rodney stephen hull (13 august 1935 – 17 march 1999) was an english comedian. he was a popular entertainer on british television in the 1970s and 1980s. he is best known for his puppet emu, a mute, very aggressive arm-length puppet modelled on the australian flightless bird, the emu. with emu, he appeared notably on "parkinson", "the tonight show starring johnny carson" and "royal variety show".