Eric Jacobson (born January 15, 1971) is an American puppeteer. He is best known for his involvement with the Muppets, performing Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle, as well as Sesame Street characters Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch, Guy Smiley and the left head of the Two-Headed Monster.
Early life
Eric Jacobson was born on January 15, 1971, in Fort Worth, Texas. In 1992, while attending New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, he interned at the Jim Henson Company, working in the archival library. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree the following year.
Career
Jacobson began his career as a supporting puppeteer on Sesame Street in 1994, occasionally performing the roles of Grover and Bert when Frank Oz wasn't available. Following Oz's retirement from the program, Jacobson became the characters' primary performer. Since 2005, he has performed Guy Smiley, a role previously performed by Henson. Following Caroll Spinney's retirement in 2018, he became the full-time performer of Oscar the Grouch.
Jacobson began performing Miss Piggy in 2001, debuting at the MuppetFest fan convention. The following year, he began performing Fozzie Bear and Animal, debuting in the roles in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. In 2005, he began performing Sam Eagle beginning with The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. The aforementioned characters were also previously performed by Oz, whom he consulted with to accurately maintain characterization and physicality for the characters. In 2007, he served as both a puppeteer and writer on Playhouse Disney's Bunnytown.
Personal life
Jacobson is married to Mary Jacobson. The two met during her time as a production assistant on Sesame Street.
|-
|Muppets Now
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Animal
|Performer; Disney+ series
|-
|The Power of We: A Sesame Street Special
|Oscar the Grouch
|Performer; Television special
|-
|2021
|Muppets Haunted Mansion
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Animal
|Performer; Disney+ special
|-
|2022
|The Masked Singer
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal
|Performer; Episode: "Muppets Night"
|-
|2023
|The Muppets Mayhem
|Animal
|Performer; Disney+ series
|-
|2026
|The Muppet Show
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle, Animal, The Newsman (uncredited)
|Performer; Television special
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable"
!Year(s)
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|2001
|Sesame Street Sports
|Grover
| rowspan="8" |Voice role
|-
|2002
|Sesame Street Preschool
|Bert
|-
|2003
|Muppets Party Cruise
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear
|-
|2006
|Bert and Ernie's Imagination Adventure
|Bert
|-
| rowspan="2" |2011
|Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster
| rowspan="2" |Grover
|-
|Sesame Street: Ready, Set, Grover!
|-
|2012
|Kinect Sesame Street TV
|Bert, Grover, Guy Smiley
|-
|2023
|Disney Speedstorm
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear
|}
Other appearances
{| class="wikitable"
! Year(s)
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
|2003
|Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic
|Grover, Bert
|Performer, theme park film
|-
|2008–09
|Muppet YouTube Shorts
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle
|Performer
|-
| rowspan="2" |2010
|The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear
|Performer, web series
|-
|Disney's Honorary VoluntEars Cavalcade
|Miss Piggy
|Voice, theme park parade
|-
|2013–14
|Muppisodes
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear
|Performer, web shorts
|-
|2014
|Nerdy Nummies
|Miss Piggy
|Performer, Episode: "Muppet Cookies!"
|-
|2016–19
|The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History
|Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam Eagle
|Voice, theme park show
|-
|2017
|The Muppets Take the Bowl
| rowspan="2" |Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, Sam Eagle, Newsman
|Performer, live show at the Hollywood Bowl, Sept. 8–10'
|-
|2018
|The Muppets Take the O2
|Performer, live show at the O2, Jul. 13–14'
|-
|2019
|Muppet Babies Play Date
|Miss Piggy (baby), Fozzie Bear (baby), Animal (baby)
|Performer (puppetry only), web shorts
|-
|2021
|The Muppets' Christmas Caroling Coach
|Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam Eagle
|Voice, theme park show
|-
|2026
|Life in Looks
|Miss Piggy
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Work
! Result
! Refs
|-
|2011
|Daytime Emmy Awards
|Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series
|Sesame Street
|
|
|-
|2019
|Primetime Emmy Awards
|Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
|When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special
|
|
|-
|2021
|Daytime Emmy Awards
|Outstanding Performer in a Preschool Animated Program
|The Monster at the End of This Story
|
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |2023
| rowspan="2" |Children's and Family Emmy Awards
| rowspan="2" |Outstanding Puppeteer Performance
| The Muppets Mayhem
|
| rowspan="2" |
|-
| Sesame Street
|
|}