Richard Hunt Richard Hunt ( August 17 , 1951 - January 7 , 1992 ) was a longtime Muppet performer who is known for his many characters , his accomplished singing voice , and his warm backstage personality . Hunt brought many popular characters to life , including Scooter , Beaker , Janice , Statler , Sweetums , Junior Gorg , Don Music and Forgetful Jones . Early Years . Hunt was born in New York City , the second of five children and the first of two sons . The family eventually moved to Closter , New Jersey some years later . Because everyone in his family had worked in show business at some point , Hunt always felt he ' d end up in entertainment , too . While in middle school and high school , he put on puppet shows for local children , and he was a fan of the then - fledgling Muppets from a young age . " I ' d drop anything to watch them , " he said , " I thought they were weird . " After high school graduation and a four - month stint of doing weather reports at a local radio station , Hunt had his first inkling that he might join the Muppets . Hunt ' s mother , Jane , recalled Hunt ' s first meeting with Jim Henson : His first project was The Great Santa Claus Switch in 1970 , along with Fran Brill . A few weeks later , he was invited to be in a workshop production . The newcomer was so good , Henson asked him to work a Muppet appearance on " The Ed Sullivan Show " . Again he scored high marks , and in June 1972 , Richard Hunt was hired full - time on " Sesame Street " . Hunt mostly performed background characters in early specials . One of his first major performances was as Taminella Grinderfall in " The Frog Prince " , puppeteering the character while Jerry Juhl performed the voice . He also performed Mildred and Big Mouse in " The Muppets Valentine Show " , and many minor characters in " " . He also performed Wisss on " Saturday Night Live " , and Charlie Beaver in " Emmet Otter ' s Jug - Band Christmas " . Sesame Street Works . During his first few seasons on " Sesame Street " , Hunt was basically a background puppeteer , assisting other performers with characters ( manipulating the right hands of certain characters , and performing the back half of Mr . Snuffleupagus ) or performing characters to pre - recorded tracks . Hunt gradually became one of the main Muppeteers , performing such characters as Sully , Gladys the Cow , Don Music , and Forgetful Jones . He also appeared in the flesh on Episode 1576 as Cedric the birdwatcher , alongside Madeline Kahn . Although a main performer on the show , none of Richard Hunt ' s " Sesame Street " characters became major characters in the same way as Big Bird , Cookie Monster , and Elmo ( who Hunt actually performed as a minor character , 1984 - 1985 ) . Even after being a main puppeteer , Hunt would often perform in Sesame Street productions ( such as " Christmas Eve on Sesame Street " and " Don ' t Eat the Pictures " ) where he didn ' t perform character voices . Richard Hunt served as a mentor to newer puppeteers . When a new puppeteer joined the " Sesame " set , Hunt was the first to haze and initiate them into the group . Despite this , he always took new puppeteers to lunch , as well as anyone on the set who wanted to join him . He was known to often read the newspaper as he was performing a character and doing that character ' s lines . Muppet Show Antics . Richard Hunt was one of the main performers on " The Muppet Show " , and one of five performers to be a regular performer on all five seasons . His main character was Scooter , but he also performed Beaker , Statler , Janice , and Sweetums . During the first season , he shared the role of Miss Piggy with Frank Oz , but by the end of the first season , Piggy became Oz ' s main character , and Hunt no longer performed her . Richard Hunt has also been noted for his fine singing voice . As Scooter , he sang such songs as " Six String Orchestra " and " There ' s a New Sound . " He also performed Wayne , who was part of the singing duo Wayne and Wanda , and though the two stopped appearing after the second season , Wayne eventually came back to make solo appearances every now and then , singing such songs as " Catch a Falling Star " and " For Me and My Goyle . " Despite Hunt ' s singing voice and the fact that Janice was a musician , Janice seldom sang lead vocals in songs . She did have two major lead - singing performances , singing " With a Little Help From My Friends " and " Rockin ' Robin . " In the 1981 book " Of Muppets and Men " , Christopher Finch described Hunt ' s endless energy and humor . " He seems to get more unadulterated pleasure from performing than anyone else in the organization , " Finch wrote . " When he is not working on camera , he is apt to have Scooter or Beaker or Janice - - anyone - - on his arm for the purpose of entertaining visitors to the studio . If there are no visitors around , he will attempt to entertain his co - workers . . . Like Jerry Nelson , he is a versatile on - camera performer , but his importance to the show derives also from his off - camera personality . He makes the crew laugh , jokes with the guest star , clowns for the shop personnel . He is one of the chief reasons for the loose atmosphere that exists around Studio D despite the pressure and the slow pace that are endemic to television production . " Fraggle Rock . On " Fraggle Rock " , Richard Hunt had two major characters , Junior Gorg and Gunge . He also performed many minor and one - shot guest characters , and he originally performed The Storyteller Fraggle ( before Terry Angus took over ) . Richard Hunt was most involved with the show during its first season , since unlike Sprocket or the main five Fraggles , his characters weren ' t needed for every ( or almost every ) episode . After that season , as the background performers began to do more character voices on the show , Hunt performed less frequently on the series , spending his extra time on " Sesame Street " . According to Terry Angus , " After the first season , Richard didn ' t come in as much , because his characters weren ' t really called for that often and all of us Canadians were given a chance to do characters every now and then which gave Richard an easier time of it . Plus , he was going down to work on " Sesame Street " . " Richard Hunt also assisted in the audition process for background puppeteers on " Fraggle Rock " . He made his directorial debut with the fifth season episode " . " He also made a cameo as himself ( " The Boss " director ) in " Fraggles Look for Jobs " , the show ' s wrap tape . Richard Hunt and Jerry Nelson . Richard Hunt ' s characters were often paired with those of Jerry Nelson . On " Sesame Street " , Hunt ' s Sully was the construction worker sidekick to Nelson ' s Biff . Nelson ' s Floyd Pepper was often paired with Janice in musical numbers . Floyd also shared lead vocals with Scooter in the " Mr . Bassman " number . Hunt performed Sweetums alongside Nelson ' s Robin the Frog in the song " Two Lost Souls " . Hunt also performed Junior Gorg , the son of Nelson ' s Pa Gorg . Additionally , the two performers shared the role of the Two - Headed Monster . They also play the children in the Twiddlebug family with Hunt performing the son , Timmy Twiddlebug , and Nelson performing the daughter , Tina Twiddlebug . Another notable team - up included Hunt ' s role as Gunge , normally paired with Marjory the Trash Heap ( a Nelson character ) , in addition to Dave Goelz ' Philo character . Both performers had characters named after them in the band Little Jerry and the Monotones , with Hunt performing Rockin ' Richard alongside Nelson ' s Little Jerry . Jerry Nelson recalled the relationship : Later Years . During the late 1980s , Richard Hunt was still active in new productions and performing new characters . He performed Tug Monster on the short - lived " Little Muppet Monsters " series , and The Wild Impresario on the short - lived " Ghost of Faffner Hall " . In specials , he performed Lugsy in " The Tale of the Bunny Picnic " and Belmont in " The Christmas Toy " . Hunt has also occasionally appeared on - screen in movies and television productions . He made an on - screen cameo as a taxi driver in " The Great Muppet Caper " , he played the role of Wilson in " Trading Places " ( which also featured fellow Muppeteer Frank Oz ) , and he played the role of Larry in " Oxford Blues " . He also played the role of Del in Jim Henson ' s failed pilot " Puppetman " . He also spent an hour entertaining the audience during the taping of " The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show " . In addition to directing the aforementioned " Fraggle Rock " episode , Richard Hunt also directed the 1988 direct - to - video production " Sing - Along , Dance - Along , Do - Along " and received directing credits in " Elmo ' s Sing - Along Guessing Game " and " The Best of Elmo " . Death . Hunt died of AIDS - related complications in 1992 . Among his last productions were " The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson " , " Muppet * Vision 3D " , and " Muppet Sing Alongs : Billy Bunny ' s Animal Songs " ( the last of which was released in 1993 , one year after his death ) . Following his death , Scooter was retired and absent as a character in all productions until " Muppets from Space " . For years , few of Hunt ' s other characters ( with the notable exceptions of Beaker , Statler , and Sweetums ) were recast with new performers . Many of his other characters ( like Forgetful Jones and Placido Flamingo ) were relegated to silent background roles , though several ( such as Gladys the Cow ) have been gradually recast since then . Most of Hunt ' s main " Muppet Show " characters have been inherited by Steve Whitmire and David Rudman in recent productions , including 2011 ' s " The Muppets " . According to his page on FindAGrave . com , Hunt was cremated . Some ashes were spread into the flower garden at the Hunt family home in New Jersey . Many panels were created in his honor for the NAMES Project AIDS Quilt , including one created by his friends in The Muppet Workshop . Jon Stone , former director of Sesame Street , said this at the time of Hunt ' s death : External links . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _