Kevin Clash

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Kevin Clash

Clash with Elmo at the 2010 National Book Festival
Born September 17, 1960 (1960-09-17) (age 51)
Turners Station, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States
Occupation Puppeteer, voice actor

Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer and voice actor whose characters include Elmo, Baby Sinclair, Clifford, Splinter and Hoots the Owl. He currently serves as Sesame Street Muppet Captain and co-executive producer.

In the fall of 2006, Clash released an autobiography titled My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud.

Contents

[edit] Television appearances

His first television work was for the then-CBS affiliate in Baltimore, WMAR, on a show called Caboose. He also performed a pelican character for Zep, a local Washington, D.C. show airing on WTOP-TV.

In the early '80s, he performed regularly, with Jim Martin, on Bob Keeshan's long-running Captain Kangaroo series, as well as building puppets and occasionally appearing on-camera.

From 1981 to 1986, he appeared in The Great Space Coaster, as Goriddle Gorilla and Huggle Scuffy. On that show, he attracted the attention of Muppet designer Kermit Love, who invited him to work on various Henson projects.

In the latter part of 2011 Clash appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart to speak about his book and his character Elmo

[edit] Coming to the Muppets

Clash first met puppet-builder Kermit Love in 1978. Love was occasionally able to arrange for Clash to visit the set of Sesame Street. In 1979, the main Muppet performers were performing in the bus scene in Muppet Movie the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and extra puppeteers were needed for the Sesame Street float, so Clash got to perform Cookie Monster in the parade.[1]

Later, in 1983, he was officially hired to perform in ten episodes of Sesame Street. However, at the time Clash was performing full-time on two other shows, and the producers of both shows refused to work around his schedule, so he was forced to tear up his contract to appear on Sesame Street.[1]

Clash was also given the opportunity to perform in The Dark Crystal, but Love talked him out of being involved in the movie, saying that he should concentrate on his work in the series with which he was currently involved.

Clash officially became a puppeteer on Sesame Street in 1984. Some of his earliest characters included Hoots the Owl, Baby Natasha, and Dr. Nobel Price, but it was Elmo who became his main character. Clash has also sung in voice-over in a variety of film and animation songs on Sesame Street, including "In My Animal Book" and "Take Care of That Smile". During the late 1980s, Clash was involved with a variety of Henson productions. He performed P.J. in the Play-Along videos, and Father Bunny and Be-Bop in Tale of the Bunny Picnic. He would also perform Eliott Shag on Dog City, various characters in Muppet Time insertials, and he performed a number of characters—most notably Baby Sinclair, but also Howard Handupme—on Dinosaurs. He also performed the title character in the Muppet Sing-Along video Billy Bunny's Animal Songs.

[edit] The Jim Henson Hour

Clash became one of the main Muppet performers on The Jim Henson Hour. His two main characters on that show were the lizard-like Leon and the bass player Clifford. Of these two, only Clifford has remained a major character, having also appeared in The Muppets at Walt Disney World; The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson; an appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show; the albums Muppet Beach Party and Kermit Unpigged; and the feature films Muppets from Space and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. However, Clifford became a star when he hosted the short-lived Muppets Tonight. On that show, Clash also performed Mulch and Craniac.

[edit] Film credits

Clash's film credits include Jim Henson's fantasy film Labyrinth; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze; The Muppet movies Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets from Space, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz; and the Sesame Street films Follow That Bird and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

[edit] Additional work

Clash was co-executive producer for Elmopalooza, co-producer for The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, and co-executive producer for CinderElmo and Elmo's World. He has also served as either puppet coordinator, assistant puppet coordinator, or puppet captain on many productions, including Labyrinth, Muppet Treasure Island, The Puzzle Place, Big Bag and Dog City.

He occasionally played Miss Piggy and Statler in Muppets Tonight.

[edit] Other appearances

[edit] Food Network

Clash was also a featured guest on the Food Network series Grill It! with Bobby Flay, where he shared his "Killer Ribeye Steak" recipe.[2]

[edit] Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

Clash is the subject of an award-winning documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey [3], released in 2011 and screened at American film festivals. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.

[edit] Puppeteer credits

[edit] Awards & honors

  • Clash won Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series for his work as Elmo and Hoots the Owl on Sesame Street in 1990, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009.
  • He was the first recipient of the 'Miss Jean' Worthley Award for Service to Families and Children given by Maryland Public Television on June 9, 2007.

[edit] References and footnotes

  1. ^ a b What Elmo Has taught You About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud
  2. ^ TV : Grill It! with Bobby Flay : Rib Eye Steaks : Food Network (Accessed 2008-08-09)
  3. ^ [1] (Accessed 2011-06-25)

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  • Puppet Up! (2006–present)
  • Late Night Buffet with Augie and Del (2006)
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  • Alt/Reality (2008)
  • Simian Undercover Detective Squad (2011)
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