Kevin Clash

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Kevin Clash
Born 17 September 1960 (1960-09-17) (age 48)
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Occupation Voice actor

Kevin Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an African American voice actor and puppeteer 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.


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 Wake Up with the Captain 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, Rory and Huggle Scuffy. On that show, he attracted the attention of Muppet designer Kermit Love, who invited him to work on various Henson projects.

[edit] Coming to the Muppets

Kevin Clash first met puppet builder Kermit Love in the year 1978. Kermit Love was occasionally able to arrange for Kevin Clash to visit the set of Sesame Street. In 1979, the main Muppet performers were performing in a Muppet Movie float in the 1979 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and extra puppeteers were needed for the Sesame Street float, so Kevin 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 he was performing full-time on two other shows, and the producers of both shows refused to work around Kevin Clash's schedule, so Clash was forced to tear up his contract to appear on Sesame Street.[1]

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

Kevin 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

He 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. Out 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 films 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, and Dog City. He occasionally played Miss Piggy and Statler in Muppets Tonight

[edit] Other Appearances

[edit] Food Network

Kevin Clash is also a featured guest on The Food Network show "Grill It! with Bobby Flay". He shares his "Killer Ribeye Steak" recipe.[2]

[edit] Puppeteer credits

[edit] Awards & honors

  • Kevin 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 and 2007.

[edit] References and footnotes

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

[edit] External links

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