers
Category:Designers