Don Austen
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Don Austen is a British puppeteer who joined the Jim Henson Creature Shop in 1986 for the movie Labyrinth.
He was a valuable puppeteer for other blockbuster movies including Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), The Little Shop of Horrors (1986), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), The Bear (L'ours) (1988), The Witches (1990), and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999).
Austen's British TV debut was on the irreverent cult ITV puppet show Spitting Image. (1987-90)
He would enjoy two Muppet movies: The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) performing inside both the Ghost of Christmas Present (dancing with Michael Caine) and The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Also briefly on The Muppet Treasure Island (1996) as Pirate Crew & Cannibals.
Austen voiced and puppeteered Sky One's DJ Kat for more than 2000 award-winning DJ Kat Shows (1989-95) and 200 Breakfast Shows as Earl E Bird on Channel 4's Early Bird (1991) EB's skiing and ballooning in Colorado a spectacular series finale.
Austen voiced/puppeteered feline gang leader Danny Mogg (1991) in comedy drama series The Wild Bunch. This TF1/Channel 4 co-production, recorded at AB Studios Paris, was a vehicle for french TV star Dorothee.
During the weekly LIVE ITV Saturday morning show What's Up Doc? (1992-94) Austen teamed up with John Eccleston to write and puppeteer a run of British TV favourites. Firstly, The Wolves, a.k.a. Bro & Bro, who within weeks earned their own spin-off comedy drama Wolf It! (1993-96) Five series.
Austen and Eccleston join BBC1's Saturday morning 3hr flagship Live & Kicking (1995-2000) and cantankerous Leprechauns Sage & Onion - built by Darryl Worbey Studios - hit the small screen. That other Irish phenomenon, Riverdance, packs houses in London's Theatreland.
As Mr. Sage, sporting a rather dodgy hairpiece, Austen writes and puppeteers comedy sketches year round for five years. Outliving three sets of in vision presenters he becomes the longest surviving 'presenter' (Eccleston taking time out to perform Rygel in the sci-fi series Farscape)
To cover Eccleston's brief sojourn an overbearing long lost sister joins the cast. 'Shamrock' was puppeteered by Rebecca Nagan. This series, hosted by Zoe Ball and Jamie Theakston, received a BAFTA in 1999. The Leps, as they were affectionately known, guest-starred on a wide range of British TV shows including; The French & Saunders Christmas Special; The Making Of Titanic (1998), Jim Davidson's Generation Game (1998), The National Lottery (1998), and GMTV for St. Patrick's Day Celebrations (1998 & 99)
During 1999, Austen was hand-picked by master puppeteer Frank Oz to help him portray Yoda in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. For this complex puppet, Oz would need three helpers, including Austen, David Greenaway and Kathy Smee.
Next a return to the Henson fold and all 250 episodes of BAFTA winning TV series The Hoobs (2000-02) Here he voiced and puppeteered the excitable, vulnerable purple Hoob, Iver. The series being the largest ever pre-school commission by a UK independent. Gemini Award nominations for three consecutive years, "Best Performance In A Pre-School Series."
Austen's penchant for LIVE TV is seen again year round on the Saturday morning ITV series, Ministry Of Mayhem (2005) voicing and puppeteering Scratch - one half of riotous duo The Hyenas. Scratch & Sniff were a third Austen-Eccleston collaboration.
MOM changes format and is renamed Holly & Stephen's Saturday Showdown (2006) retaining presenters Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern from the previous outing. Scratch features large in the slimmed down line up. Austen was also called upon to write and voice the game commentary to ‘Supermarket Sneak’ and, further to his portrayal of Ozzy Osborne on MOM, performs in vision as Igor - the larger than life dancing Russian Cossack!
Austen has notched up 6 series as voice and puppeteer on the BBC's Basil Brush Show (2002-2007) playing evil Cousin Mortimer and naughty nephews Bingo and Bungo. The show was shortlisted for a BAFTA in 2006. Basil & Bingo performed at Buckingham Palace for the Children's Party At The Palace (2006)
Austen puppeteers ‘Wooly The Sheep’ in the Woolworths TV/radio commercials (2003-08) with Eccleston as side kick ‘Worth The Dog.’ The ad campaigns shot in London and Prague.
The Hyenas record 15 gameshows for Granada Kids – CITV (2006) Scratch 'n' Sniff's Den Of Doom.
Austen and Eccleston work on pilot for MTV. (2006)
The Leprechauns return for the 2007 Christmas puppet special of The Weakest Link.
Jan 2008 Don & John invited to join the newly comissioned FUR TV team for MTV performing the outrageous puppet characters FAT ED & MERVIN respectively.
April 2008 Jackie Chan joins Don & John in their latest Woolworths TV commercial. Puppets Wooly & Worth are seen taunting the iconic martial artist during a visit to their flat.
