Ryan Dillon Explained

Birth Date:May 25, 1988
Birth Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation:Puppeteer
Employer:The Jim Henson Company
Known For:The voice of Elmo
Years Active:2005–present

Ryan Dillon (born May 25, 1988) is an American puppeteer who has worked as an ensemble muppeteer for the Jim Henson Company since 2005.[1] He also played Cooper and Paul Ball for the interactive series Sesame Street TV for Xbox Kinect, and appeared on all four seasons of the new CBeebies and co-productions of Sesame Street, The Furchester Hotel, and The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo as Elmo.[2] In March 2017, Dillon was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in Children's Programming.[3] [4]

Background and career

Dillon was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As a young puppeteer, Dillon came to the attention of Sesame Street producers when he went to an audition as a high school student. He took time off from school during his senior year to participate in the shooting for season 37 in 2005. In 2013, he succeeded Kevin Clash as the performer for Elmo in new productions and appearances following his resignation from Sesame Street in November 2012. He also replaced the late Richard Hunt as Don Music in Sesame Streets 50th Anniversary tribute.

Dillon has taught classes in television puppetry at Pennsylvania State University, and various schools and centres in the United States.[5] In addition to playing Elmo, Dillon has appeared on Kraft MilkBite commercials, "Healthy Teeth, Healthy Me," "Little Children, Big Challenges," "Little Discoverers: Big Fun With Science, Math and More," Julie's Greenroom, The Muppets Take the Bowl, The Muppets Take the O2, the Nickelodeon webseries "Ask Sylvia" as the title character, and John Tartaglia's ImaginOcean (2010).

Filmography

!Years!Title!Role!Notes
2013–presentSesame StreetElmo
2014–2017The Furchester HotelElmo, Guinea Pig (ep. 12), Mail Bird (ep. 68), Christmas Elf on Phone (ep. 68), Mr. Peckwood (ep. 74), Cat Bride (ep. 96)
2016The Toycracker: A Mini-Musical SpectacularElmoTV short; uncredited
2020Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary CelebrationDon Music, Elmo, Lefty the Salesman, Roosevelt Franklin (puppetry only)
2020–2021The Not-Too-Late Show with ElmoElmo
2022–presentMecha BuildersMecha Elmo

Notes and References

  1. News: Ng . Gwendolyn . 5 October 2017 . Meet Ryan Dillon, the new man behind Sesame Street puppet Elmo . Star2.com . 8 April 2018.
  2. Web site: Ryan Dillon . April 8, 2018 . Puppeteer Bios . Sesame Street.
  3. Web site: May 7, 2016 . Ryan and Elmo Red Carpet Interview . April 8, 2018 . DailyMotion.
  4. Nordyke . Kimberly . March 22, 2017 . Daytime Emmy Nominations: 'Young and the Restless' Tops List; THR Scores Nom . The Hollywood Reporter . April 8, 2018.
  5. Web site: Ryan Dillon Resume . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100423113705/http://www.dillypuppets.com/resume.html . 23 April 2010 . April 8, 2018 . DillyPuppets.com.
  6. Children's & Family Emmy Awards: Disney Dominates Nominations. November 2, 2023. November 7, 2023 . The Hollywood Reporter. Tyler. Coates.