Kevin Clash Kevin Jeffrey Clash ( b . September 17 , 1960 ) is an accomplished puppeteer whose characters include Elmo , Clifford , and Hoots the Owl . He served as " Sesame Street " Muppet Captain and co - executive producer for several years and was promoted to " senior creative advisor " at Sesame Workshop in May 2007 . Reflecting on his decades as a puppeteer , Clash released an autobiography titled " My Life as a Furry Red Monster " in the fall of 2006 . The 2011 documentary " " chronicles Clash ' s life as a puppeteer . Clash resigned from his role on " Sesame Street " in November 2012 following allegations of improper sexual conduct . He has since relocated to the Los Angeles area , continuing to puppeteer on Jim Henson Company projects . Background . Clash was born and raised in Turner ' s Station , a predominantly black suburb of Baltimore , Maryland . Clash grew up with parents George and Gladys , older siblings George Jr . ( " Georgie " ) and Anita ( " NeNe " ) , and little sister Pam . His father works as a flash welder operator at Raymond Metals and a neighborhood handyman , and his mother ran a daycare . Clash began building puppets at the age of ten . Clash ' s parents were supportive of his interest in puppetry , driving him to puppet shows , allowing for his love of television and craft , and not urging him to attend college when he announced he was pursuing puppetry professionally . Among his television viewing were such series as Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop , " Kukla , Fran , and Ollie " , and " H . R . Pufnstuf " . Clash has admitted he watched television inches away from the screen , with no permanent eye damage . His parents were supposedly more amused than angered when he cut apart his father ' s good overcoat to create a monkey puppet with the fuzzy black lining . As a tribute , Elmo ' s parents were named George and Gladys in an " Elmo ' s World " segment ; their names have since been changed . He performed on Baltimore ' s Harbor Front as a teenager . In high school , he was voted " Most Likely to be a Millionaire . " Early television work . Clash ' s first television work was for a CBS affiliate in Baltimore . He also performed a pelican character for " Zep " , a local Washington , D . C . show airing on WTOP . In the early ' 80s , he performed regularly , with Jim Martin , on Bob Keeshan ' s " Wake Up with the Captain " , a continuation of " Captain Kangaroo " . Clash performed a young boy named Artie and other characters , built puppets , and occasionally appeared on - camera , as Kevin the college student and various ensemble roles . From 1981 to 1986 , he appeared in " The Great Space Coaster " , as Goriddle Gorilla , Rory and Huggle Scuffy . During this stint , he attracted the attention of Muppet designer Kermit Love , who invited him to work on various Henson projects . His company , Clash Puppets , created the sets for a 1986 video " Wrinkles : In Need of Cuddles " and the puppets for 1990s series " The Puzzle Place " ; he was a puppeteer for both productions . Working with the Muppets . Kevin Clash first met Kermit Love in the 1970s , who occasionally arranged for the fledgling puppeteer to visit the set of " Sesame Street " . In 1979 , the main Muppet performers were performing in a " Muppet Movie " float in the Macy ' s Thanksgiving Day Parade , and extra puppeteers were needed for the " Sesame Street " float . Clash was brought in to perform Cookie Monster for the event . 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 refused to work around his schedule . Thus , Clash was forced to tear up his contract to appear on " Sesame Street " . Kevin Clash was also given the opportunity to perform in " The Dark Crystal " , but Kermit Love dissuaded him , urging Clash to concentrate on his other series work . Kevin Clash officially became a " Sesame Street " puppeteer in 1984 . Some of his earliest characters included Hoots the Owl and Dr . Nobel Price , later supplemented by the likes of Baby Natasha and Kingston Livingston III . However , it was Elmo who became his main character , once Clash assumed the part from previous puppeteers Brian Muehl and Richard Hunt , and placed his own imprint on the red monster . Clash has also sung in voice - over in a variety of film and cartoon inserts on the series , including " Skin " , " Animal Books " , and " Take Care of That Smile . " Clash served as an additional Muppet performer on " Follow That Bird " , where he performed the voice of one of the feathered friends , and reprised Elmo , along with other characters , in the feature film " The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland " and innumerable specials , appearances , and videos . 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 " The Tale of the Bunny Picnic " . He would also perform Eliot Shag on " Dog City " , various characters in " Muppet Time " interstitials . He also performed the title character in the " Muppet Sing - Along " video " Billy Bunny ' s Animal Songs " . Clash became one of the main Muppet performers on " The Jim Henson Hour " . His two main characters on the series were the lizard - like Leon and the bass player Clifford . Out of these two , only Clifford has remained a major character , subsequently appearing in " The Muppets at Walt Disney World " , " The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson " , a guest spot 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 " , for which Clash also performed Mulch and Craniac . Clash performed in many of the recent Muppet films , including " Muppet Treasure Island " , " Muppets from Space " , " It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie " , and " The Muppets Wizard of Oz " . In " Muppet Treasure Island " , he performed one of the main villains , Polly Lobster , as well as Spa ' am and Black Dog . He also performed many of Frank Oz ' s characters in many scenes , and Frank Oz performed the voices later . Although he performed the Sam the Eagle puppet but not the voice in " Muppet Treasure Island " , he would later perform the character ' s voice , but not the puppetry , in " It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie " ( John Kennedy did the actual puppeteering ) , as well as in the video game " Muppets Party Cruise " . Creature Shop Work . Clash ' s worked on Jim Henson ' s fantasy film " Labyrinth " . Clash provided puppeteered and voiced the lead Fiery , while also operating Ambrosius and one of The Four Guards . Clash also worked on " Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles " , and " " , supplying the face and voice of Splinter . On " Dinosaurs " , Clash starred as Baby Sinclair and also played Howard Handupme and various episodic mammals . Resignation from Sesame Workshop . Clash resigned from " Sesame Street " in November 2012 in response to two allegations that he had sexual relationships with minors , which Clash denied , stating that any relationships that occurred were between consenting adults . Clash has since been twice cleared of the charges . Sesame Workshop released a statement about Clash ' s resignation on November 20 : Upon Clash ' s departure , his tenure as Elmo ( and other " Sesame Street " characters ) ended . Portions of season 44 had already been filmed prior to his departure , and so material featuring Clash as Elmo continued to be featured throughout the 2013 - 2014 season of " Sesame Street " ; performing Elmo consistently in most street scenes ( most with Clash only providing pre - recorded vocal tracks ) , as well as the " Elmo the Musical " segments , sporadic inserts and some " Word of the Day " bits . A PSA featuring Clash as Elmo and Chris Colfer appears on the " Little Children , Big Challenges " website . Existing Elmo material recorded by Clash from previous seasons is included in almost every episode . Clash ' s last known public performance of Elmo was during a radio interview with WNYC on October 30 , 2012 ( twenty days before his official resignation from Sesame Workshop ) . Ryan Dillon has since taken over the character of Elmo . In a statement regarding Clash ' s departure , Sesame Workshop stated : " Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of " Sesame Street " to engage , educate and inspire children around the world , as it has for 40 years . " Following his departure from Sesame Workshop , Clash has since continued working with The Jim Henson Company on projects such as a Nintendo commercial with puppets , and performing Wembley Fraggle at the Puppets for Puppetry fundraiser event on September 24 , 2016 . External links . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _