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Richard Hunt (puppeteer)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Richard Hunt (August 16, 1951 - January 7, 1992) was an American puppeteer from Closter, New Jersey best known for his association with The Muppets. His Muppet characters included Scooter, Janice, Beaker, Statler, and Sweetums He also shared Miss Piggy with Frank Oz until Season 2 of The Muppet Show. He also performed many characters on Sesame Street, including Forgetful Jones, Placido Flamingo, Don Music, and an early Elmo.
Following Hunt's death from AIDS (which he had kept private), the role of Beaker was inherited by Steve Whitmire, that of Statler by Jerry Nelson until his retirement which Whitmire took over, that of Sweetums by John Henson, and those of Scooter and Janice by Brian Henson; Scooter's most recent performer is Rickey Boyd. The Muppet Christmas Carol was dedicated to Hunt and Jim Henson.
Jon Stone, director of Sesame Street, said this at the time of Hunt's unexpected death: "It’s impossible to imagine a world without Richard. He came to us a wide-eyed eighteen year old and grew into a master puppeteer and inspired teacher. No one ever had a more manic love of the outrageous and absurd; no one could ever make me laugh the way Richard could. A generation has grown up absorbing Richard’s art, and I have to believe that every one of them is a smarter, funnier, stronger, sillier, more generous person because of him." [1]