Mike Quinn (puppeteer)
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Mike Quinn | |
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 Quinn in 2022 | |
| Born | 28 July 1964 London, England, U.K. |
| Other names | Mike Quinby Michael E. Quinn Michael Quinn |
| Occupation(s) | Puppeteer, animator, actor, director, producer, voice-over artist, puppet builder, composer, mentor |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Spouse | |
Mike Quinn (born 28 July 1964) is an English puppeteer, animator, actor, director, producer, voice-over artist, puppet builder, composer and mentor. He is also known as Mike Quinby, Michael E. Quinn, and Michael Quinn.
Early life and career
[edit]Quinn was born in London, but grew up in Enfield, Middlesex. He began puppeteering at age eight.[citation needed]
In 1977, Mike regularly visited the set of The Muppet Show with his homemade puppets, eventually meeting Jim Henson. Through his visits, he learned more about puppeteering and received encouragement from Jim Henson and his co-workers.[citation needed]
After leaving school in 1980, Quinn joined The Jim Henson Company and worked on the 1981 film The Great Muppet Caper puppeteering in crowd scenes and acting as a double for various main Muppet characters. Quinn later designed and built the Podlings for The Dark Crystal, where he also performed the Skeksis Slave Master SkekNa (who was voiced by David Buck).
During the filming of Return of the Jedi, Quinn (and David Barclay and David Greenaway) were assistant puppeteers to Frank Oz in his performance of Yoda. He also performed the role of Nien Nunb in Return Of the Jedi. Between the late 1980s and early 1990s, Quinn joined with fellow puppeteer David Barclay, creating Ultimate Animates, a production company specializing in new building and performing techniques for internal and external puppet productions.
Quinn joined George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic as an animator, first working on Jurassic Park III and then Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.
He reprised his role as Nien Nunb in Star Wars: The Force Awakens,[1] a role that he reprised again in Star Wars: The Last Jedi[2] and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and performed for the Disney theme park ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
In 2018, Quinn provided the voice of the Stan Laurel-based character Agnes Packard in the Cartoon Network series, Mighty Magiswords opposing Ken Mitchroney voicing her Oliver Hardy-based husband Mr. Pachydermus in the episode "Pachydermus Packard and the Camp of Fantasy".
Quinn appeared as a guest on The George Lucas Talk Show during their May the AR Be LI$$ You Arli$$ Marathon fundraiser.
Personal life
[edit]From 1989 to 2004, Quinn was married to fellow puppeteer Karen Prell.
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The Great Muppet Caper | Additional Muppets | |
| 1982 | The Dark Crystal | SkekNa - the slavemaster Skeksis | Performer plus puppet builder |
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Nien Nunb and various roles | Yoda (assistant performer) |
| 1985 | Dreamchild | Puppeteer | |
| 1986 | Little Shop of Horrors | Puppeteer | |
| 1986 | Labyrinth | Goblins plus various | Puppeteer |
| The Tale of the Bunny Picnic | Bulbous, Mayor Bunnyparte | ||
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Puppeteer | |
| 1989 | How to Get Ahead in Advertising | Puppeteer of the boil and growing head | |
| 1992 | The Muppet Christmas Carol | Undertaker | performer of Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear |
| 1996 | Muppet Treasure Island | Additional Muppets | |
| 1996 | Mary Reilly | Special effects Puppeteer | |
| 1998 | A Bug's Life | Animator | |
| 1999 | Toy Story 2 | Animator, including the 'Woody's Roundup' TV sequence | |
| 2001 | Jurassic Park III | Dinosaur animator | |
| 2002 | Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones | Animator | |
| 2005 | The Muppets' Wizard of Oz | Additional Muppets | Credited as Michael Quinn |
| 2011 | The Muppets | Additional Muppets | |
| 2014 | Muppets Most Wanted | Additional Muppets | |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Nien Nunb | |
| 2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | [2] | |
| 2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–87 | Fraggle Rock | Gobo Fraggle (UK and French versions), Traveling Matt (UK and French versions), Sprocket (French and German versions) and various | recorded regional variations for UK, Germany, France |
| 1987 | Jim Henson's Mother Goose Stories | Brown Gosling, Humpty Dumpty, plus various | Credited as Mike Quinby |
| 1988 | The Storyteller | Devil | Episode: "The Soldier and Death" puppeteer |
| 1989 | The Ghost of Faffner Hall | Riff, synthesiser fly | |
| 1993 | The Great Bong | Producer, director, puppeteer, puppet builder | |
| 1994 | The Secret Life of Toys | Various, Rabbit Lamp | |
| Jim Henson's Animal Show | Chuck The Lion | 4 episodes | |
| 1995 | Heroes of Comedy | Designer, builder, performer of Max Miller puppet | Series 1, Episode 3 |
| 1995-97 | The Slow Norris | Puppeteer, Puppet Builder | |
| 2005 | The Muppets' Wizard of Oz | Muppet Performer | |
| 2013 | Shake It Up | Parrot | Episode: "Ty It Up" |
| Good Luck Charlie | Additional Muppet Performer | Episode: "Duncan Dream House" | |
| Glee | Puppeteer | Episode: "Puppet Master" | |
| 2015-16 | The Muppets | Additional Muppet Performer | |
| 2015-2017 | Mighty Magiswords | Agnes Packard | Episode: "Pachydermus Packard and the Camp of Fantasy" |
| 2018–present | Kidding | Secret Chef, Wedding Groomsman and Puppeteer | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | Muppets Now | Additional Muppet Performer | 6 episodes |
| 2020 | The George Lucas Talk Show | Himself | May the AR Be LI$$ You (Arli$$ Marathon fundraiser) |
Event
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | TEDx Talk | Assistant puppeteer to Kermit the Frog | |
| 2016 | Outside Lands Music Festival Golden Gate Park, San Francisco | Muppet Performer for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem | August 7 |
| 2017 | The Muppets Take the Bowl | Additional Muppet Performer | Live show at the Hollywood Bowl, September 8–10 |
| 2018 | The Muppets Take the O2 | Additional Muppet Performer and voices | Live show at the O2 Arena London, July |
| 2019 and continuing | Disney Theme Park Ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance | Nien Nunb | Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disneyland |
Crew
[edit]- Dreamchild - Puppeteer
- Jurassic Park III - Animator
- Little Shop of Horrors - Puppeteer
- Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones - Animator
- Toy Story 2 - Animator
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit - Puppeteer (UK)
References
[edit]- ^ Ward, Jason (25 October 2015). "Star Wars Legend Mike Quinn returns as Nien Nunb in Star Wars: The Force Awakens!". Making Star Wars. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
- ^ a b Orange, B. Alan (5 February 2016). "Nien Nunb Will Return in 'Star Wars 8'". MovieWeb. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
