Jeff Moss

 Jeffrey   Arnold   " Jeff "   Moss  ( June 19 t h, 1942 - September 24th , 1998 ) w as a head writer  &  composer  -  lyricist  on  SESAME STREET . Some o f his best - known song s from t he show  include " RUBBER DUCK I E ", "  I LOVE TRASH  " , " The Peo ple in Yo u r Neighborhood " , "  I   D O N ' T  Want t o Live o n t h e Moon " & "  NASTY D AN  ". In addition to song writing, Moss help ed to create Cookie Monster ,  OSCAR THE GROUCH  , & Guy Smiley.

Moss won 1 5 Emmys for his work & wrote the songs for 4 Grammy Award - winning records. When released as a single in 1970, " RUBBER DUCKIE " sold more than a million copies. Moss ' songs  were know n internationally as well ; Claude François ' recording o f "  NASTY DAN  " went to number 1 on the pop chart i n France.

Moss also composed the song s & score for The Muppet s Take Manhattan, for which he receive d an Academy Award nomination for Best Music , Original Song Score. The Oscar went t o Prince f o r " Purple Rain ".

Moss wrote over a dozen be st - selling books under t he  SESAME STREET  label, including The  SESAME   STREET  Book of Poetry. Several of his songs  have been illustrated & published as well. He also wrote 3 collection s of chil dren ' s poet ry & several short stories.

But then, most unfortunately , Jeff Moss passed away of colon cancer on September 24 th , 1998. 1 of his last writing credit s was the script for t he  Elmo  ' s World segment " Music ".

The Muppets Take Manhattan
See also : The Muppets Take Manhattan soundtrack

Trivia

 * Moss also gave voice to several Anything Muppet singers o n  SESAME STREET , including namesakes Big Jeffy ( of Little Jerry & t h e Monotone s ) , & Jeffy ( who sang "  I ' m  Going t o Get My Hair Cut " with Cookie Monster ) . He also voiced a Lavender back - up singer for Little Chrissy & the Alphabeats.
 * Episode 3786 was dedicate d in memory of Moss.

SESAME STREET Books

 * People i n My Family ( 1 9 7 1 )
 * Peo ple in Yo ur Neighbor hood ( 1 9 71 )
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Story book ( 19 71 )
 *  Cookie   Monster  ' s Circle Book ( 1972 )
 * T h e  SESAME   STREET  1, 2 , 3 Story book ( 1 9 7 3 )
 * The  SESAME   STREET  ABC Story book ( 1 9 7 4 )
 *  OSCAR  ' s Book  ( 1 9 7 5 )
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Book of Fairy Tale s ( 1 9 7 5 )
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Bedtime Storybook ( 19 78 )
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Library ( 19 78 - 19 79 )
 * People in My Family ( 1 9 83 )
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Treasury ( 1 9 8 3 )
 * The Songs of  SESAME   STREET  i n Poem s & Picture s ( 1 9 8 3 )
 * The  SESAME   STREET  Book of Poetry ( 1 99 2 )

Other Poet r y Collection s

 *  The   Butter fly   Jar 
 *  The   Other Side   of   the   Door 
 *  Bone   Poem s 

Other Short Stories

 *  Bob   &   Jack :   A   B o y   &   His   Yak 
 *  Hieronymus   White 
 *  Dad   of   the   Dad   of   the   Dad   of   Your   Dad 

External l ink s

 * Festival Attraction s, Inc . on Internet Archive
 * JEFF MOSS on IMDb