Joseph Mazzarino (/mæzəˈriːnoʊ/; born June 4, 1968) is an Americanpuppeteer, actor, director and writer. He is best known for his roles onSesame Street as Murray Monster, Stinky the Stinkweed and other Muppets,[1] and being Head Writer and Director onSesame Street, winning 22 Emmy Awards for his work.
When Mazzarino auditioned forSesame Street, he wrote a sketch called "Colambo" and soon found himself cast in the title role. Afterwards, he became a prominent member of theSesame Street cast, performing Horatio the Elephant, Ingrid,Murray Monster, Papa Bear, Stinky the Stinkweed, and various characters until 2015, when he resigned after completing work on season 46, following changes to the show's format.
Mazzarino spent the next few years as a writer/producer on theShowtime original seriesKidding starringJim Carrey. He directed all 13 episodes of theNetflix seriesJulie's Greenroom starringJulie Andrews, where he also served as a writer. Mazzarino spent over 20 years on Sesame Street in multiple roles: Head Writer, Director, Lyricist and Muppet performer. He received 25Emmy Awards for his work in multiple categories (Outstanding Original Song, Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series).
Mazzarino is currently a writer for thePBS puppet seriesDonkey Hodie and was also a writer for the animated seriesNature Cat.
Mazzarino is married to actressKerry Butler.[3] They have two adopted daughters, one named Segi for whom he wrote the Sesame Street song "I Love My Hair". The Muppet who sang the song was also namedSegi.[4]
Elmo's World – Big Foot, Brown Bunny (in "Elmo Has Two! Hands, Ears & Feet"), The Cheese, Papa Bear, Ingrid, Stinky the Stinkweed, Old McDonald, The Two Headed Monster (left-head)
