Eric Jacobson

 Eric Jacobson  ( b . July 25 th, 1970 ) , started working with the Muppets in 1994 as a Muppeteer  on Sesame Street & rose through the ranks of  Muppeteers  on Sesame Street. In order to completely keep the characters of Frank Oz  - who is currently still focusing more on directing & other pursuits - alive & visible, Jacobson was selected by  Oz  himself due to his strong puppeteer talent & very extremely similar vocal range. Jacobson has worked on projects starring the classic Muppet Show & Sesame Street characters, & on Bear in the Big Blue House.

" I grew up watching the Muppets, & was a rabid fan myself & to carry on this legacy is really important . "
 * - Eric Jacobson 

Sesame StReeT
Jacobson started performing on Sesame Street in 1994. In 1997, Jacobson began performing  Bert on a semi - regular basis ; & in 1998 he added Grover to his list as well , starting with clip s for Play with Me Sesame. Jacobson, today , is the principal perform er  of these Sesame s tar s. Jacobson & David Rudman  shared the role of Cookie Monster up until 2002 when Sesame Workshop had picked  David  to take the role of Cookie Monster on full - time for there to be more interaction between that character, Grover & Bert – however  Frank Oz  occasionally comes in to record new material with them.

Jacobson has also recently taken on Jim Henson  ' s role of Guy Smiley in recent years, performing the character in videos for Sesame Street Present s : The Bo dy , Ready to Learn commercials , & episode 4182. He has also performed minor characters on the show, such as [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Tiger Mr. Tiger ], 1 of the 3 Little Pigs & Hammy the Dwarf. He was also the performer of  Dusty , the drummer in  Oscar the Grouch  ' s " alternate "  Grouch  band in episode 3950.

Jacobson ' s wife Mary was a production assistant on the show ; they met on the program. Their daughter ' s godfather works for the series.

The Muppets
Eric Jacobson is currently the principal performer  of Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy , Animal & Sam the Eagle – as  Frank Oz  had retired as their  performer  in 2000.

At 2001 ' s Muppet fest fan convention, Jacobson made his Muppet debut secretly performing  Miss Piggy welcoming the fa ns " live via satellite ". Jacobson made his 1 st major Muppet production debut performing  Fozzie Bear, Animal & Miss Piggy for It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie in 2002 while  Muppeteer  veteran  Kevin Clash  provided the voice of Sam the Eagle ( the  Muppetry  for whom was  performed  by  John Kennedy  ). Jacobson took over the role of Sam the Eagle in 2005 for The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz & he ' s been performing  that character ever since then. He also performed the role of Marvin Suggs in the 2011 film The Muppets.

In 2011, Dave Goelz  commented on Jacobson : " When  Steve  was able to do Kermit ,  I  thought , " Wow , w e got off lucky there , but if something happens to  Frank  or  he  leaves , w e ' ll just be dead. " Lo & behold, Eric Jacobson , who like Steve  had been around for a long time in the Sesame Street performing group , was able to do very credible versions of  Frank  ' s characters . He ' s incredible with Miss Piggy . The 1 st time  I  was at a read - through with Eric (  I  hadn ' t noticed his arrival ) & w e started reading the script .  I  heard  Frank  & looked around the room . &  Frank  wasn ' t there . So it was really an interesting thing . "

Other Works
Jacobson performed Harry the Duck & other characters on Bear in the Big Blue House.

Outside of Henson , Jacobson has worked on  The Puzzle Place  ,  Jack ' s Big Music Show  , & Disney ' s  The Book of Pooh  ( plus a TV show called  Once Upon a Tr ee  , in which he perform ed Billy Bob the Bobcat ). He ' s also performed on stage performing live puppet theater in New York City with The Puppet Company, The Cosmic Bicycle Theater ( & The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park.

Jacobson has been honored for his work on several occasions & holds the distinction of being the 1 st puppeteer to work on multiple film & TV productions cited for excellence by UNIMA in the same year.

Muppeteer Credits

 * Jacobson 's primary Muppet characters :


 * Bert ( 1997 - present )


 * Frank Oz ( Sesame Street Episode 0001 ( 1969 ) - present
 * Grover ( 1998 - present )


 * Frank Oz : Sesame Street Season 2 ( 1970 ) - present
 * Miss Piggy : Muppet Fest ( 2001 ) - present


 * Frank Oz : The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) - The Today Show ( 2002 ) )
 * Animal : It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present


 * Frank Oz : The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence ( 1975 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 ) )
 * Fozzie Bear : It's a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present


 * Frank Oz : The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 )
 * Sam the Eagle : The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz ( 2005 ) - present


 * Frank Oz : The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence ( 1975 ) - Muppet RaceMania ( 2000 )
 * Guy Smiley : Sesame Street Presents : The Bo dy ( 2005 ) - present )


 * Jim Henson : Sesame Street Season 1 ( 1969 ) - Season 21 ( 1990 )
 * Sesame Street :  Dusty , Bert ( 1997 - present ) , Cookie Monster ( 2002 & 2005 ) , Grover ( 1999 - present ) , Guy Smiley ( 2005 - present ) , Frankie , Giant Boulder , 1 of the 3 Little Pigs , Mr . Tiger , Hammy the Dwarf , Yip Yip Martians , "Dinner Theatre" Pumpkin uncle ("Get Your Gun Annie Get Your Gumbo") , Mother Goose
 * Bear in the Big Blue House : Harry the Duck, Tucker Tutter
 * Elmo palooza : Additional Muppet eer
 * Cinder Elmo
 * Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor : Additional Muppet eer
 * Sesame English
 * Peter & the Wolf : Additional Muppeteer
 *  Bert  & Ernie ' s Word Play : Bert
 * A Celebration of Me, Grover : Grover , Grover ' s Mommy
 * Happy Healthy Monsters
 * The Get Healthy Now Show : Yam, Eggplant , & Michael
 * It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie : Fozzie Bear, Animal , Miss Piggy , & Yoda Muppet
 * Sesame Street 4 - D Movie Magic
 * The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz : Fozzie Bear ( as the Cowardly Lion ), Miss Piggy ( as the Wicked Witch of the East , the Wicked Witch of the West , Tattypoo & Glinda ) , Animal & Sam the Eagle
 * Elmo ' s Christ mas Count down
 * Count on Sports
 * Studio DC : Almost Live : Fozzie Bear, Animal , & Miss Piggy
 * Abby in Wonderland
 * A Muppets Christ mas : Letters to San ta : Fozzie Bear, Animal , Miss Piggy & Sam the Eagle
 * Christ mas in Rockefeller Center : Fozzie Bear, Animal & Miss Piggy
 * Fami lies Stand Together
 * The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora : Frankfurter
 * Shalom Sesame : Grover ( 2010 episodes )
 * The Muppets : Fozzie Bear, Animal , Miss Piggy , Sam the Eagle , Marvin Suggs & Beautiful Day Monster
 * Muppets Most Wanted : Fozzie Bear, Animal , Miss Piggy , Sam the Eagle , Marvin Suggs
 * Lady Gaga & the Muppets ' Holiday Spectacular : Fozzie Bear, Animal , Miss Piggy & Sam the Eagle
 * The Muppets : Operation STS ( Save the Swamp ) : Fozzie Bear, Animal , Miss Piggy , Sam the Eagle , Marvin Suggs , George the Janitor , The Snowths ( voices ) , Beautiful Day Monster & Cousin Croaker
 * Spaghetti Space Chase

Non - Henson Credits

 * Scooby - Doo ! Adventures : The Mystery Map - Shaggy Rogers ( Matthew Lillard served as Shaggy ' s voice )

Trivia

 * Characters of Frank Oz  ' s Eric Jacobson has voiced once or consistently are :


 * Miss Piggy : Muppet Fest ( 2001 ) - present
 * Fozzie Bear : It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present
 * Animal : It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie ( 2002 ) - present
 * Sam the Eagle : The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz ( 2005 ) - present
 * Bert : 1997 - present
 * Grover : 1998 - present
 * Cookie Monster : 2002 & 2005 )
 * Marvin Suggs : The Muppets ( 2011 ) - present ( presumably )
 * Beautiful Day Monster : The Muppets ( 2011 )
 * Grover ' s Mommy : A Celebration of Me, Grover ( 2004 ) )