Bill Hader's 'Puppet Class' Sketch Puppet

This original Muppet, named “Tony,” comes from the personal collection of master puppeteer Bob Flanagan, who worked alongside Jim Henson at the New York Muppet Workshop. Created to exacting Henson Workshop specifications, the puppet was used in a memorable Saturday Night Live sketch during Season 38 (2012), serving as Bill Hader’s alter-ego in a skit where an instructor (Seth MacFarlane) attempts to keep a class on track while Hader’s character struggles with PTSD through his performance with Tony.

Bob Flanagan was a pioneering puppet builder whose career spanned the “glory days” of modern puppetry. In the 1980s, he worked at the New York Muppet Workshop alongside Jim Henson, contributing to the creation of characters for The Muppets and Sesame Street, sharing in a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Costume Design. He also created puppets for Fraggle Rock, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Follow That Bird, and Twisted Puppet Theatre. Flanagan operated his own company, Den Design Studio, which supplied puppets, costumes, and specialty props for Saturday Night Live and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, including Sesame-style puppets for the latter.

Beyond television, Flanagan worked extensively in theater, designing puppets and props for Broadway productions such as Wicked (including the Time Dragon and Lion Cub) and off-Broadway shows including Beowulf, The Hairy Ape, and The Emperor Jones—the latter earning a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Costume Design.

This “Tony” Muppet represents a rare and highly significant piece of contemporary puppetry history, connecting collectors to both Bob Flanagan’s extraordinary career and a standout moment in Saturday Night Live’s Season 38.

To see the original SNL skit, click here.