Jerry L. Nelson

 Jerry L. Nelson (July 10, 1934 – August 23, 2012)

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. Nelson was the first puppeteer to perform Mr. Snuffleupagus, keeping the role from 1971 to 1978. 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. Nelson's characters were often singers or musicians. He performed the lead vocals for many songs as Floyd of the Electric Mayhem, Little Jerry of Little Jerry and the Monotones, Slim Wilson of Lubbock Lou and his Jughuggers, and a number of Anything Muppet bands. Most of his main characters in all three shows sang songs at one time or another. Nelson also performed the character voice of General Public in the Cartoon Network animated series Sheep in the Big City.

In 2004, Nelson announced that he would no longer be puppeteering his Muppet characters, citing health reasons. Nelson suffered from prostate cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and emphysema. For the last six years of his life, he required an oxygen tank to assist his breathing. He died from complications of his illnesses at age 78 on August 28, 2012. Nelson was married twice, and had a daughter from his first marriage.