Richard Hunt (August 17, 1951 – January 7, 1992) was an American actor and puppeteer, best known as a Muppet performer on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and other projects for The Jim Henson Company. His roles on The Muppet Show included Scooter, Statler, Janice, Beaker, and Sweetums and characters on Sesame Street included Gladys the Cow, Don Music, Forgetful Jones and the right head of the Two-Headed Monster.
Early life
Hunt was born in The Bronx, New York.
Hunt came from a family of performers. He cold-called from a payphone and was invited to audition.
Career
After he was hired to work on Sesame Street, Hunt mostly performed background characters. 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. 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. Hunt was in a relationship with Kenneth Nelson Bird, a painter from Alabama, until Bird's death from AIDS in 1985, aged 31.
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."
Death and legacy
On January 7, 1992, Hunt died of AIDS-related complications at Cabrini Hospice in Manhattan, aged 40.
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
|+ Richard Hunt film roles
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year
! Film
! Role
! class="unsortable" | 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, Elmo, Board of Birds Member, Sully, Count von Count (puppeteer only)
| 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, Beaker, Janice
| 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
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
|+ Richard Hunt television roles
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Years
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | 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
|-
|}
References
Further reading
External links
- Muppet Central's Tribute to Richard Hunt