Kirk R. Thatcher is a multi-talented individual with a plethora of accomplishments under his belt. As an Emmy award-winning writer/producer, he has made a name for himself in the television, commercial, and viral video industries. Additionally, he is a skilled creature maker and designer, having worked on various films and television shows.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kirk began making films at the tender age of 10, with a focus on creatures, space ships, and broad comedy. Self-taught in the field of Creature Effects, he started his career at the age of 19 at Industrial Light and Magic, where he designed, created, and puppeteered creatures for blockbuster films such as Return of the Jedi, Star Trek II, Star Trek III, E.T., Poltergeist, and Gremlins. His work on Star Trek IV earned him a memorable cameo as the Punk on the Bus, where he rocked out to the Punk anthem "I HateYou!" which he both wrote and sang.
Kirk has co-written several Muppet films, including Muppet Treasure Island, and has directed four television movies: The Muppets Wizard of Oz, which premiered at Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Film Festival, "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, The Muppets Letters to Santa, and "Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow" starring Mary Steenburgen. He was also the Supervising Producer on the Emmy Award-winning ABC series Muppets Tonight, and co-producer on the ABC series Dinosaurs, where he designed most of the characters, working closely with his mentor, the Muppet's creator Jim Henson.
In addition to his long-form work, Kirk has directed over thirty Muppet commercials and web shorts, including Muppet's Bohemian Rhapsody, which has been viewed over 72 Million times, and all of Neil Patrick Harris' web comedy series "Neil's Puppet Dreams". He was also one of the three regular judges on the Syfy channel series "Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge".
Recently, Kirk created and Executive Produced a series for Netflix entitled "The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell" with Christine McConnell and the Jim Henson company. The series received an incredible 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was incredibly well-received. He also co-wrote and co-directed the hit Muppet Live Shows that played at the Hollywood bowl and in London's O2 stadium.
