Richard Hunt (puppeteer) Contents Early life Career Personal life Death Filmography References External links Navigation menu"Richard Hunt; Puppeteer for 'Sesame Street,' 'Muppet Show'""Richard Hunt; Puppeteer, 40""A Chat with Richard Hunt's Mother""The Rainbow Connection: Richard Hunt, Gay Muppeteer""Ask Henson, question 60"the original"Great Muppeteer Duos: Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt"The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America"Mark Hamill Chat Transcript"Richard HuntRichard HuntRichard HuntMuppet Central's Tribute to Richard Hunteecb14107373m(data)0000 0000 8168 6112no20071535109661775396617753
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puppeteerMuppetScooterStatlerJaniceBeakerSweetumsThe BronxNew York CityCloster, New JerseyJim Hensoncold-calledpayphoneJerry JuhlScooterMiss PiggyFrank OzForgetful JonesPlacido FlamingoDon MusicGladys the CowSullyElmoJerry NelsonFloyd PepperJaniceTwo-Headed MonsterPa GorgJunior GorggayRudolf NureyevMark HamillHIV/AIDSManhattanMuppetScooterJaniceDavid RudmanBeakerStatlerSteve WhitmireJerry NelsonJohn HensonSweetumsMuppet*Vision 3DMatt VogelSullySonny FriendlyTwo-Headed MonsterGladys the CowJennifer Barnhart
Richard Hunt (puppeteer)
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Richard Hunt | |
|---|---|
| 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, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Complications of HIV/AIDS |
| Occupation | Puppeteer |
| Years active | 1969–1992 |
Notable work | The Muppets Sesame Street |
Richard Hunt (17 August 1951 – 7 January 1992) was an American puppeteer, best known as a Muppet performer on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and several Muppet movies.[1] His Muppet roles included Scooter, Statler, Janice, Beaker and Sweetums.[2][3]
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Personal life
4 Death
5 Filmography
6 References
7 External links
Early life
Hunt was born in The Bronx, New York City,[3] The family eventually moved to Closter, New Jersey some years later.[4]
He came from a family of performers.[2] While in middle school and high school, he put on puppet shows for local children, and he 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]
Career
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, puppeteering the character while Jerry Juhl performed 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.
Hunt performed many characters on Sesame Street, including Forgetful Jones, Placido Flamingo, Don Music, Gladys the Cow, Sully, and an early version of Elmo.[6] On Fraggle Rock, Hunt's main role was the performing the facial expressions and voice of Junior Gorg, but he also performed Gunge (one of the Trash Heap's barkers), and several one shot or minor characters.
He also directed several home videos 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]
Personal life
Hunt was openly gay.[6][9] When Rudolf Nureyev, who was also openly gay, made a guest appearance on The Muppet Show, Nureyev bluntly flirted with Hunt.[9]Mark Hamill was close friends with Hunt, as he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in November 2003.[10]
Death
On 7 January 1992, Hunt died of HIV/AIDS related complications at Cabrini Hospice in Manhattan; he was 40.[1][3] Episode 3136 of Sesame Street, as well as The Muppet Christmas Carol were dedicated to his memory. Following Hunt's death, his primary Muppet characters, Scooter and Janice, were puppeteered by David Rudman.
His secondary roles of Beaker and Statler were recast to Steve Whitmire and Jerry Nelson, respectively, with Whitmire later taking over Statler as well. John Henson took on the role of Sweetums for a short time, after being trained by Hunt to do so and performing him for the onscreen footage of Muppet*Vision 3D before it was permanently recast to Matt Vogel.
On Sesame Street, Hunt's roles of Sully, Sonny Friendly, and the right head of the Two-Headed Monster, were also taken over by Rudman until they were eventually retired from the show (except the Two-Headed Monster), while Gladys the Cow was taken over by Jennifer Barnhart.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 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, Turkey, Elmo | 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 | Puppeteer/voice |
| 1991 | Muppet*Vision 3D | Scooter, Statler, Beaker, Sweetums, Additional Muppets | Puppeteer/voice; Theme park attraction |
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Years | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972–1992 | Sesame Street | Placido Flamingo, Don Music, Gladys the Cow, Forgetful Jones, Sonny Friendly, Additional Muppets | |
| 1976–1981 | The Muppet Show | Scooter, Janice, Statler, Beaker, Sweetums, Additional Muppets | |
| 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, Additional Muppets | |
| 1985 | Little Muppet Monsters | Tug Monster, Scooter, Janice, Beaker, Animated Muppet Shorts Narrator | |
| 1990 | The Cosby Show | Statler, Disagreeable Sandwich, Boppity | |
References
^ ab "Richard Hunt; Puppeteer for 'Sesame Street,' 'Muppet Show'". Los Angeles Times. 11 January 1992. Retrieved 28 August 2018..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ abc Finch, Christopher (1981). Of Muppets and Men: The Making of the Muppet Show. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 79–85.
^ abc "Richard Hunt; Puppeteer, 40". The New York Times. 9 January 1992. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
^ ab Stein, Jessica Max. "A Chat with Richard Hunt's Mother". Tough Pigs: Muppet Fans Who Grew Up. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
^ Finch, Christopher (1993), Jim Henson: The Works, Random House, p. 58, ISBN 0-679-41203-4
^ abcde Stein, Jessica Max (17 March 2011). "The Rainbow Connection: Richard Hunt, Gay Muppeteer". The Bilerico Project. Retrieved 20 July 2012.
^ "Ask Henson, question 60". Archived from the original on 3 October 2000.
^ ab Soberman, Matthew (26 June 2014). "Great Muppeteer Duos: Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt". Tough Pigs: Muppet Fans Who Grew Up. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
^ ab Kaiser, Charles (1997). The Gay Metropolis: The Landmark History of Gay Life in America. Grove Press. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-395-65781-2.
^ "Mark Hamill Chat Transcript". The Bothan Spy. 7 November 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
External links
Richard Hunt on IMDb
Richard Hunt at the TCM Movie Database
Richard Hunt at Find a Grave- Muppet Central's Tribute to Richard Hunt
| Preceded by None | Performer of Scooter 1976–1991 | Succeeded by Adam Hunt |
| Preceded by Eren Ozker | Performer of Janice 1977–1991 | Succeeded by Brian Henson |
| Preceded by Jim Henson | Performer of Captain Vegetable 1983–1984 | Succeeded by None |
| 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 Jennifer Barnhart |
| Preceded by None | Performer of Storyteller Fraggle 1983 | Succeeded by Terry Angus |
| Preceded by Peter Friedman | Performer of Two-Headed Monster 1978–1992 | Succeeded by Jerry Nelson/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 | Performer of Sweetums 1976–1991 | 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 Jerry Nelson |
| Preceded by Michael Earl Davis | Performer of Forgetful Jones 1981–1992 | Succeeded by None |
| Preceded by Brian Muehl | Elmo 1984–1985 | Succeeded by Kevin Clash |
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Categories:
- 1951 births
- 1992 deaths
- 20th-century American male actors
- AIDS-related deaths in New York (state)
- American television directors
- American male voice actors
- American puppeteers
- Fraggle Rock performers
- Gay actors
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- LGBT people from New York (state)
- Muppet performers
- People from Closter, New Jersey
- People from the Bronx
- Sesame Street Muppeteers
- Primetime Emmy Award winners
- Film directors from New Jersey
- Film directors from New York (state)
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