Fran Brill

 Fran ces   Joan   " F ran "   Brill  ( born September 3 0 t h, 1 9 4 6 ) is an actress & Muppeteer  who worked on  SESAME STREET  since 1 9 7 0. She was the 1 st female puppeteer hired by  JIM HENSON , outside o f his  wife ( l ate r widow )  JANE HENSON . She is best known for performing Zoe & Prairie Dawn. 2 of her other  SESAME STREET  character s are Snow  GROUCH , a parody o f Snow White &  OMAGROSSA  , a parody of Omarosa Manigault - Stall worth. She also voiced the red   GROUCH  in "  SCRAM  a lot  ", a spoof of Spam a l ot. Brill retired from  SESAME STREET  in 2014.

Early Career
A Pennsylvania native, Brill began her performing career i n community theater , & in 1 968 , while in Atlanta , she joined t he cast of t h e 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 1 969 , & Brill moved to New York City to join her fellow cast members , who included a young Christopher Lloyd. The show close d in less t han 3 month s, after only 41 performance s. Out of a job, Brill was seeking work a s a voice - over actress & in radio commercials , when she answered an ad from [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/The_Jim_Henson_Company Muppet s Inc. ], auditioning performers for what she initially assumed was a voice - over assignment. As the puppeteer recall e d, " In those days , 1970 , it was a small operation & if you call ed , you could get Jim  directly on the phone . . . . They were training people to do a Christ mas special for The Ed Sullivan Show . " The special aired as T he Great San ta Cla us S witch , & after a 2 week puppetry workshop with  Henson  , she was sub sequently ask e d t o jo in "  SESAME STREET  ".

SESAME STREET Girls
For  SESAME STREET , Brill initially played a variety of minor role s , usually supplying little girl voice s , but quickly established her 1 st notable character , Prairie Dawn : " They had a little pink puppet , they put o n a blond w ig , a party dress & asked me t o create a character - a very feminine , girly - girl in the ' 70 s . 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 follow ed, but it wasn ' t until 1993 that Brill established her next major role , as Zoe. Brill ob served chil dren, boy & gir l , 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 t he character ' s longevity , Zoe was the only new character introduce d that season who h a s en dure d & thrive d. Most recently, she added a n ew girl to her resume , play ing Kami , the HIV - positive Muppet from Takalani  SESAME  , for all public appearance s 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.

Acting Career
While Muppetry  kept her busy, Brill continued to pursue an acting career o n stage & screen. On stage, concurrent w / her Muppet work , Brill won 2 Drama Desk Awards for  What   Every   Woman   Knows  ( 1976 ) &  Knuckle s  ( 1981 ). She received considerable acclaim for her role as Fran Bachman on the soap opera  H o w   t o   Survive   a   Marriage  ( 1974 - 1975 ), in particular for her dramatic scenes following the death of t he character ' s husband. Her notable film credits include  Being There  ( 1 979 ),  Midnight Run  ( 1 988 , as Charles Grodin ' s wife ) , & '' W hat About Bob ? '' ( 1991, coincidentally , directed by Brill ' s fellow Muppeteer  veteran  FRANK OZ  ). TV work include s recurring stints on such soap opera s as  All   My   Children  &  As   the   World   Turns  as feature d support ing character s & guest spots o n  Third   Watch ,  L a w   &   Order  , &  Kate   &   Allie . She has also made several cameo s in Muppet production s.

Brill ' s voice work include s the animate d series Doug & Doug ' s First Movie, Courage the Cowardly Dog , & several radio & T V commercial s. As she note d in 1987, " I can pinch myself & say , ' I may not be a major motion picture star , but that ' s OK . I ' ve done a l l right . "

Muppeteer Credit s

 *  SE SAME STREET  : The Sugar Plum Fairy, Alice , Anne Phibian , Arlene Frantic , Baa Baa Walters , Betty Lou ( occasionally , such as in " A migo " ) , Birthday Cake , Camera Countess Dahling von Dahling , Countess von Backwards ( 1 99 4 - 1 9 9 6 ) , Det . Olivia Benson , " Dinner Theatre " moth er ,  ELIZA BLECH ARDEN  Fran , Frieda ,  Grouch   construction wor k er  , Howie , I . C . DeForrest , Kuwa , Lavender J Friend , June Moon , Lady Two , " Let ' s G o Driving " mother , Little Bird ( 1970 - 2014 ) , Little Bo Peep ( some ti mes ) , Little Jerry ( in a sketch w here Grover & the Monotones demonstrate the w o rd " Walk " ) , Little Red Riding Hood , Marylou , Miss Vicki , M s . Carpen ter , Mrs . Crust worthy , 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 
 * T h e Great San ta Cla us 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 Assist ant , Solid Foam Drummer , Zondra , Colleen Barker ( " Dog C i t y " ) , Maxine ( " Monster Telethon " )
 * Billy Bunny ' s s Animal Songs : The Porcupine, Frog
 * Dog City : Colleen Barker, Terri Springer
 * L e t ' s E a t ! : Funny Food Song s : Little Miss Muffet
 *  Elmo  palooza : Prairie Dawn, Zoe
 *  The Adventure s of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  land  : Pestie , Zoe
 *  B ert  &  Ernie  ' s Word Play : The Frosty Four
 * Talk, Listen , Connect : Mae
 * Panwapa : Athena the Owl ( Muppetry  only )
 * Learning is Every where : Miss Fran
 * The Produce r s : Pigeons

Trivia

 * Brill is right - handed.

External l i n k s

 * FRAN BRILL o n I M D b