Allan Trautman (born May 25, 1955) is an American puppeteer, actor, educator, and director. He is best known for his work with The Jim Henson Company.
On Married... with Children, he played the Barbiephile that Al Bundy and Jefferson D'Arcy meet while at an auction in the Season 9 episode, "Sleepless in Chicago".
Puppeteering Career[]
He had his first job as a puppeteer during college working on The Letter People during the 1970s. Trautman spent two summers performing at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. He stayed in Los Angeles after graduation and performed with Sid and Marty Krofft.
Trautman began working with the Muppets in 1990 on Muppet*Vision 3D, still showing in the Disney theme parks. He has been working with Jim Henson's Creature Shop since 1991 on animatronic projects as well as The Henson Digital Performance Studio. He is a cast member of Henson Alternative's puppet improv show, Puppet Up! (a.k.a. Stuffed and Unstrung), touring to such places as Melbourne and Sydney, Australia.
Some of the shows and movies that he has worked on as a puppeteer include Dinosaurs, A Very Retail Christmas (which featured Ed O'Neill), Return of the Living Dead, Muppets from Space, The Happytime Murders, and Earth to Ned.
From 1995 to 1999, he served as the puppeteer for Mr. Floppy on the WB sitcom, Unhappily Ever After, which was created by MWC co-creator, Ron Leavitt.
Acting Career[]
Besides working as a puppeteer, he has also acted on screen in various shows and movies. Some of his roles include a convention lawyer in Intolerable Cruelty, Vice Principal Jordan in Grey Matter, Mr. Poplin in Joan of Arcadia, Professor Gollin in Grounded for Life and a ventriloquist/airplane passenger in LA to Vegas.
On Unhappily Ever After, besides serving as the puppeteer for Mr. Floppy, he also played various roles such as a paramedic, director and teacher.
Teaching Career[]
Since 2007, he has been teaching theater at College of the Canyons in Valencia, California.