Noel MacNeal (born September 15, 1961), sometimes credited as Edward Noel MacNeal, is an American puppeteer, actor, director, and writer best known as the performer of Bear on Bear in the Big Blue House. He also starred as Kako on Oobi, Leon MacNeal on The Puzzle Place and as Magellan on Eureeka's Castle. Since 2014, MacNeal has served as resident puppeteer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, portraying puppet characters such as Mr. Nutterbutter.

Career

MacNeal began his career in puppetry in 1982 as a puppet wrangler on Sesame Street. In 1983, he succeeded John Lovelady as the performer of Knock-Knock the Woodpecker on The Great Space Coaster. In 1997, MacNeal gained widespread recognition for his role as Bear in the Disney Channel preschool series Bear in the Big Blue House. In 2003, he received a Daytime Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series. In addition to puppeteering, MacNeal has written for a variety of children's programs including Eureeka's Castle, and The Puzzle Place. MacNeal has also directed several programs, including episodes of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss and Between the Lions. In 2023, he directed an episode for season 53 of Sesame Street. Since 2014, MacNeal has served as resident puppeteer and performed various characters on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Personal life

On November 6, 1999, he married author Susan Elia at Manhattan's Union Theological Seminary. In 2005, their son Matthew was born.

Filmography

Film

Television