Fran Brill

Frances Joan "Fran" Brill (born September 30th, 1946) is an actress & Muppeteer who has worked on Sesame Street since 1970. She was the 1st female puppeteer hired by Jim Henson, outside of his wife (now widow) Jane Henson. She is best known for performing Zoe & Prairie Dawn. 2 of her other Sesame Street characters are Snow Grouch, a parody of Snow White &  Omagrossa , a parody of Omarosa Manigault-Stallworth. She also voiced the red Grouch in "Scramalot", a spoof of Spamalot.

Early Career
A Pennsylvania native, Brill began her performing career in community theater, & in 1968, while in Atlanta, she joined the cast of the play Red, White & Maddox, which ridiculed segregationist governor Lester Maddox. The show proved somewhat controversial due to its political subject matter, but transferred to Broadway in 1969, & Brill moved to New York City to join her fellow cast members, who included a young Christopher Lloyd. The show closed in less than 3 months, after only 41 performances. Out of a job, Brill was seeking work as a voice-over actress & in radio commercials, when she answered an ad from Muppets Inc., auditioning performers for what she initially assumed was a voice-over assignment. As the puppeteer recalled, "In those days, 1970, it was a small operation & if you called, you could get Jim directly on the phone.... They were training people to do a Christmas special for The Ed Sullivan Show." The special aired as The Great Santa Claus Switch, & after a 2 week puppetry workshop with Henson, she was subsequently asked to join "Sesame Street".

Sesame Street Girls
For Sesame Street, Brill initially played a variety of minor roles, usually supplying little girl voices, but quickly established her 1st notable character, Prairie Dawn: "They had a little pink puppet, they put on a blond wig, a party dress & asked me to create a character - a very feminine, girly-girl in the '70s. I came up with an innocent, pretty sound. I developed the character by working with her."

Brill also coined the character's name: "I heard of an actress with a similar name [Prairie Dorn] & Jim loves unusual names." Other characters followed, but it wasn't until 1993 that Brill established her next major role, as Zoe. Brill observed children, boy & girl, when developing her performance, picking up the basis for the character's laugh as well as the initial catch phrase "Don't joke me." Though Brill was initially uncertain of the character's longevity, Zoe was the only new character introduced that season who has endured & thrived. Most recently, she added a new girl to her resume, playing Kami, the HIV-positive Muppet from Takalani Sesame, for all public appearances in the U.S.. Outside of Sesame Street, Brill has worked on The Muppet Show pilot The Muppet Show: Sex & Violence, SNL, & Dog City, amongst many other Muppet projects.

Fran Brill & Kevin Clash
Muppeteering on Sesame Street has partnered Brill with various different Muppeteers over the years. Brill's most frequent partner however, is Kevin Clash. Ever since 1993, when Brill 1st originated the role of Zoe, the character has always been paired with Kevin Clash's Elmo, who quickly became Zoe's best friend, & vice versa. Brill & Clash have had several other pairings over the years also:

Fran Brill/Kevin Clash Muppets Pairings

 * Zoe/Elmo
 * Zoe/Wolfgang the Seal
 * Mae/Elmo
 * Sandy/Elmo
 * Wanda Cousteau/Wolfgang the Seal
 * Roxie Marie/Elmo
 * Roxie Marie/Kingston Livingston III
 * Roxie Marie/Hoots the Owl
 * Roxie Marie/ Preposterous 
 * Prairie Dawn/Hoots the Owl
 * Prairie Dawn/Elmo
 * Queen Olivia/Elmo'''

Acting Career
While Muppetry kept her busy, Brill continued to pursue an acting career on stage & screen. On stage, concurrent w/ her Muppet work, Brill won 2 Drama Desk Awards for What Every Woman Knows (1976) & Knuckles (1981). She received considerable acclaim for her role as Fran Bachman on the soap opera How to Survive a Marriage (1974 - 1975), in particular for her dramatic scenes following the death of the character's husband. Her notable film credits include Being There (1979), Midnight Run (1988, as Charles Grodin's wife), & What About Bob? (1991, directed by Frank Oz). TV work includes recurring stints on such soap operas as All My Children & As the World Turns as featured supporting characters & guest spots on Third Watch, Law & Order, & Kate & Allie. She has also made several cameos in Muppet productions.

Brill's voice work includes the animated series Doug & Doug's First Movie, Courage the Cowardly Dog, & several radio & TV commercials. As she noted in 1987, "I can pinch myself & say, 'I may not be a major motion picture star, but that's OK. I've done all right."

Muppeteer Credits

 * Sesame Street: The Sugar Plum Fairy, Alice, Anne Phibian, Arlene Frantic, Baa Baa Walters, Betty Lou (occasionally, such as in "Amigo"), Birthday Cake, Countess Dahling von Dahling, Countess von Backwards (1994 - 1996), Det. Olivia Benson, "Dinner Theatre" mother, Fran, Frieda,  Grouch construction worker , Howie, I. C. DeForrest, Kuwa, Lavender J Friend, June Moon, Lady Two, "Let's Go Driving" mother, Little Bird (1970 - present), Little Bo Peep (often), Little Jerry (in a sketch where Grover & the Monotones demonstrate the word "Walk"), Little Red Riding Hood, Marylou, Miss Vicki, Ms. Carpenter, Nora Nicks,  Omagrossa , Pipe Organ, Polly Darton, Prairie Dawn, Princess Cutie, Princess Geraldine, Rita Rucci, Roxie Marie, Sadie Schwartzbaum, Sandy, Scramalot  Grouch , the Small Bird,  Snow Grouch , 1 of the String Beans, Summer Squall, The Sun (from Elmo 's World Sky), Ursula, Vertigo, Vivian, Wanda Cousteau, Zoe
 * Sesame Beginnings: Baby Prairie Dawn
 * A New Baby in My House
 * Play With Me Sesame
 * The Great Santa Claus Switch: Snerf
 * Muppet Meeting Films: Janice
 * Saturday Night Live: Vazh
 * The Muppet Show: Mary Louise, Dancers (2 episodes)
 * The Muppet Show: Sex & Violence: Janice, Ohreally Bird, Receptionist, Leafy Green Vegetables, Pink Stalk, Whatnot, Miss Piggy
 * The Jim Henson Hour: Patina, Vicki, Merlin's Assistant, Solid Foam Drummer, Zondra, Colleen Barker ("Dog City"), Maxine ("Monster Telethon")
 * Billy Bunny 's Animal Songs: The Porcupine, Frog
 * Dog City: Colleen Barker, Terri Springer
 * Let's Eat!: Funny Food Songs: Little Miss Muffet
 * Elmo palooza: Prairie Dawn, Zoe
 * The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland: Pestie, Zoe
 * Bert & Ernie 's Word Play: The Frosty Four
 * Talk, Listen, Connect: Mae
 * Panwapa: Athena the Owl (puppetry only)
 * Learning is Everywhere: Miss Fran
 * The Producers: Pigeons