Al's Television Debut

I built Al the Alien at the Jim Henson Creature Shop last spring with the help of Jane Gootnick, Eric Engelhardt and B.J. Guyer. Al was based on a character design by puppeteer Julianne Buescher and took about two weeks to build. He made his television debut Monday, Nov. 20 on The Jim Henson Company's Puppet Up! – Uncensored on TBS. He was performed by Brian Henson.

Al the Alien’s head was carved out of a block of super-soft foam. The basic shape was created with a large band saw. I refined the edges with a sharp, bendable razor blade called a Persona.