Hawkins working on Tokka for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II
Tim Hawkins worked in the electro-mechanical and the suit and puppet departments for the Muppet Workshop and Jim Henson's Creature Shop from 1988 to 2006.
Outside of Henson, Hawkins and fellow Muppet Workshop colleagues Kip Rathke and Jane Howell built the robot "Rudy-1" for an episode of The Puzzle Place. Hawkins also built the original fish puppets for the first season of Pee-wee's Playhouse, as well as an animatronic monster version of Phyllis Diller for the 1991 horror film The Boneyard.
Hawkins has frequently worked with partner Susan Pitocchi, with whom he formed the company SPS Effects. They worked on the puppet team for Across the Universe (with Bill Irwin), as well as various puppets, animatronics, and props for Broadway and traveling productions of Little Shop of Horrors, Avenue Q, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, Wicked, and Dracula: The Musical.
Now working as a scenic artist, Hawkins and SPS Effects have worked on props and scenic work for the films Enchanted (with Amy Adams and Susan Sarandon), Burn After Reading (with George Clooney, Frances McDormand, and J. K. Simmons), Duplicity (with Julia Roberts), and Joker (with Robert De Niro and Zazie Beetz).
Muppet/Henson credits
- Dog City: Dog effects and cars
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze: Costume dresser/maintenance
- Dinosaurs: Electro-mechanical effects and suit/puppet building[1]
- Muppet Classic Theater: Mechanics
- The Animal Show (season 1)
- Nissin Cup Noodles commercials[2]
- Muppet Treasure Island: Electro-mechanical effects designer
- Muppets from Space: Electronic control design