Richard Hunt. He is, quite simply, one of the greatest puppeteers to have ever lived. Although plenty of people are familiar with the characters he portrayed on screen, both Hunt’s characters and his talent are underrated in comparison to Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and even Kevin Clash (better known to the rest of the world as Elmo.) Not to mention his behind the scenes work (training puppeteers and directing) is unknown to most. Not long after Jim Henson passed away, we lost Richard Hunt to AIDS. The majority of his characters went into retirement, but I have never forgotten them.
A few of the characters on his resume: Don Music, Placido Flamingo, Gladys the Cow, one half of the Two-Headed Monster (Jerry Nelson performs the other half… in case anyone wanted to know), the Yip-Yips, Forgetful Jones, Leo the Party Monster, and Sully from Sesame Street; Scooter, Statler, Janice, Sweetums, and Beaker from The Muppet Show; and Junior Gorg and Gunge from Fraggle Rock.
(a few) Highlight Performances
- Scooter’s Six String Orchestra from The Muppet Show
– Scooter and Fozzie perform Simon Smith and His Dancing Bear
– Don Music rewrites The Sesame Street Theme Song
– a best of collection of Statler and Waldorf heckling
– Mudbunny singing Just A Dream Away to Wembley on Fraggle Rock (audio only)
– Placido Flamingo sings Peligro on Sesame Street
– this one isn’t a performance but his eulogy for Henson is beautiful.