Tim Lagasse
American puppeteer

Tim Lagasse

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American puppeteer
Gender:
Male
Work field:
Birth:
(Milford)
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Biography

Introduction

Timothy "Tim" Lagasse (born February 20, 1969) is an American puppeteer, puppet designer, and filmmaker. He has worked on television programs and films for Sesame Workshop, Nickelodeon, Disney XD, and HBO.
Lagasse has been nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards. In 1991, he became the first individual to receive the Jim Henson Memorial Prize in Puppetry. In 1993, he was presented with a Citation for Excellence by UNIMA. Later in the same year, he received a Broadcast Design Silver Award for his series of short films, A Show of Hands.

Biography

Lagasse hails from Milford, Connecticut. He attended St. Mary's School and Notre Dame High School in West Haven. He graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1992 with a BFA in Puppet Arts.

One of Lagasse's earliest roles was as Mr. Cook on the Nickelodeon series Allegra's Window. He is also known for playing the title character on Noggin's Oobi series and Crash on Disney XD's Crash & Bernstein. He has performed additional characters on Sesame Street, The Muppets and the 2008 film A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa. In addition to his performance credits, he has build puppets for The Jim Henson Company and Puppet Heap.

Lagasse also teaches the art of puppetry, lecturing at the Lincoln Center Foundation and instructing students on modern puppetry techniques at the University of Connecticut's Puppet Arts Program. In 2011, he offered workshops on building puppets at the University of Central Arkansas as part of Heather Henson's Handmade Puppet Dreams Film Festival. In 2012, he traveled to Haiti with No Strings Productions as a puppet workshop trainer.

Filmography

Year Title Credit(s) Role(s) Ref.
1994–1996 Allegra's Window Principal puppeteer Mr. Cook
Tweeter
1995–1998 Nick in the Afternoon
  • Principal puppeteer
  • Puppet designer
  • Puppet coordinator
Additional puppets
1995 Weinerville Guest puppeteer Coach Loogi
1996–1998 The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss Ensemble puppeteer Fox in Socks
Junior Kangaroo
Little Cat P
1997–2006 Bear in the Big Blue House Ensemble puppeteer Jet Setter Tutter
1998–2000 A Little Curious
  • Principal puppeteer
  • Puppet coordinator
  • Puppet builder
2000– Sesame Street Ensemble puppeteer Additional puppets
2000–2010 Between the Lions
  • Principal puppeteer
  • Puppet designer
  • Director
Arty Smartypants
Barnaby B. Busterfield III
2000–2005 Oobi
  • Principal puppeteer
  • Puppet coordinator
  • Director (shorts)
Oobi
Taro
2001–2003 The Book of Pooh Ensemble puppeteer Additional puppets
2003–2006 Chappelle's Show Puppet coordinator
2003–2006 The Paz Show
  • Principal puppeteer
  • Puppet coordinator
Paz
2003–2006 Blue's Clues Puppet designer (Blue's Room segments)
2004–2007 Blue's Room Puppet designer
2005–2009 Johnny and the Sprites
  • Principal puppeteer
  • Director (one episode)
Basil
2006–2010 It's a Big Big World
  • Principal puppeteer
  • Director (seven episodes)
Wartz the Frog
Ick the Catfish
2007 Imagination Movers Puppet designer
2008 A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa Ensemble puppeteer Additional puppets
2010 The Electric Company Director (ten episodes)
2012–2014 Crash & Bernstein Principal puppeteer Crash
2015–2016 The Muppets Ensemble puppeteer Additional puppets

Awards and nominations

Year Presenter Category/Award Work Status Ref.
1991 University of Connecticut Jim Henson Memorial Prize in Puppetry N/A Won
1993 Union Internationale de la Marionette Citation for Excellence A Show of Hands Won
Broadcast Design International Broadcast Design Silver Award Won
2003 30th Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Single Camera Editing Between the Lions Nominated
2004 31st Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design/Styling Nominated
Outstanding Achievement in Single Camera Editing Nominated
2005 American Theatre Wing Henry Hewes Design Award Uncle Jimmy's Dirty Basement Nominated