Michael Earl Michael Earl ( September 10 , 1959 - December 23 , 2015 ) was a puppeteer who performed in many Muppet and non - Muppet productions , most notably as Mr . Snuffleupagus on " Sesame Street " . Earl joined the Muppets in 1978 at the age of 19 . After three years under contract , he freelanced with the Muppets for the next twelve years on several projects . After leaving the Muppets , Earl went on to become a four - time Emmy Award - winning puppeteer and writer / lyricist . Biography . Michael Earl ( Davis ) grew up in San Leandro and Livermore , CA . He began his professional career at age five acting in a Curad bandage TV commercial . Two years later he was tapped to be the original " Is It Soup Yet ? " kid for Lipton . He performed original puppet shows from ages 10 - 17 and once a year attended Puppeteers of America festivals . On weekends during his high school years , Earl was an apprentice at Children ' s Fairyland Puppet Theater in Oakland , CA , where Frank Oz once worked and his father , Mike Oznowicz , sometimes visited . At 17 , Earl attended a puppetry festival where he met Kermit Love , who talked to Jim Henson about the earnest young puppeteer ( as did Oznowicz ) . At 18 , he moved to New York City and acted in some TV commercials , as well as landing a puppeteering job working for his childhood idol , Bil Baird . At 19 , Michael was hired sight - unseen by Jim Henson for " The Muppet Movie " and subsequently won the role of Mr . Snuffleupagus on " Sesame Street " , replacing the original performer , Jerry Nelson . During the 1978 season , Earl lip - synced as Nelson sat in the director ' s booth and read the lines live . CTW producers later awarded Michael the voice part of the job as well , and Snuffy was officially his character for the next two seasons . Bringing up the " rear " during those years were Brian Muehl , Frank Kane and Bryant Young . 20 - year - old Karen Prell came on board as Deena Monster , as did a new 19 - year - old puppeteer Kermit Love met from Maryland named Kevin Clash , who debuted as Forgetful Jones ' horse , Buster . During the 1978 - 79 seasons of " Sesame Street " , Earl , Brian Muehl and Caroll Spinney performed most of the day - to - day puppetry while the other Henson Muppeteers were working in London on " The Muppet Show " . Olga Felgemacher was another puppeteer who occasionally performed on Sesame Street at that time . Earl met Felgemacher and Bruce Schwartz on the set of " The Muppet Movie " . During his time on " Sesame Street " , Earl was an understudy for Caroll Spinney as Big Bird , but never actually performed the character on " Sesame Street " . However , he did puppeteer Big Bird in the finale of " The Muppet Movie " but did not perform Big Bird ' s voice . Earl took over the roles of Slimey ( his personal favorite ) , Poco Loco and Snuffy from Jerry Nelson , and created the roles of Forgetful Jones , Polly Darton , Leslie Mostly and dozens of incidental Anything Muppets . In 1979 , Earl and Brian Muehl were invited by Jim Henson to workshop body combinations ( along with two dancers ) for " The Dark Crystal " , with Brian Froud observing their many workshop sessions and sketching " skins " over the dancer / puppeteer movements and forms as part of the development process for the film . Earl ' s other Muppet credits include " The Muppets Take Manhattan " , " John Denver and The Muppets : A Christmas Together " , " Little Muppet Monsters " , " The Jim Henson Hour " , " " , the National Wildlife Federation PSA ' s and " Dinosaurs " . Originally Michael Earl Davis , he dropped the " Davis " from his name when AFTRA and SAG informed him they already had a " Mike Davis " on file and only one was allowed in the union . A New York - trained actor / singer / dancer , Earl has appeared in and / or sung on numerous television commercials , movies , stage and TV shows . He has acted with Whoopi Goldberg , danced with Gregory Hines , and clowned with Victor Borge . For the stage , Michael created the role of Noel Petard in Sid and Marty Krofft ' s critically acclaimed " A Broadway Baby . " His other stage work includes Audrey II in " Little Shop of Horrors " and his 1998 biographical musical one - man show " Pure Imagination ! " , which he wrote and performed in Los Angeles and New York . Earl is a seven - time Emmy nominee and in 1995 , won his first Emmy Award for his performance as Dr . Ticktock in " Ticktock Minutes " , produced by Mississippi Educational Television . In subsequent years he was awarded three more Southern Regional Emmys for his lyric writing ( in collaboration with composer Randy Klein ) on a series of PBS interstitials . Earl met Drew Massey ( a fellow Livermore native ) when Massey was seven years old , teaching him puppet making at his school . Years later , after reconnecting through Massey ' s mother in a local supermarket , Earl recognized Massey ' s innate talent and mentored him while Massey was in college , giving him his first few puppeteering jobs and introducing him to the Muppets . Earl has coached many TV and film puppeteers , including Camille Bonora , Brian Muehl , Kevin Carlson , James Murray , Betsy Baytos and Sean Johnson . Michael Earl lived in Los Angeles , California , where he founded " Puppet School " with Roberto Ferreira . There he taught TV puppetry to actors and others interested in adding to their skill set . On December 23 , 2015 , Michael lost his three - year battle with colon cancer at the age of 56 . External links . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _