Richard Hunt

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.

He worked for the Cousin Brucie radio show after graduating from Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, faking his credentials to write weather reports.

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. He was cremated, and some of his ashes were sprinkled over the flower beds at his family's residence in Closter, New Jersey. His memorial service was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on February 2, 1992. The Muppet Christmas Carol was dedicated in memory of him.

Following Hunt's death, the roles of Scooter and Janice were reassigned to David Rudman in 2008. The roles of Beaker and Statler, likewise, were reassigned to Steve Whitmire and Jerry Nelson, respectively, with Whitmire performing Statler full-time later in 2002. As of 2017, Beaker is now performed by Rudman, and Statler by Peter Linz. John Henson was cast as Sweetums shortly prior to Hunt's death, having initially been trained by Hunt for physical performances in the attraction Muppet*Vision 3D, before Matt Vogel was cast in the role in 2009.

On Sesame Street, Hunt's roles of Sully, Sonny Friendly, and the right head of the Two-Headed Monster were also reassigned to Rudman until the former two were eventually retired, while the role of Gladys the Cow is now performed by Jennifer Barnhart. The role of Don Music has been performed by Ryan Dillon since 2019.

For the 2022 series Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, Hunt's characters such as Junior Gorg, Gunge, and Turbo Doozer were taken over by Dan Garza, John Tartaglia, and Ali J. Eisner, respectively.

Hunt's biography, Funny Boy, written by Jessica Max Stein, was published by Rutgers University Press in March 2024.

Filmography

+ Richard Hunt television roles Years Title Role 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