Bill Barretta


William Paul Barretta is an American puppeteer, actor, producer and director, who is best known for providing the puppetry and voice of characters like Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo the Bear. He also inherited the roles of Rowlf the Dog, Swedish Chef, Mahna Mahna, and Dr. Teeth after the death of Muppet creator Jim Henson.

Early life

Barretta is the younger brother of the children's book author and illustrator Gene Barretta. He is a native of Yardley, Pennsylvania.
Barretta attended St. Mary's Hall-Doane Academy in Burlington, New Jersey, eventually becoming a carpenter. He met Brian Henson while they were working at Sesame Place.

Career

Barretta has been performing with The Muppets since 1991, when he puppeteered the body of Sinclair family patriarch, Earl Sinclair on Dinosaurs. He later developed several new characters on Muppets Tonight, including Pepe the King Prawn, Johnny Fiama, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo the Bear.
Barretta has taken over several of Jim Henson's roles, such as Dr. Teeth, Rowlf the Dog, Mahna Mahna, and Swedish Chef, and briefly took over Jerry Nelson's role of Lew Zealand. His film debut as a principal puppeteer was in 1996's Muppet Treasure Island as Clueless Morgan.
Barretta has produced two of the Muppets' television films, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. Barretta also provided additional voices on Kim Possible. He performed in Muppets Most Wanted, where he also served as a co-producer. Barretta also served as an executive producer on the ABC series, The Muppets.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Internet

Events