Jerry Nelson
Actor
Jerry L. Nelson was a puppeteer, singer, and musician, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and various Muppet movies and specials.
On Sesame Street, Nelson's longest-running character was Count von Count, the counting vampire who took delight in counting anything he could. Nelson did the voice and puppetry for the Count from 1972 until 2004 and continued to provide the Count's voice until 2012. His other Muppet roles on that program were The Amazing Mumford, Herry Monster, Biff the Construction worker, Mr. Johnson, Simon Soundman, Mr. Chatterly, Frazzle, rock star Little Jerry, and Sherlock Hemlock.
Subject ID: 66926
MoreJerry L. Nelson was a puppeteer, singer, and musician, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and various Muppet movies and specials.
On Sesame Street, Nelson's longest-running character was Count von Count, the counting vampire who took delight in counting anything he could. Nelson did the voice and puppetry for the Count from 1972 until 2004 and continued to provide the Count's voice until 2012. His other Muppet roles on that program were The Amazing Mumford, Herry Monster, Biff the Construction worker, Mr. Johnson, Simon Soundman, Mr. Chatterly, Frazzle, rock star Little Jerry, and Sherlock Hemlock.
Nelson was the first puppeteer to perform Mr. Snuffleupagus, keeping the role from 1971 to 1978.
He also performed many characters on The Muppet Show, including Sgt. Floyd Pepper (the bassist of the Electric Mayhem band), Pigs in Space star Dr. Julius Strangepork, the boomerang fish-throwing Lew Zealand, Kermit the Frog's nephew Robin the Frog, Gonzo's girlfriend Camilla the Chicken, the mad pyrotechnist Crazy Harry, and the Phantom of the Muppet Show, Uncle Deadly. He performed Statler in the pilot episode but was replaced by Richard Hunt when he could not perform full-time in the first season. He was a full-time performer for the rest of the show's run. Nelson was also selected to play Statler after Hunt's death, after the end of the show. Nelson's Muppets on The Muppet Show were all only supporting roles, but they did occasionally play a central role in an episode's plot.
Less prominent characters on the show include sportscaster Louis Kazagger, Pops the doorman, Giant blue monster Thog, gossip columnist Fleet Scribbler, and Scooter's uncle, J.P. Grosse, who owned the theater. He originated the role of Fozzie Bear's mother in Series 2 of the Muppet Show and reprised the role in the TV specials A Muppet Family Christmas, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, and the film The Muppet Christmas Carol.
On Fraggle Rock, he performed Gobo Fraggle, Pa Gorg, and Marjory the Trash Heap. Frank Oz did not perform on Fraggle Rock, and Jim Henson and Richard Hunt limited their time on the show, so they performed supporting characters. For this reason, Nelson was asked to perform Gobo, the central role on the show.
Subject ID: 66926
Subject ID: 66926
