Richard Hunt (August 17, 1951 – January 7, 1992) was an American puppeteer, best known as a Muppet performer on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and other projects for The Jim Henson Company.[1] His roles on The Muppet Show included Scooter, Statler, Janice, Beaker, and Sweetums and characters on Sesame Street include Gladys the Cow, Don Music, and Forgetful Jones.[2][3]
Richard Hunt | |
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Born | (1951-08-17)August 17, 1951 The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
Died | January 7, 1992(1992-01-07) (aged 40) Manhattan, New York City |
Occupation | Puppeteer |
Years active | 1969–1992 |
Notable work | The Muppets Sesame Street Fraggle Rock |
Partner | Nelson Bird (?-1985; Bird's death) |
Hunt was born in The Bronx, New York City,[3] The family eventually moved to Closter, New Jersey some years later.[4]
Hunt came from a family of performers.[2] As a student in middle school and high school, he put on puppet shows for local children, and was a fan of the then-fledgling Muppets.[2] After high school graduation, and a four-month stint of doing weather reports at a local radio station, Hunt pursued a meeting with Jim Henson.[5] He cold-called from a payphone and was invited to audition.[4][6]
After being hired to work on Sesame Street, Hunt mostly performed background characters.[6] One of his first major performances was as Taminella Grinderfall in The Frog Prince, physically performing the character while Jerry Juhl portrayed the voice.[7] Hunt performed Scooter and shared Miss Piggy with Frank Oz until the final quarter of the first season of The Muppet Show.
His characters on Sesame Street included Forgetful Jones, Placido Flamingo, Don Music, Gladys the Cow, and Sully; Hunt also briefly performed Elmo before Kevin Clash was cast in that role.[6] On Fraggle Rock, Hunt's main role was the performing the facial expressions and voice of Junior Gorg; he also performed Gunge (one of the Trash Heap's barkers) as well as several one-shot or minor characters.
Hunt also worked as a director of several home video releases such as Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along and Elmo's Sing-Along Guessing Game, as well as an episode of Fraggle Rock.[6] Hunt was close friends with fellow puppeteer Jerry Nelson.[8] Several of their characters were paired, such as Nelson's Floyd Pepper with Hunt's Janice; the Two-Headed Monster; and Nelson's Pa Gorg to Hunt's Junior Gorg on Fraggle Rock.[8]
Hunt was gay.[6][9] When Rudolf Nureyev, also openly gay, made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show, Nureyev bluntly flirted with Hunt backstage. [9] Hunt was in a relationship with Nelson Bird, a painter from Alabama, until his death in 1985.[10][11][12]
Mark Hamill told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel during a chat in November 2003 that he became friends with Hunt during his Muppet Show appearance, and that "[Hunt] became one of the best friends my family has ever had."[13]
On January 7, 1992, Hunt died of HIV/AIDS related complications at Cabrini Hospice in Manhattan, aged 40.[1][3] He was cremated, and some of his ashes were sprinkled over the flower beds at the Hunt Family home in Closter, New Jersey.[14] The Muppet Christmas Carol was dedicated to his memory.
Following Hunt's death, the roles of Scooter and Janice were reassigned to David Rudman in 2008. The roles of Beaker and Statler, likewise, were reassigned to Steve Whitmire and Jerry Nelson, respectively, with Whitmire performing Statler fulltime later in 2002. As of 2017, Beaker is now performed by Rudman, and Statler by Peter Linz. John Henson was cast as Sweetums shortly prior to Hunt's death, having initially been trained by Hunt for physical performances in the attraction Muppet*Vision 3D, before Matt Vogel was cast in the role in 2009.
On Sesame Street, Hunt's roles of Sully, Sonny Friendly, and the right head of the Two-Headed Monster were also reassigned to Rudman until the former two were eventually retired, while the role of Gladys the Cow is now performed by Jennifer Barnhart. The role of Don Music has been performed by Ryan Dillon since 2019.
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
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1977 | Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas | Charlie Muskrat, Fred Lizard, George Rabbit | Puppeteer/voice |
1979 | The Muppet Movie | Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, Sweetums, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice |
1981 | The Great Muppet Caper | Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, Sweetums, Additional Muppets | Puppeeter/voice |
1983 | Trading Places | Wilson | |
1984 | The Muppets Take Manhattan | Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice |
1984 | Oxford Blues | Larry | |
1985 | Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird | Gladys the Cow, Board of Birds Member, Sully | Puppeteer/voice |
1986 | The Christmas Toy | Belmont | Puppeteer/voice |
1987 | A Muppet Family Christmas | Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, Gladys the Cow, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice |
1990 | The Muppets at Walt Disney World | Scooter, Janice, Beaker, Statler, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice |
1990 | The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson | Scooter, Janice | Puppeteer/voice |
1990 | Basil Hears a Noise | Two-Headed Monster, Dip Cat, Kathleen the Cow, Rockhead #1 | Puppeteer/voice |
1991 | Muppet*Vision 3D | Scooter, Statler, Beaker, Sweetums, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice; Theme park attraction |
1993 | Billy Bunny's Animal Songs | Edgar Bear, Raccoon | Puppeteer/voice; Posthumous release |
Years | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1972–1992 | Sesame Street | Placido Flamingo, Don Music, Sully, Gladys the Cow, Two-Headed Monster, Forgetful Jones, Sonny Friendly, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice (Also direct 1 episode) |
1976–1981 | The Muppet Show | Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, Sweetums, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice |
1983–1987 | Fraggle Rock | Gunge, Junior Gorg, Beige Fraggle, Firechief Fraggle, Flex Doozer, Turbo Doozer, Gillis Fraggle, Lambo, Herkimer Fraggle, Mean Genie, Mudwell the Mudbunny, The Odd Old Man, The Wizard, The Bandit Fraggle, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice (Also direct 1 episode) |
1985 | Little Muppet Monsters | Tug Monster, Scooter, Janice, Beaker, Animated Muppet Shorts Narrator | Puppeteer/voice |
1990 | The Cosby Show | Statler, Disagreeable Sandwich, Boppity | Puppeteer/voice |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Scooter 1976–1991 |
Succeeded by David Rudman |
Preceded by Eren Ozker |
Performer of Janice 1977–1991 |
Succeeded by David Rudman |
Preceded by | Performer of Captain Vegetable 1983–1984 |
Succeeded by Peter Linz |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Bobby Benson 1977–1981 |
Succeeded by David Rudman |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Wayne 1976–1981 |
Succeeded by David Rudman |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Gladys the Cow 1973–1992 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Tug Monster 1985 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Storyteller Fraggle 1983 |
Succeeded by Terry Angus |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Two-Headed Monster (left head) 1978 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Performer of Two-Headed Monster (right head) 1978–1991 |
Succeeded by Adam Hunt |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Sonny Friendly 1986–1992 |
Succeeded by David Rudman |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Sully 1970s–1991 |
Succeeded by David Rudman |
Preceded by Carl Banas (voice)/Jerry Nelson (puppetry) |
Performer of Sweetums 1975–1991 |
Succeeded by John Henson |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Beaker 1977–1991 |
Succeeded by Steve Whitmire |
Preceded by None |
Performer of Statler 1976–1991 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Performer of Forgetful Jones 1981–1991 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by Brian Muehl |
Elmo 1984–1985 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by None |
Don Music 1974 |
Succeeded by Ryan Dillon |
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