The Life of Jerry Nelson
Jerry Nelson (July 10, 1934 – Au- gust 23, 2012) was an American pup- peteer, best known for his work with Te Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abili- ties, he performed Muppet characters on Sesame Street, Te Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and various Muppet movies and specials.
Nelson was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and raised in Washington, D.C. He began puppeteering for Bil Baird. His first job with the Muppets was Te Jimmy Dean Show in 1965. Frank Oz was going to take some time off from puppeteering, so Nel- son was hired to perform Rowlf the Dog’s right hand in his stead.
After Te Jimmy Dean Show ended, Nelson continued to perform Row- lf ’s right hand with the Dean show on its live tour. At the conclusion of the tour, Frank Oz rejoined the company. Jerry continued working with Te Muppets, performing in variety shows and commercials until in 1966. Te amount of work was somewhat reduced, so Jim Henson had to release Nelson. Following this, Nelson puppeteered in a number of projects in the late 1960s.
Nelson had a daughter named Chris- tine from his first marriage to Jac- queline Nelson Gordon. Christine had cystic fibrosis and died from the disease in 1982, after attending Rye Country Day School. Her health problems were the reason Nelson took so much time off Te Muppet
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Show’s first season. She made a cam- eo appearance in the second Muppet movie, Te Great Muppet Caper. Nelson’s friend and employer, Mup- pets creator Jim Henson gave her a speaking part so she would become a member of the actors’ union.
In 2004, Nelson announced that he would no longer be puppeteering his Muppet characters, citing health rea- sons. However, he continued to voice his characters on Sesame Street until his death eight years later. Matt Vogel performs Nelson’s Muppet charac- ters, as well as the puppetry of Count von Count, with Nelson following his death. Vogel will presumably start performing the Count, both voice and puppetry following Jerry’s pass- ing.
Jerry Nelson died on August 23rd, 2012 at his Massachusetts home on Cape Cod, of complications from the various cancers and respiratory diseases from which he suffered in his final years. He had suffered from em- physema for years. He was survived by his second wife, Jan.
Te Muppets/Sesame Street After learning that the Muppets were used on Sesame Street, he rejoined Henson and Oz as a puppeteer, be- ginning in the second season. He re- ceived a number of his major charac- ters early in the show’s run, including the Sherlock Holmes parody Sher- lock Hemlock (1970–1995, 2010), a hapless magician named Te Amaz- ing Mumford (1971–2012), and the
overly strong, but sensitive Herry Monster (1970–2012). His most fa- mous character is the arithmomaniac vampire Count von Count (1972– 2012).
He was also the first puppeteer to perform Mr. Snuffleupagus, keeping the role from 1971 to 1978. Most sources (including Sesame Street Un- paved and Sesame Street: A Celebra- tion - 40 Years of Life on the Street state that back problems caused by the physical stress of the performance forced him to bow out, but in a 2009 interview Jerry Nelson gave a dif- ferent explanation for giving up the role: “I was not loathe to give that character up. But the reasons for giv- ing it up were because at that time we were doing Te Muppet Show and he was a real part of the show, and they needed his presence. So they asked if I’d mind giving it up.”. Minor recurring characters include educator Herbert Birdsfoot (1970– 1973), the sound-mimicking Simon Soundman (1971–1992), the more frightening-looking monster Frazzle (1971–2012), Grover’s customer Mr. Johnson (1971–2012), Little Jerry of the band “Little Jerry and the Mono- tones” (1970–2000) and most of the announcers that appear in Sesame Street sketches (1970–2012). Jerry Nelson also made a cameo appear- ance as the giant in the “Sesame Street News” story of Jack and the Beanstalk.
When Richard Hunt joined the Muppets, he was only 18, so Nelson
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