Bill Barretta

William Paul Barretta (born June 19, 1964) is an American puppeteer, actor, producer, writer, and director, who is best known for providing the puppetry and voice of characters such as Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo the Bear. He also inherited the roles of Rowlf the Dog, The Swedish Chef, Mahna Mahna, and Dr. Teeth after the death of Muppet creator Jim Henson.
==Early life==
Barretta was born William Paul Barretta in Yardley, Pennsylvania on June 19, 1964. He is the younger brother of the children's book author and illustrator Gene Barretta.
Barretta attended St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy in Burlington, New Jersey, eventually becoming a carpenter. He met Brian Henson while they were working at Sesame Place.
==Career==
Barretta has been performing with The Muppets since 1991, when he puppeteered the body of Sinclair family patriarch, Earl Sinclair on Dinosaurs. He later developed several new characters on Muppets Tonight, including Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo the Bear.
Barretta has taken over several of Jim Henson's roles, such as Dr. Teeth, Rowlf the Dog, Mahna Mahna, and Swedish Chef, and briefly took over Jerry Nelson's role of Lew Zealand. His film debut as a principal puppeteer was in 1996's Muppet Treasure Island as Clueless Morgan.
Barretta has produced two of the Muppets' television films, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005). Barretta also provided additional voices on Kim Possible. He performed in Muppets Most Wanted, where he also served as a co-producer. Barretta also served as an executive producer on the ABC series, The Muppets. In 2021, Barretta produced the special Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Recently, Barretta has also performed in the Sesame Street Live! touring show (reprising his role as Elmo's dad, Louie); directed, co-produced and performed in the film Muppets to the City (playing Rowlf, Pepe, the Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Bobo, Mahna Mahna, Big Mean Carl and others), and worked on the 2021 remake film of Little Shop of Horrors (puppeteering the man-eating plant Audrey II).
==Filmography==
===Film===
Film credits	Film credits 	Film credits 	Film credits
Year 	Film 	Role 	Notes
1995 	Murder in the First 	Man on the Street 	Live-action role
1995 	Born to Be Wild 	Gorilla Team 	Live-action role
1995 	Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree 	Bear 	Puppeteer/voice
1996 	Muppet Treasure Island 	Clueless Morgan, Blind Pew (puppetry; hands), Swedish Chef, Jacques Roach, Mudwell the Mudbunny (singing) 	Puppeteer/voice
1999 	Muppets from Space 	Pepe the Prawn, Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Bubba the Rat, The Swedish Chef, Rowlf the Dog, Cosmic Fish #2 	Puppeteer/voice
1999 	The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland 	Additional Muppet performer 	Puppeteer
2002 	Kermit's Swamp Years 	Croaker, Horace D'Fly, Roy the Frog, Turtle #2 	Puppeteer/voice; Direct-to-video
2002 	It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie	Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Bobo the Bear, Rowlf the Dog, Swedish Chef, Lew Zealand, Howard Tubman, additional characters 	Puppeteer/voice; TV movie
2005 	The Muppets' Wizard of Oz 	Pepe the Prawn, Dr. Teeth, Johnny Fiama, Swedish Chef, Lew Zealand, Bubba the Rat, additional characters 	Puppeteer/voice; TV movie
2010 	When Families Grieve 	Louie 	Puppeteer/voice; TV movie
2011 	The Muppets 	Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Pepe the Prawn, Bobo, Swedish Chef 	Puppeteer/voice
2014 	Muppets Most Wanted 	Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Pepe the King Prawn, The Swedish Chef, Big Mean Carl, Bobo the Bear, Carlo Flamingo, Leprechaun Security Guard, Baby Boss 	Puppeteer/voice
2018 	The Happytime Murders 	Phil Phillips, Junkyard, Boar 	Puppeteer/voice
2021 	Little Shop of Horrors 	Audrey II 	Principal Puppeteer
2021 	Muppets Haunted Mansion 	Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Howard Tubman, Big Mean Carl, Beautiful Day Monster, Clean Gene, Party Tomato	Puppeteer/voice
2023 	Muppets to the City 	Rowlf the Dog, Pepe the King Prawn, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Bobo the Bear, Mahna Mahna, Big Mean Carl 	Puppeteer/voice
===Television===
Television credits	Television credits 	Television credits 	Television credits
Year(s) 	Television 	Role 	Notes
1991–1994 	Dinosaurs 	Earl Sinclair (in-suit performer), Nick (in-suit performer), Rabid Caveman, various characters 	Performer
1994 	Jim Henson's Animal Show 	Armstrong the Chicken Hawk, Vernon the Grizzly, Baby Bear, Dullard the Aardvark, Jared the Tiger, Lazlo the Hyena, Randall the Zebra, Timothy the Owl, Vernon the Grizzly 	7 episodes; Puppeteer/voice
1996–1998 	Muppets Tonight 	Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Pepe the Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, Big Mean Carl, Clueless Morgan, Howard Tubman, David Hoggselhoff, Zippity Zap, Snookie Blyer, Ernst Stavros Gropuer, additional characters	Puppeteer/voice
1996 	The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss 	Uncle Berklummer 	1 episode; Puppeteer/voice
2001 	Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story 	Thunderdell 	TV-mini series; live-action role, 2 episodes
2002–2007 	Kim Possible 	Jackie the Jackal, Jilly from Jersey, Motor Ed's 'Main Bro' 	Voice role
2007 	Tinseltown 	Bobby 	TV series short; Puppeteer/voiceAlso director
2006 	Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King	Savage Commando 	TV mini-series; Live-action role
2011 	Saturday Night Live 	Rowlf the Dog 	1 episode; Puppeteer/voice
2012 	Jimmy Kimmel Live! 	Dr. Teeth 	1 episode; Puppeteer/voice
2014 	Piper's Picks TV 	Swedish Chef 	1 episode; Puppeteer/voice
2015–2016 	The Muppets 	Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Pepe the King Prawn, Swedish Chef, Bobo the Bear, Big Mean Carl, Mahna Mahna, Howard Tubman, additional characters 	Puppeteer/voiceAlso director; 1 episode
2015 	Muppet Moments 	Rowlf the Dog, Bobo the Bear, Pepe the King Prawn 	TV series short; Puppeteer/voiceAlso director
2017–2020 	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt 	Lonny DuFrane/Mr. Frumpus 	3 episodes; Actor/Puppeteer
2018 	Muppet Babies 	Dr. Teeth 	1 episode; Puppeteer/voice
2019 	Drop the Mic 	Pepe the King Prawn 	2 episodes; Puppeteer/voice
2020 	Muppets Now 	Pepe the King Prawn, The Swedish Chef, Howard Tubman, Big Mean Carl, Dr. Teeth, Bobo the Bear, Bubba the Rat 	Also director and executive producer
===Video games===
Video games	Video games 	Video games 	Video games
Year(s) 	Title 	Role 	Notes
2000 	Mickey Mouse & Bugs Bunny's Kombat Showdown	Character Reference Puppeteer 	
2000 	Muppet Race Mania 	Pepe the King Prawn, Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Swedish Chef 	Voice role
2000 	Muppet Monster Adventure 	Pepe the King Prawn, Swedish Chef 	Voice role
2003 	Muppets Party Cruise 	Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Swedish Chef	Voice role
===Internet===
Internet credits	Internet credits	Internet credits	Internet credits
Year(s) 	Show 	Role 	Notes
2014 	Nerdy Nummies 	Swedish Chef 	1 episode; Puppeteer/voice
===Events===
Event credits	Event credits 	Event credits 	Event credits
Year 	Event 	Role 	Notes
2017 	The Muppets Take the Bowl 	Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Bobo, Mahna Mahna	Puppeteer/voice, live show at the Hollywood Bowl, Sept. 8–10
2018 	The Muppets Take the O2 	Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Bobo, Mahna Mahna	Puppeteer/voice, live show at the O2, July 13–14
2020 	Sesame Street Live! 	Louie (Elmo's Dad) 	Puppeteer/voice, live stage show tour, February 18-November 13
2021 	The Muppets Christmas Caroling Coach	Pepe the King Prawn 	Voice, theme park show at Disneyland during Disney Merriest Nights
==References==
Category:American puppeteers
Category:Muppet Performers