Bill Diamond



Bill Diamond, (born June 5, 1957) is an American puppeteer, puppet fabricator, and producer. He worked for Jim Henson at his New York office, and has won three Emmy Awards for his work on the YES Network.

Background
Diamond began his career in the entertainment industry as a child actor. As a teenager in High School, he created his own stop-motion animation films, ran his own theatre company, and began building puppets. At the age of twenty-three, Diamond was introduced to Muppet’s creator, Jim Henson.

Career
In 1976, Diamond created his production company, Bill Diamond Productions. Diamond produced and directed multiple television series in the 80’s and 90’s including, Stuffy’s Place, The Land of the Moonshins, and Dr. Rock’s Dinosaur Adventures, which appeared on Fox. He was also the associate producer of the documentaries, The Phantom of the Opera: Unmasking the Masterpiece, and The Aurora Monsters: The Model Craze That Gripped the World.

The off-Broadway version of Audrey 2, the carnivorous plant from Little Shop of Horrors, was originally created by Sesame Street puppeteer Martin P. Robinson. The play became extremely popular, and in 1984, Diamond was hired to build and puppeteer Audrey 2, and still operates the giant plant puppet for the Little Shop of Horrors road tours to this day.

In 2001, a massive blaze completely engulfed Diamond's studio in Peekskill, New York. Over 200 of Diamond's puppets and original creations were destroyed. Diamond rebuilt the studio in an industrial complex in Cornwall, New York, but in January 2012, a six alarm fire destroyed the majority of that industrial complex. Diamond's studio and creations survived the second fire, leaving only water damage in the complex. The smoke from the fire was seen from the George Washington Bridge more than 40 miles away.

In 2016, The Jim Henson Company sponsored a fan film competition held on The Dark Crystal website. The competition invited fans to create and submit animated short films inspired by the Jim Henson film. Bill Diamond Productions submitted a short film for the competition titled, “Rise of the Skeksis”, and received an honorable mention.

In 2021, the first episode of the Toking with the Dead series was released to the public. This production, directed and produced by Bill Diamond, and based on the comic book of the same name, is a series based on educating through adult humor the positive effects of medical cannabis.

In 2021, Bill Diamond Productions released their holiday special, Claus and the Fairies. The film was written and created by Tammy Stallard, dedicated to her brother Jeffrey, and sponsored by The Beast Within Productions. The charming holiday special, based on the early folklore of Santa Clause being a part of the fairy kingdom, features quaint character puppets such as Gnome Brooks, narrated by Gremlins and Salacious B. Crumb (Return of the Jedi) voice actor, Mark Dodson, which also features other voices of fairies, gnomes, and sprites in the film. Bill Diamond puppeteers multiple characters in the production.

Awards
In 2005, Bill Diamond was presented with an Aurora Award for his television creation, Monster TV Network, which "reunites the classic horror monsters (in puppet form) in their very own show".

Diamond won a bronze Telly Award for producing and directing the show, Mike Bennett on the Road, in 2008.

In 2015, Diamond won his first Emmy Award for his work on the YES Network's Yankees Post Game Show - Mo’s Last Home Game as the lighting director.

He won his second Emmy in 2017 for set design on the YES Network for Brooklyn Nets Specialty Set Design, and was nominated for another for lighting director for YES's Brooklyn Nets Specialty Look.

In 2019, Diamond's company, Bill Diamond Productions, was one of the Telly Award's Silver Winners for the Entertainment General-Online category. The company received the award for their production, Gorgo's Christmas Carol Narrated by Vincent Price.

Diamond won his third Emmy Award in 2020. This time for set design for the YES Network's Yankees Buzz in the Bronx.

Bill Diamond and Bill Diamond Productions won their third Telly Award in the Bronze category in 2021 for their production of "Claus and the Fairies”, written and created by Tammy Stallard.

Bill Diamond and Bill Diamond Productions crew won their fourth Telly Award in the Bronze category in 2024 for their new streaming series "Gorgo's Graveyard Shift" episode 1. The series is a late night entertainment on the road at comic conventions and features celebrity interviews from Gorgo the Gargoyle puppet character host from his Monster TV Network. The first episode features interviews with Lucinda Jenney, Sam Irvin, and dear departed Veronica Carlson. The series streams on Red Coral Universe. |url=https://www.tellyawards.com/winners/2024/branded-content/general-entertainment/gorgos-graveyard-shift-episode-1/312222/ |website=The Telly Awards |access-date=30 May 2024}}