Richard Hunt (August 17, 1951 â€" January 7, 1992) was an American
puppeteer and director, 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.Hunt was born in The Bronx, New
York City, The family eventually moved to Closter, New Jersey some
years later.Hunt came from a family of performers. As a student in
middle school and high school, he put on puppet shows for local
children, and was a fan of the then-fledgling Muppets. 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. In 1970
he cold-called from a payphone and was invited to audition.After being
hired to work on Sesame Street, Hunt mostly performed background
characters. One of his first major performances was as Taminella
Grinderfall in The Frog Prince, physically performing the character
while Jerry Juhl portrayed the voice. Hunt performed Scooter and
shared Miss Piggy with Frank Oz until the final quarter of the first
season of The Muppet Show.
puppeteer and director, 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.Hunt was born in The Bronx, New
York City, The family eventually moved to Closter, New Jersey some
years later.Hunt came from a family of performers. As a student in
middle school and high school, he put on puppet shows for local
children, and was a fan of the then-fledgling Muppets. 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. In 1970
he cold-called from a payphone and was invited to audition.After being
hired to work on Sesame Street, Hunt mostly performed background
characters. One of his first major performances was as Taminella
Grinderfall in The Frog Prince, physically performing the character
while Jerry Juhl portrayed the voice. Hunt performed Scooter and
shared Miss Piggy with Frank Oz until the final quarter of the first
season of The Muppet Show.
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