John Tartaglia

John Nicholas Tartaglia (; born February 16, 1978) is an American actor, singer, and puppeteer. Early life Tartaglia was born in Maple Shade Township, New Jersey, and graduated from Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1996. Tartaglia joined Sesame Streets puppetry team in a part-time capacity at the age of 16, making him one of the youngest Sesame Street puppeteers in the show's history. He performed as a right hand and many minor characters, including Phoebe, and was the understudy for Kevin Clash's Elmo. He performed as Ernie for the second season of Play with Me Sesame and as Oscar the Grouch for Sesame Street 4D. He became a full-time part of Sesame Street at the age of 18. Personal life Tartaglia is openly gay. Regarding the matter, he has stated "I'm less worried about being a positive role model as a gay person than making sure there are no negative stereotypes of any sort." He considers "nothing more addictive than the sound of an audience laughing" and, regarding the possibility of being "pigeonholed" as a children's entertainer, stated, "If I get pigeonholed, I get pigeonholed. When I do my dark, one-hour miniseries on Lifetime, you'll know!" In 2004, he helped to raise $525,000 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.