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William Barretta is an American puppeteer, producer, writer, director, and actor, best known for his involvement with the Muppets. Barretta performs the Muppet characters Pepe the King Prawn, Bobo the Bear and Johnny Fiama, he also inherited the roles of Rowlf the Dog, Swedish Chef, and Dr. Teeth after Jim Henson’s death in 1990. He originated the role of Louie, Elmo's dad, on Sesame Street.
Barretta has taken over several of Jim Henson's roles, such as Dr. Teeth, Rowlf the Dog, and Swedish Chef. His Muppet film debut was in the 1996 Muppet Treasure Island as Clueless Morgan. He had several roles in Muppets from Space (1999) and served as Muppet captain on The Muppets and Muppets Most Wanted. He played the main puppet character Phil Phillips in The Happytime Murders (2018), which won a Houston Film Critics Society best worst film award.
For Sesame Street, Bill Barretta originated the role of Elmo's dad, Louie, in 2006. At first, Louie only appeared in a few direct-to-video specials, becoming a regular character later on. Barretta based Louie's voice on Louis Prima's. In 2010, Tyler Bunch took over the role after consulting with Barretta. In an interview, Barretta explained that he had to fly to New York for every appearance on Sesame Street, so once Louie started to appear more often, it was much more practical for a New York-based puppeteer to take over the role.
Barretta has served as a producer on various Muppet projects, including It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005). In 2014, he served as a co-producer on Muppets Most Wanted. He also served as an executive producer on the ABC series, The Muppets. For Disney+, Barretta produced Muppets Haunted Mansion and co-created The Muppets Mayhem, which won a Children's and Family Emmy Award in 2023.
| 1991–1994 | Dinosaurs | Earl Sinclair (in-suit performer), Nick (in-suit performer), Rabid Caveman, various characters | Performer |
| 1994 | Jim Henson's Animal Show | Armstrong the Chicken Hawk, Vernon the Grizzly, Baby Bear, Dullard the Aardvark, Jared the Tiger, Lazlo the Hyena, Randall the Zebra, Timothy the Owl, Vernon the Grizzly | 7 episodes; Puppeteer/voice |
| 1996–1998 | Muppets Tonight | Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Pepe the Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, Big Mean Carl, Clueless Morgan, Howard Tubman, David Hoggselhoff, Zippity Zap, Snookie Blyer, Ernst Stavros Gropuer, additional characters | Puppeteer/voice |
| 1996 | The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss | Uncle Berklummer | 1 episode; Puppeteer/voice |
| 2001 | Thunderdell | TV-mini series; live-action role, 2 episodes Also writer | |
| 2002–2007 | Kim Possible | Jackie the Jackal, Jilly from Jersey, Motor Ed's 'Main Bro' | Voice role |
| 2006 | Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King | Savage Commando | TV mini-series; Live-action role |
| 2006–2010 | Sesame Street | Louie (Elmo's dad) | Puppeteer/voice in Episode 4160 and direct-to-video specials |
| 2007 | Tinseltown | Bobby | TV series short; Puppeteer/voice Also director |
| 2011 | Saturday Night Live | Rowlf the Dog | 1 episode; Puppeteer/voice |
| 2012 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Dr. Teeth | 1 episode; Puppeteer/voice |
| 2014 | Piper's Picks TV | Swedish Chef | 1 episode; Puppeteer/voice |
| 2015–2016 | The Muppets | Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Pepe the King Prawn, Swedish Chef, Bobo the Bear, Big Mean Carl, Mahna Mahna, Howard Tubman, additional characters | Puppeteer/voice Also director; 1 episode |
| 2015 | Muppet Moments | Rowlf the Dog, Bobo the Bear, Pepe the King Prawn | TV series short; Puppeteer/voice Also director |
| 2017–2020 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Lonny DuFrane/Mr. Frumpus | 3 episodes; Actor/Puppeteer |
| 2018 | Muppet Babies | Dr. Teeth | 1 episode; Puppeteer/voice |
| 2019 | Drop the Mic | Pepe the King Prawn | 2 episodes; Puppeteer/voice |
| 2020 | Muppets Now | Pepe the King Prawn, The Swedish Chef, Howard Tubman, Big Mean Carl, Dr. Teeth, Bobo the Bear, Bubba the Rat | Also director and executive producer |
| 2021 | Muppets Haunted Mansion | Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, Dr. Teeth, Johnny Fiama, Howard Tubman, Bobo the Bear, Big Mean Carl, Andy Pig, Bubba the Rat, Beautiful Day Monster, Clean Gene the Behemoth, Party Tomato | Also teleplay and story by, and executive producer |
| 2023 | The Muppets Mayhem | Dr. Teeth | Also co-creator and executive producer |
| 2000 | Muppet Race Mania | Pepe the King Prawn, Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Swedish Chef | Voice role |
| 2000 | Muppet Monster Adventure | Pepe the King Prawn, Swedish Chef | Voice role |
| 2003 | Muppets Party Cruise | Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf the Dog, Bobo the Bear, Johnny Fiama, Swedish Chef | Voice role |
| 2017 | The Muppets Take the Bowl | Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Bobo, Mahna Mahna | Puppeteer/voice, live show at the Hollywood Bowl, Sept. 8–10 |
| 2018 | The Muppets Take the O2 | Pepe the King Prawn, Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, Bobo, Mahna Mahna | Puppeteer/voice, live show at the O2, July 13–14 |
| 2021 | The Muppets Christmas Caroling Coach | Pepe the King Prawn | Voice, theme park show at Disneyland during Disney Merriest Nights |
| 2025 | "World of Color Happiness!" preshow | Rowlf, Dr. Teeth, The Swedish Chef | Performer; theme park show |
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