LGBTQ+ artists have always been part of puppetry. To honor a few of our favorite queer puppet artists, the Center for Puppetry Arts created these Puppet Pride trading cards to share with our community during the Atlanta Pride Parade.
RICHARD HUNT
After graduating high school, Richard Hunt went to a phone booth, cold-called Henson Associates, and asked them if they were hiring puppeteers. As it happens, Jim Henson was auditioning puppeteers that day! Hunt was hired full-time by Sesame Street in 1972. On The Muppet Show, Hunt puppeteered the iconic characters of Beaker, Statler, Janice, Sweetums, and Scooter.
JOHN TARTAGLIA
John Tartaglia originated the roles of Princeton and Rod in the Tony Award-winning musical Avenue Q. In 2016, he created the PBS Kids series Jim Henson’s Splash and Bubbles. At the age of 16, Tartaglia became a part-time puppeteer on Sesame Street, making him one of the youngest performers in the show’s history. In 2026, Tartaglia was promoted to Vice President of Development and Production at the Jim Henson Company.
ADRIAN KOHLER & BASIL JONES
In 1971, Adrian Kohler and Basil Jones met and fell in love at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town, South Africa. Later, they would become founding members of the Handspring Puppet Company. The couple achieved critical acclaim for their life-sized puppets created for the play War Horse.
ZENÉN CALERO MEDINA
Medina’s career began in 1979 in Matanzas, Cuba as a scenic designer for the Papalote Theater. In 1994, he founded Teatro de Las Estaciones (Theater of the Seasons) alongside his partner in life and on stage, Rubén Darío Salazar. Both were given Cuba's National Theater Award in 2020.
ALI J. EISNER
Ali J. Eisner performs Turbo Doozer, among others, on Apple TV’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. In a Pride Profile for Tough Pigs, a Muppet fan site, Eisner said, “Being a puppeteer, I don’t have to be judged for the way I look. As a trans/non-binary person, that can relieve a whole lot of struggle.”
BOBBY BOX
Bobby Box was a puppeteer, director, and associate producer for the Center for Puppetry Arts for over 20 years. Bobby's puppetry career began with Atlanta's Piccadilly Puppets Company before he joined the Center in 1988. His acclaimed Anne Frank: Within & Without received a Jim Henson Foundation grant and a preview in the New York Times.
JAMES ORTIZ
James Ortiz is a puppet designer, performer, playwright, and director. His play The Woodsman received three off-Broadway productions and earned James an Obie Award for puppet design. In 2022, James designed the puppets, including Milky White, for the Broadway revival of Into the Woods. James was the lead puppeteer and voice of Rocky in 2026's hit film, Project Hail Mary.
WAYLAND FLOWERS
Wayland Flowers was best known for his comedy act with his puppet Madame. Flowers was featured on The Andy Williams Show, Hollywood Squares, Laugh-In, Solid Gold, as well as Madame’s own featured specials. Born in Dawson, GA in 1939, Flowers first worked as a puppeteer for Bil Baird’s marionettes show at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.
KERMIT LOVE
Puppet designer and builder Kermit Love first collaborated with Jim Henson on the fiery Delbert the La Choy Dragon. Love also designed Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus! Love's partner of fifty years, ballet dancer and choreographer Christopher Lyall, assisted Love on various Muppet projects.
