Fran Brill: A Job Well Done

At the end of September, The Jim Henson Legacy, with our friends at Sesame Workshop and The Jim Henson Company, gathered to wish a happy retirement to the inimitable Fran Brill.

Fran was the first female hired by Jim Henson as a puppeteer on Sesame Street. During her long career with the show, this Emmy Award winning performer portrayed Prairie Dawn, Zoe, Little Bird, Polly Darton, Scottish Mary of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," Bo Peep, Roxy Marie, and too many others to name. In the U.S. she performed Kami, a character from the South African co-production Takalani Sesame.

Other work with the Muppets included Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show, The Jim Henson Hour, Dog City, The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, Cinderelmo, Elmopalooza with Jon Stewart, home videos including Zoe's Dance Moves with Paula Abdul and numerous CDs and audiotapes. Fran also worked as a puppeteer on the films Men in Black and The Producers.

Along with all of this work, Fran had a film, television and theatrical career, appearing in What About Bob?, Being There, All My Children, multiple Law and Order episodes, Look Back in Anger, Love Letters, and much more. Makes one tired just thinking about it, doesn't it?

So, her friends, family and colleagues wish Fran a quiet retirement...with all the tennis it takes to help her enjoy life!