On Episode 216 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Nigel Plaskitt! Nigel is a British puppeteer and actor who is best known for his many contributions to The Muppets and The Jim Henson Company. He puppeteered on the special The Tale of the Bunny Picnic and a number of films, including Labyrinth, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island and Muppets Most Wanted! In television, he performed Mew in The Secret Life of Toys and a wide variety of characters in Mopatop's Shop and Bunn...
May 22, 2024•1 hr 35 min
On Episode 215 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Forrest Harding! Many will know Forrest for his work on the Sprout network as one of the puppeteers and the voice of the character Chica in the morning block The Sunny Side Up Show and its spin-off The Chica Show! Also on Sprout, he performed Reginald, Sharon and Otis on The Sprout Sharing Show and lent his voice to characters such as Cap'n Tony on Noodle & Doodle and Hatty the Hamster on the first season of Ruff-Ruff, Tweet & D...
May 18, 2024•1 hr 45 min
On Episode 214 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Billy Aronson! Early on in Billy's career, he wrote several episodes of the MTV series Beavis and Butt-Head and the Comedy Central series Short Attention Span Theater. He then transitioned into writing for children's series and is best-known for co-creating the PBS Kids series Peg + Cat! He also wrote a number of episodes for Courage the Cowardly Dog, Out of the Box, Johnny and the Sprites, Postcards from Buster, various Sesame Workshop...
May 15, 2024•54 min
On Episode 213 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Kurt Heinecke! For many years, Kurt was the music director at Big Idea Entertainment and was one of the most frequent songwriters for the long-running VeggieTales franchise. Some songs he contributed to include writing the music and playing the tuba on the VeggieTales Theme Song, as well as co-writing hit songs like The Hairbrush Song, His Cheeseburger and countless others! Kurt also composed for 3-2-1 Penguins!, the CBN series Superboo...
May 11, 2024•1 hr 32 min
On Episode 212 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Michael Oosterom! Michael is a puppeteer and actor whose work as an on-camera actor includes acting on the Nickelodeon series The Amanda Show and in several episodes of the ABC series Help Me Help You. Since 2010, he has puppeteered on various films, TV series and commercials with The Muppets as an additional Muppet performer and performed Cornelius on the Disney+ series Earth to Ned! Michael's other puppetry career consists of projects...
May 08, 2024•1 hr 15 min
On Episode 211 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Belinda Ward! Belinda is a television writer who wrote for Sesame Street from 1986 to 2021! She wrote dozens of episodes and songs for the show, as well as some of the recurring segments like Monsterpiece Theater, Elmo's World and Elmo the Musical! She also wrote inserts and songs for a number of celebrity guests, including John Goodman, Diane Sawyer, Adam Sandler, Macklemore, The New York Jets and many more. Belinda's other work for Se...
May 04, 2024•59 min
On Episode 210 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview director, writer and producer Paul Lally! Paul is best known for directing over 100 episodes of the long-running PBS series Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. He was also a writer for the show and became a close friend of Fred Rogers. Currently, he is an executive producer on the PBS cooking series Ciao Italia. Aside from his work with PBS, Paul also wrote two screenplays for Disney, directed the TV special The Smithsonian Salutes Disney Musi...
May 01, 2024•1 hr 20 min
On Episode 209 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Marc Brown, Tolon Brown and Peter K. Hirsch! Many will know Marc's work best for creating the successful Arthur franchise, including the original books and the long-running PBS TV series that aired from 1996 to 2022! His son Tolon was a producer on the show and Peter was head writer on Arthur and wrote for numerous other children's TV series. Very recently, Marc, Tolon and Peter came together to create the Max series HOP, which follows ...
Apr 27, 2024•55 min
On Episode 208 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview writer Stephen White! Stephen started out writing and co-producing shows for the Chuck E. Cheese franchise, before he became a writer for the Barney franchise. During his time with Barney, Stephen wrote dozens of episodes, home videos, live shows, songs and books! Some of his most notable contributions include writing The Treasure of Rainbow Beard episode, where he played the role of Rainbow Beard, as well as scripting the Barney Live! ...
Apr 24, 2024•1 hr 46 min
On Episode 207 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview actor Kevin Yamada! For several years, Kevin worked for the Sprout TV network, first as the host of The Birthday Show, before moving on to becoming one of the original hosts of the morning block The Sunny Side Up Show from 2007-2009! In addition, he also performed the character Ricky on the afternoon block The Sprout Sharing Show. Aside from Sprout, Kevin acted in the Disney film Old Dogs and had guest spots on a number of TV series inc...
Apr 20, 2024•52 min
On Episode 206 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteers and puppet builders Patrick and Sean Johnson! Patrick and Sean's work is best known through their puppet company Swazzle, where they have built puppets for projects such as the Netflix series Waffles + Mochi, the Showtime series Kidding, the Comedy Central adult puppet series Crank Yankers, The Simpsons Christmas episode "The Fight Before Christmas" and many more. Outside of Swazzle, Patrick and Sean puppeteered on various pr...
Apr 17, 2024•1 hr 10 min
On Episode 205 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteer Alice Dinnean! Alice has performed in many Muppet productions, including puppeteering various characters on Sesame Street, such as Goldilocks, Sherry Netherland, Mama Bear, Phoebe and more. She also performed the characters Julie Woo and Sizzle on The Puzzle Place, Mary on Jack's Big Music Show and various roles on Bunnytown. Some of her roles with The Jim Henson Company include performing Grandma Flutter in the first season o...
Apr 13, 2024•1 hr 3 min
On Episode 204 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview writer and producer Jocelyn Stevenson! Jocelyn is best known for her contributions to a wide variety of projects for The Jim Henson Company. She started off writing books based on various Muppet productions, then worked as one of the co-creators and writers for the original Fraggle Rock series, as well as serving as consulting producer for the Apple TV+ reboot Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. She also wrote several episodes of Sesame Str...
Apr 10, 2024•1 hr 10 min
On Episode 203 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview actor Roscoe Orman! Early on in Roscoe's acting career, he performed with the New York Shakespeare Festival and the New Federal Theater. He made his film debut as the title character Willie in the 1973 blaxploitation film Willie Dynamite and acted in projects like Sanford and Son, Law & Order, The Wire, Last Resort and more. Most people may know Roscoe best for playing the role of the human character Gordon Robinson on Sesame Street...
Apr 06, 2024•44 min
On Episode 202 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteer and voice actor Drew Massey! Drew's earliest work in the puppet world includes working as an additional puppeteer on the Henson series Dinosaurs. He also puppeteered the character Kyle O'Connor in The Puzzle Place and performed the puppetry of the title character Skeeter in Cousin Skeeter. He has also worked on a number of projects with The Jim Henson Company, including performing and voicing Sid on Sid the Science Kid and wor...
Apr 03, 2024•1 hr 12 min
On Episode 201 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteer, actor and writer Jodi Eichelberger! For many years, Jodi acted with The Tapestry Theatre Company, before having a professional career as a puppeteer. His best-known puppeteering role was performing Stingy on the Nick Jr. and Sprout series LazyTown. He was also an additional puppeteer on the Sesame Street film The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland and puppeteered on The Book of Pooh, It's a Big Big World and more!...
Mar 30, 2024•1 hr 35 min
On Episode 200 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteer Eric Jacobson! Eric started out as an intern for The Jim Henson Company, then joining Sesame Street in the '90s and inheriting the roles of Grover, Bert, Oscar the Grouch, Guy Smiley and the left head of the Two-Headed Monster. Since the early '2000s, he has also been a Muppet performer with The Muppets, taking on the roles of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam the Eagle and more. Eric is also best known for puppeteering Har...
Mar 27, 2024•1 hr 23 min
On Episode 199 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview voice actor Chris Phillips! Chris is a voiceover artist who voiced The Professor and Grumper in Felix the Cat: The Movie very early on in his career. He was an announcer for Cartoon Network, before becoming the original voice of Face, the host of the Nick Jr. block! He also voiced Roger Klotz, Boomer and Larry in the Disney version of Doug, Ernest Otter, Munchy Beaver, Cap'n Crane and Walter Raccon in PB&J Otter, Cliff Hanger on Bet...
Mar 23, 2024•51 min
On Episode 198 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteer, voice actor and director Victor Yerrid! Before becoming a puppeteer, Victor first worked as an intern for The Jim Henson Company. As a puppeteer, he worked on series such as Bear in the Big Blue House, Between the Lions and The Book of Pooh. Victor is best known for performing Squacky, Jerry Bear and Hank on Pajanimals, Gerald and Mort on Sid the Science Kid, various roles on Greg the Bunny, Crank Yankers and The Muppets and ...
Mar 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min
On Episode 197 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteer, writer and director Noel MacNeal! Noel's puppetry career started on The Great Space Coaster, inheriting the role of Knock Knock. Since 1982, he has worked on Sesame Street as a puppeteer and now as a director. He is best known for puppeteering the title character Bear on Bear in the Big Blue House, as well as occasionally writing and directing for the show. Some of his other puppetry roles include performing Magellan on Euree...
Mar 16, 2024•1 hr 38 min
On Episode 196 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview Australian voice actor and impressionist Keith Scott! Early on in his professional voiceover career, Keith lent his voice to many radio and TV commercials, both with his original voices and by doing character impressions. He also voiced Flap the Platypus, Splodge the Kangaroo and various others in the Blinky Bill franchise, Bullwinkle J. Moose in the 2000 film The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, the narrator of the George of the Jun...
Mar 13, 2024•1 hr 4 min
On Episode 195 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview puppeteer, puppet designer and director, Tim Lagasse! Tim has performed many styles of puppets for over 3 decades. Some of his most well-known puppeteering roles include performing Mr. Cook and Tweeter on Allegra's Window, Arty Smartypants, Barnaby B. Busterfield III and Gus the Bunny on Between the Lions, Basil on Johnny and the Sprites, Ick and Wartz on It's a Big Big World and the title characters Oobi on Oobi and Crash on Crash &...
Mar 09, 2024•1 hr 32 min
On Episode 194 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, voice actress and singer Debi Derryberry returns for a chat! For 30 years, Debi has lent her voice to countless characters in animation. Just to name a few, she voiced the title character Jimmy Neutron in Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius franchise, Draculaura in the Monster High franchise and Clay, the host of Playhouse Disney. Aside from voiceover, Debi also lends her voice as a children's musical artist and has released albums such as What ...
Mar 06, 2024•45 min
On Episode 193 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, we interview musician and composer, Julian Harris! Julian has composed and written songs for dozens of TV series. His children's work includes working on the Disney series Bear in the Big Blue House, starting off as the lead guitar player, then as lead score composer and occasional songwriter. Some other children's series he composed for include The Book of Pooh, Cyberchase, Sheep in the Big City and various projects for 4Kids Entertainment. Julian ...
Mar 02, 2024•1 hr 17 min
In Episode 192 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, our guest is author, illustrator and artist, Gene Barretta! Gene is best known for writing and illustrating a huge number of children's books, with some of his best-sellers being Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin and Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives. He also illustrated books and style guides for Between the Lions and created several animated inserts for Sesame Street in the late '90s. Currently, he has hi...
Feb 28, 2024•1 hr 21 min
In Episode 191 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, our guest is puppeteer and puppet builder, Amanda Maddock! Early on in Amanda's puppeteering career, she was an additional puppeteer on Bear in the Big Blue House, Between the Lions and The Book of Pooh. She was also one of the puppeteers of Trixie on LazyTown, assisted Owl and puppeteered Kessie on The Book of Pooh, worked as an additional puppeteer on Sesame Street, Bear in the Big Blue House and Between the Lions and worked with Puppet Up! - Unce...
Feb 24, 2024•58 min
In Episode 190 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, our guest is children's TV executive, Lisa O'Brien! For many years, Lisa has worked in the children's TV business. She worked in the on-air promotions department for Disney Channel for several years and took part in developing Playhouse Disney! She also helped to launch Sprout and worked there for many years as a producer and writer for various content, such as The Good Night Show, Sprout's Wiggly Waffle, The Sunny Side Up Show and its spin-off, The...
Feb 21, 2024•1 hr 22 min
In Episode 189 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, our guest is puppeteer, Peter Linz! Since 1991, Peter has worked as a Muppet performer for Sesame Street, starting out as an assistant and background puppeteer, before inheriting the roles of Ernie and Herry Monster and performing Julia's dad Daniel. With The Muppets, he performs the role of Walter and took on the roles of Robin the Frog, Lips, Statler, Link Hogthrob and others. Peter is also best known for puppeteering Tutter and Pip on Bear in the...
Feb 17, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In Episode 188 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, our guest is Canadian actor and puppeteer, Marty Stelnick! Some of Marty's best known roles includes performing Ooh on Playhouse Disney's Ooh & Aah morning block. He also puppeteered on series such as Nanalan, Whoop's Littleburg and Mr. Meaty, created YTV's The Fuzzpaws, voiced Grant and Iggy on What's Your News? and many more!
Feb 14, 2024•1 hr 9 min
In Episode 187 of Jake's Happy Nostalgia Show, our guest is actor, TV presenter and online radio DJ, Rick Adams! Rick is best known for hosting the internet station Radio KOL from 2003 to 2007. Rick also hosted the CBS series Dance Revolution and the National Geographic series Animals Say the Wildest Things and Amazing Animals, co-hosted Nickelodeon's Slime Time Live, voiced the character Tako Maki in Sushi Pack and more!
Feb 10, 2024•1 hr 37 min
