Jerry Juhl

Jerome Ravn Juhl (June 28, 1938 – September 25, 2005) was an American television and film writer, best known for his work with The Muppets.

Biography Juhl was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota; his family moved to Menlo Park, California, when he was 14. He received a bachelor's degree in theater arts from San Jose State University in 1961 and worked on children's shows for local television stations while in college. He met Frank Oz when they both worked for the Oakland Recreation Department's Vagabond Puppet Theater as teenagers. The two later met Henson at a puppeteer gathering in California.

Juhl was recruited by Jim Henson as a puppeteer and writer on Sam and Friends. He focused increasingly on writing as other puppeteers, such as Frank Oz, joined the Henson stable.

Juhl was the head writer on The Muppet Show from seasons 2 to 5 (season 1 had Jack Burns as head writer). He also wrote for the television shows Fraggle Rock and The Jim Henson Hour. He was involved in some capacity with all of the Muppet films from The Muppet Movie in 1979 to Muppets from Space in 1999.

He appeared as himself in the 1981 documentary Of Muppets and Men: The Making of The Muppet Show, the 1984 documentary Henson's Place, and the 1994 documentary The World of Jim Henson. In addition to being interviewed in all three, he also appeared in archival footage in the last two.

He was married to Susan Doerr Juhl and lived in Caspar, California. In his last few years he semi-retired from writing, but taught at local colleges, coached at local Mendocino Coast theatres such as Gloriana Opera Company, and spoke at puppeteer conventions. He died on September 25, 2005, from pancreatic cancer at the age of 67.

Awards

Juhl co-wrote The Muppet Movie with Jack Burns, for which the two shared a Saturn Award nomination for Best Writing. He was nominated for a shared Emmy four times, for his writing on The Muppet Show, finally winning the award in 1981 for Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. He was also awarded for his work on The Jim Henson Hour (Outstanding Children's Program, 1989, 1990) and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, 1991). His work on A Muppet Family Christmas won him the WGA Award for Variety – Musical, Award, Tribute, Special Event.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1955–1961 Sam and Friends Muppet performer 1969 The Cube 1969–1975 Sesame Street 1970 The Great Santa Claus Switch 1971 The Frog Prince Taminella Voice 1972 The Muppet Musicians of Bremen 1974 The Muppets Valentine Show Tale of Sand Co-writer; Originally written as a live-action screenplay, released in 2012 as a graphic novel, Jim Henson's Tale of Sand. 1976–1981 The Muppet Show Head writer 1977 Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas 1979 The Muppets Go Hollywood The Muppet Movie 1981 The Muppets Go to the Movies The Great Muppet Caper 1983–1987 Fraggle Rock Writer, creative producer 1985 Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff Fozzie's Muppet Scrapbook 1986 The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years 1987 A Muppet Family Christmas 1989 The Jim Henson Hour Writer, co-producer Living with Dinosaurs Co-producer 1990 The Muppets at Walt Disney World The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson 1992 The Muppet Christmas Carol Co-producer 1996 Muppet Treasure Island 1999 Muppets from Space