John Tartaglia is an American puppeteer, actor, singer and dancer, and can be considered one of the most original and flexible performers anywhere in the United States. Tartaglia graduated from Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania in 1996, at which time he had already worked for Sesame Street.

Q: What types of brand work does John Tartaglia do?

Brand Partnerships, Campaign collaborations, endorsements, social media activations, commercials (TV/digital), voiceovers, and media appearances.

Q: What influences pricing for brand deals?

Usage rights, exclusivity, deliverables, campaign length, timelines, and production scope.

Q: What information do you need for a proposal?

Please share your brand, campaign objectives, deliverables, usage period/territory, deadlines, and budget range.

Q: Can John Tartaglia create custom content for our campaign?

Yes — John Tartaglia can deliver bespoke content (videos, posts, appearances, endorsements) aligned to your creative brief.

Q: Does John Tartaglia do voiceovers or on-camera work?

Yes — subject to concept approval and scheduling.

Q: Can John Tartaglia also participate in other types of events or campaigns?

Yes — many of our talent are versatile and can engage in speaking engagement, or media/brand activations, depending on their individual skills and availability.

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John Tartaglia gained significant recognition for originating the roles of Princeton and Rod in the Broadway musical Avenue Q in 2003, a performance that earned him a Theatre World Award in 2004, the 59th Annual Clarence Derwent Award, and a Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical. Prior to his Broadway breakthrough, Tartaglia established a strong foundation in puppetry, joining the Sesame Street team part-time in 1994 and becoming a full-time member in 1996. Over his eleven years with Sesame Street, he performed various characters, including an understudy role for Kevin Clash’s Elmo, Ernie for ‘Play with Me Sesame’ Season 2, and Oscar the Grouch for ‘Sesame Street 4D,’ also working as a digital puppeteer for ‘Elmo’s World’ segments and performing Tingo on ‘Sesame English.’ In 2003, he also performed as DJ 2 in Animal Jam. Building on his Broadway success, Tartaglia reprised his roles in Avenue Q for the Las Vegas production in 2005.

He then joined the cast of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast as Lumière from 2006 to 2007. Demonstrating his versatility as a creator and performer, Tartaglia created, executive produced, and starred in the Playhouse Disney series Johnny and the Sprites, which expanded into a 30-minute series in 2007 and garnered two Daytime Emmy Award nominations, including one for his performance. In 2007, he provided the voice for Mr. Bluelight in Kmart commercials.

He went on to create the acclaimed PBS Kids series Splash and Bubbles in 2016, lending his voice to the titular character, Splash. Following this, he performed as Hank in the Netflix series Julie’s Greenroom in 2017. Most recently, in 2024, John Tartaglia joined The Jim Henson Company’s development team as creative supervisor for future Fraggle Rock projects, cementing his ongoing influence and expertise in puppetry and children’s entertainment development.