Age: 55
male
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Matthew J Vogel II (born October 6, 1970) has been a Muppet performer for the Jim Henson Company since the 1990s. On Sesame Street, Vogel served as the assistant puppeteer for Ernie, performing either one or both hands while Steve Whitmire performed the head and vocal. Eventually, Vogel's ability to mimic the sound and performance of Caroll Spinney's Big Bird was put to use. As of 2006, Vogel's primary performances as Big Bird are the "Journey to Ernie" segments. He's also taken over Jerry Nelson's characters, by the recommendation of Nelson himself. Vogel is, as of 2008, the voice of Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Robin the Frog, & Camilla the Chicken. He has also taken over the puppetry of Jerry's most famous character, Count von Count, but Jerry is still providing the voice. Vogel performed the muppets that were used in Kenneth the Page's view of the world in the 30 Rock episode, "Apollo, Apollo." Description above from the Wikipedia article Matt Vogel (puppeteer), licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Ernie and Bert are the hosts of a two-hour variety show (directed by Prairie Dawn with assistant Trevor Monster, who debuts in this show) featuring their Sesame Street friends, and presenting new performances of classic Sesame Street songs and sketches, as well as covers of musical classics such as "Send in the Clowns", "Clap for the Wolfman", and "Copacabana". Unlike other Sesame Street live shows, these shows utilized the official puppets used on the show itself rather than walk-around costume versions. The puppeteers, clad all in black, are exposed to the audience, while two large screens loom over both sides of the stage, both of which frame only the Muppet characters (however, the performers reveal themselves during the curtain call). Unusual for a live show, the Muppet performers both spoke and sang live, making the experience slightly different for each show. In addition, celebrities make cameos throughout the show (who vary from show to show), including Neil Patrick Harris, Jim Carrey, Jack Black, Seth Rogen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Whoopi Goldberg, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert, Tom Bergeron, Bobby Moynihan, Jimmy Kimmel, James Corden, Michael Buble, Howie Mandel, Randy Rainbow, Steve Harvey, Celine Dion, Sia, Lloyd Ahlquist and Peter Shukoff, Ryan Reynolds (reprising his role as Deadpool), ALF (performed by Paul Fusco), and Mark Hamill as the voice of the Joker.
