Kevin Clash

 Kevin   Jeffrey   Clash  ( b . September 17 t h, 1960 ) is an accomplished Muppeteer  whose characters include Elmo , Clifford , & Hoots the Owl. He previous ly served a s  SESAME STREET  Muppet Captain & c o - executive produce r. He was promoted to " senior creative advisor " at  Sesame  Work shop in May 2007. The 2011 documentary Being  Elmo  : A Puppeteer ' s Journey chronicles  Clash  ' s life as a puppeteer. He has also voiced a few  GROUCH  related character s. "

Clash resigned from  SESAME STREET  in November 2012 in response to 2 allegations t h at he had sex ual relation ship s wit h teen age boys. Clash has since been twice cleared of the charge s.

 SESAME  Work shop released a statement on November 20 t h :

"  SESAME  Workshop ' s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all chil dren the world over reach the ir highest potential . Kevin Clash has helped u s achieve that mission f or 28 year s, & none of u s , especially Kevin , want anything to divert ou r attention from ou r focus on serving as a leading educational organization . Un fortunately , the controversy surrounding Kevin ' s personal life has become a distract ion that none o f u s wa nt , & he has concluded that he can no longer be effective i n his job & has resigned fr om  SESAME STREET  . This i s a sad d a y f o r  SESAME STREET  . "

Background
Clash w as born & raised i n Turner ' s Station, a pre dominantly " black " suburb of Baltimore , Maryland.

Kevin Jeffrey Clash grew u p with parents G e o r ge & Glad y s, o l d e r s i b l i n g s , G e o r ge , J r ( G eorgie ) & Anita ( " NeNe " ) & little sister Pam. His father works as a flash welder operator at Raymond Metals & a neighborhood handyman, & his mother ran a daycare.

Clash began building puppets at age 10. Clash ' s parents were supportive of his interest i n puppetry, driving him to puppet shows , allowing for his love o f TV & c raft , & not urging him to attend college when he announced he was pursuing puppetry professionally. Among his TV viewing w ere such series a s Shari Lewis & Lamb Chop, Kukla , Fran , & Ollie , & '' H. R. Pufnstuf ''. Clash has admitted he watched TV inches away from the screen, with no permanent eye damage. His parents were supposedly more amused than angered when he cut his father ' s good overcoat apart to create a monkey puppet with the fuzzy black lining. As a tribute, Elmo ' s parents were named George & Gladys in an  Elmo  ' s World segment ; their name s have since bee n change d.

He performed on Baltimore ' s Harbor Front as a teenage r. In high school he was vote d " Most Likely t o b e a Millionaire ".

Early T V work
Clash ' s 1 st television work was for a C B S affiliate i n Baltimore. He also performed a pelican character f or  Zep , a local [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Washington,_D.C. Washington , D. C. ] show airing on WTOP.

In the early ' 80 s, he performed regular ly , with Jim Martin  , on Bob Keeshan ' s  Wake   Up   with   the   Captain  , a continuation of  Captain   Kangaroo . Clash performed a young boy named Artie & other characters, built puppets , & occasionally appear ed o n - camera , as Kevin the college student & various ensemble roles.

From 1981 t o 1986, he appeared in  The   Great   Space   Coaster  as Goriddle Gorilla , Rory & Huggle Scuffy. During this stint, he attracted the attention of Muppet designer  Kermit Love , who invited him t o work on various  Henson  project s.

Coming to the Muppet s
Kevin Clash 1 st met Kermit Love in the 1970 s, who occasionally arranged for the fledgling puppeteer to visit the set of  SESAME STREET . I n 19 79, all the main Muppeteer s  were performing in a huge Muppet Movie float in the Macy ' s Thanksgiving Day Parade , & extra puppeteers were needed for the  SESAME STREET  float. Clash was brought in to perform Cookie Monster for the event.

Later, in 1983 , he was officially hired to perform in 10 episodes of  SESAME STREET . However, at the time he was performing full - time on 2 other show s , & the producers of both refused to work around his schedule. Thus, Clash was forced to tear his contract up to appear o n  SESAME STREET .

 Kevin   Clash  was also given the opportunity to perform in The Dark Crystal, but Kermit Love dissuaded him , urging Clash to concentrate on his other series work.

 Kevin   Clash  officially became a  SESAME STREET  Muppeteer  i n 1984. Some of his earliest characters included Hoots the Owl & [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Nobel_Price Dr. Nobel Prize ], later supplemented by the likes of Baby Natasha & Kingston Livingston III. However, it was Elmo who became his main character , once Clash assume d the part from previous Muppeteer s   Brian Muehl  &  Richard Hunt  , & placed his own imprint on the red monster. Clash has also sung in voice - over in a variety of film & cartoon inserts on the series , including " Animal Book s " & " Take Care of T hat Smile ".

Clash served as an additional Muppeteer  on Follow That Bird, where he performed the voice of 1 of the feathered friends as well as t h at o f Hoots the Owl & he reprised Elmo , along with other characters , in the feature film  The Adventure s of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  land  & innumerable special s , appearances & video s.

More Muppets
During the late 19 80 s, Clash was involved with a variety of Henson  production s. He perform ed [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/P.J. P. J. ] in the Play - A l o ng video s, & Father Bunny & B e - Bop in The Tale of the Bunny Picnic. He w ould, al s o , perform Eliot Shag on Dog City & various other characters in Muppet Time insertions. He also performed the title character, Billy Bunny i n the Muppet Sing - Along video Billy Bunny ' s Animal Songs.

Clash became 1 of the main Muppeteers  on The  JIM   HENSON  Hour. His 2 main characters on the series were the lizard - like Leon & Clifford, the bass guitar / percussion player. O ut o f these 2, only Clifford has as remained a major character , subsequently appearing in The Muppets at Walt Disney World , The Muppets Celebrate  JIM   HENSON  , a guest spot on The Arsenio Hall Show , the albums Muppet Beach Party &  Kermit  Un  pig  g ed , & the feature films Muppets from Space & The Muppet s ' Wizard of Oz. How ever, Clifford became a star when he hosted the short - lived Muppets Tonight , for which Clash had also performed  Mulch & Craniac ( as well as Waldorf ' s performer in episode s 1 0 1 & 110 filling in f or  Dave Goelz  ). A lso, just as expected , Clash was incredibly devastated when his very dear friend & boss ,  JIM HENSON  , unexpectedly died.

Clash performed in many of the recent Muppet films, including Muppet Treasure Is la nd , Muppet s from Space , It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie & The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz. In Muppet Treasure Is la nd, he perform ed 1 of the main villains , Polly Lobster , as well as Spa ' am & Black Dog. He also performed the Muppetry  of many of  Frank Oz  ' s characters in many scene s, &  Frank Oz  performed the voices later. Although he performed the Sam the Eagle puppet but not the voice in Muppet Treasure Is la nd, he later perform ed t he character ' s voice , but not the Muppetry  , in It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie following the retirement of  Frank Oz  from the Muppets (  John Kennedy  performed the  Muppetry  ) , as well as in the video game Muppets Party Cruise.

Creature Shop Work
Clash worked on 1 of Jim Henson  's fantasy films, Labyrinth. He puppeteered & voiced the lead Fiery, while also operating Ambrosius & 1 of the Four Guards. Clash also worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle s, & Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II : The Secret of the Ooze , supplying t he face & voice of Master Splinter.

On Dinosaur s, Clash starred as Baby Sinclair & also played Howard Handupme & various episodic mammals.

Reflecting on his decades as a Muppeteer , in the fall of 2006 , Kevin Clash released an autobiography titled My Life a s a Furry Red Monster.

FRAN BRILL &  KEVIN   CLASH
Muppeteer ing on  SESAME STREET  soon partnered  CLASH  with various different Muppeteers  over the years. His most frequent partner however, was  FRAN BRILL . Ever since 1993, when Brill  1 st originate d the role o f Zoe , the character has always been paired with  Kevin   Clash  ' s Elmo , who quickly became Zoe ' s best f r i e nd , & vice versa.  BRILL  &  CLASH  have had several other pairing s over the year s also :

FRAN BRILL /  KEVIN   CLASH  Muppets Pairings

 * Zoe /  GROUCH   Cab Driver 
 * Zoe / Wolfgang the Seal
 * Zoe / Kingston Livingston III
 * Zoe / Elmo
 * Mae / Elmo
 * Miss Fran / Elmo
 * Sandy / Elmo
 * Mary / Elmo
 * Bell / Elmo
 * Birthday Cake / Elmo
 * Camera / Elmo
 * Bow / Elmo ( with Tyler Bunch ' s Violin character )
 * Wanda Cousteau / Wolfgang the Seal
 * Roxie Marie / Elmo
 * Roxie Marie / Kingston Livingston III
 * Roxie Marie / Hoots the Owl
 * Roxie Marie /  Preposterous 
 * Roxie Marie / Benny Rabbit
 * Prairie Dawn / Hoots the Owl
 * Prairie Dawn / Elmo
 * Prairie Dawn / Benny Rabbit
 * Prairie Dawn / Kingston Livingston III
 * Mary / Hoots the Owl
 * Queen Olivia / Elmo
 * The Sun / Elmo
 * Little Bird / Elmo
 * String Bean / Elmo
 * Porcupine / Billy Bunny
 * Polly Darton / Second Dog

Inter view s
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation interviewed Clash in 2 00 4 for the Archive of Ame ri can Television. T he 2 - h our interview was posted on YouTube in 2008.


 * Part 1
 * Part 2
 * Part 3
 * Part 4

Muppeteer Credit s

 * Clash ' s main Muppet character s :


 * Elmo :  SESAME STREET  Season 16 ( 1 9 8 5 ) - Season 44 ( 2 0 1 2 ) )


 * Ryan Dillon :  SESAME STREET  Season 44 ( 20 13 - present )


 *  SE SAME STREET  : E lmo ( 1984 - 2012 ), Baby Fats Domino , Baby Tooth , a beet f rom " Grow High Grow Low Grow High " , Benny Rabbit , The Big Bad Wolf ( several ' 80s  Sesame Street  New s Flash skit s ) , Billy Idle , Cee Lo Green Muppet , Chad , Chef John , Chip the Cat , Clementine ( 1985 - 1988 ) , Cloud , Cookie Monster ' s Mommy ( " Thee 1 st Time  Me  E a t  Cookie  " ) , Dexter ( hea d ) , T he Duck , Dr . Nobel Prize ( 1984 - 1 9 88 ) , Eel , Elmo ( 1985 - 2012 ) , Ernie ' s Lavender Anything Muppet friend from "  Don ' t  Throw That  Trash  on t h e Ground " , Female Sun , Ferlinghetti Donizetti ,  1 of the 4 Grouches Name d Moe  , The Grand High Triangle Lover , Gus , Honkers , Hoots t h e Owl , J . P. , Kermit the Frog ' s Doctor , Kingston Livingston III , L eft , " Let ' s G o Driving " s on ,  Luba Merquick  , Next Generation Security Officer Mel , Mike the Lady bug ,  Miss Blech man  , Baby Natasha , Pablo Paint Palette , Patti Paint brush , Paul Pen cil , Peter Piper , Pizzeria Dos Lavender worker ,  Preposterous  , Professor D . Rabbit , Sad , Sam ( pian is t ) , Selma  WORM  , Sergeant Gab riel , S h a r k i n " I G e t a K i c k O u t o f U " , The Sun ( in " Where D o I Be long ? " ) , The Super Foods broccoli , Timmy , Watson , Wolfgang the Seal , Yip Yip Martian
 * Follow That  BIRD  : Additional Muppeteer
 * The Alphabet Game : Dimples the Dog
 * Getting Ready to Read : Sam
 * F ree to Be . . . a Fam ily : Unemployed Bear
 * Labyrinth : Fi re y 1, Ambrosius , 1 of the Four Guards ( both Muppetry  only )
 * The Tale of the Bunny Picnic : Be - Bop, Father Bunny
 *  JIM   HENSON  ' s P lay - Along Video series : P . J.
 * Wo w, You ' re a Cartoonist ! : Artie
 * Neat Stuff T o Know & To D o : Dwayne, Vinny Brontosaurus
 * The  JIM   HENSON  Hour : Clifford, Leon , A ce Yu ( " Dog City " ) , Caiman ( " The Song of the Cloud F o r est " ) , Nick ( " The Song of the Cloud F or est " ) , Blue Extreme , Doglion , Frackles , Bob
 * The Cosby Show : The Hippocritic Oa f, Beautiful Day Monster , Luncheon Counter Monster , Pineapple
 * Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle s : Splinter
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World : Clifford
 * The Muppets Celebrate  Jim   Henson  : Clifford
 * Dinosaur s : Baby Sinclair, Howard Handupme , Howlin ' Jay , Female Grap delite , Dino saur Chief ( face ) , Ethyl Phillips ( sometime s , Muppetry  ) , Mr . Ashland (  Muppetry  ) , Pterodactyl (  Muppetry  )
 * Dog City : Eliot Shag
 * Billy Bunny ' s Animal Songs : Billy Bunny
 *  SESAME   STREET  Stays Up Late ! : Elmo ( 1984 - 2 0 12 ), Cousin Pe pe ,  Elmo  - nos ke & Bjarne Betjent ( voi ce )
 * Muppet Time : Do Re Mi Monster, Jeffy
 * M r . Willowby ' s Chris t mas Tree : Father Mouse
 * Muppet Treasure Is la nd : Bad Polly, Spa ' am , Black Dog , Real Old Tom ; Muppeteer  for Miss Piggy , Fozzie Bear , Sam the Eagle ( some scenes ) , Mr . Bimbo
 * The Wubbulous World o f Dr . Seuss : Little Cat Fleep
 * Muppets Tonight : Carter, Clifford , Composta Heap , Craniac , Galahad , Moo - Ing ' s henchman , Mulch , Lester Tomwater , Arthur Modell , Waldorf ( 1 01 & 110 )
 * Muppets from Space : Clifford
 *  The Adventure s o f  Elmo  i n  GROUCH  land  : Elmo ( 1984 - 2012 ),  Grouch   Cab Driver  ,  Grouch   Jail er  ,  Pestie 
 * Muppet Race Mania : Clifford & Spa ' am
 *  B ert  &  Ernie  ' s Word P lay : Elmo ( 1 9 8 4 - 20 12 ), The Frosty Four
 * It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie : Sam the Eagle ( voice on l y ) & Clifford
 * The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz : Clifford
 *  SESAME  Beginnings : Baby Elmo
 *  Elmo  ' s Christ mas  Count  d ow n : Elmo ( 1 9 8 4 - 20 12 ), The Mouse King
 * Panwapa : Azibo the Monster

Animation voice s

 *  SE SAME STREET  : Grandpa Mudcat, " Madlenka " theme sing er , " Feets Too Big " shoe salesman
 *  BIG  Bag : Avery
 * A  SESAME   STREET  Christ mas Carol : Sam the Super Automated Ghost of Christ mas Future

Direct o r

 * Beginning Together ( 2006 )
 * Make Music Together ( 2006 )
 * A Celebration of  Me ,  Grover  ( 2004 )
 * Ki ds ' Favorite Country Songs ( 2007 )
 * L e t ' s Eat ! ( 1 99 8 )
 * Here for You ( 2007 )
 *  Abby  in Wonder land ( 2008 )

Produce r

 *  The Adventures of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  land  ( 1999 )
 *  Elmo  ' s World ( 1998 - 2011 )
 *  SESAME  Beginnings ( 2006 )
 *  Elmo  palooza ( 1 998 )
 * Cinder  Elmo  ( 1 999 )
 * Coming Home ( 2 009 )

Other

 * Labyrinth ( 1 9 86 ), assistant production coordinator
 * Muppet Treasure Is la nd ( 1 9 9 6 ), puppet coordinator
 * Dog City ( 1 99 2 - 1 99 5 ), puppet captain
 *  BIG  Bag ( 1 996 - 1 9 9 8 ), production consultant

Note s

 * His daughter Shannon was born in 1993 . A s a little girl, she thought Elmo w as her brother . L at er on : " [ Laugh s , impersonating h is daughter ] " H i Daddy , can I speak to Elmo ? " " Y eah , yeah , OK . " [ In Elmo ' s v oice ] " H i  Shannon  . " " Hi Elmo — listen there ' s this new Barbie t hat I ... " [ Laughs ] L et me tell you , Shannon has earned many more Emmys than I have with her dramatic s … I ' d take my Emmy & put it down on t h e f loor . [ Applauding ] " O h , you deserve this , girl . "
 * Clash i s left - handed.
 * Clash rarely ever appeared on talk shows without Elmo . 1 of the few instances in which he appeared on TV as himself was on The Oprah Winfrey Show, in a 2006 episode , " The Faces Behind the Famous Names ".
 * He made a longer appearance on the July 11 th, 2006 broadcast of Rove Live performing Elmo 1 s t & later appearing as himself with Elmo . Other appearances on TV as himself include Emeril Live &  Grill It ! with Bobby Flay . In the latter , he prepares a ribeye steak & his favorite vidalia onion recipe with butter & garlic which he describes as what  Sesame Street  would call a " sometime food ".
 * Clash made an appearance on The CW ' s  The Game  in the 2009 episode " Do the Wright Thing " as t he o n - camera puppeteer o f Mookie.

Awards & honors

 * Clash won Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in a Chil dren ' s Series for his work as Elmo & Hoots the Owl on  SESAME STREET  i n 1 9 9 0, 2001 , 2002 , 2003 , 2004 , 2005 , & 2 00 7.

External l in k s

 * KEVIN CLASH o n I M D b