Jerry Nelson has Died

Man, what a bummer. Jerry Nelson, lifelong Muppeteer and musician has passed away. Jerry is best known for performing Floyd, Robin, Gobo Fraggle, and The Count, and he’s always been my favorite Muppeteer. He had an extremely versatile voice and I always loved when he got to sing.

Jerry had been sick for a while and passed away yesterday on August 23rd, 2012.

In the past few years, his health kept him from performing but he still recorded voice overs for Sesame Street, and even made a cameo appearance in last year’s The Muppets as the theater announcer. He was a gifted musician, and in 2010 released an album called Truro Daydreams. One of my proudest geek moments on the site was when he left a comment on the post I made about his album.

I usually pride myself in keeping my email inbox cleaned out and manageable, but I’ve never been able to archive the email I got from the site the day Jerry Nelson left a comment. I always wanted to send him a quick email letting him know what a huge fan I was, but I never did. I think I’ll keep that email around.

In addition to the Muppet movies, some of my favorite things Jerry was a part of include Follow That Bird and Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas. And of course, it’s impossible to think about Fraggle Rock without Jerry Nelson. He was Gobo Fraggle and Marjory the Trash Heap, Pa Gorg, and many more.

Make sure to read Tough Pigs’ great write up and leave a comment with your favorite Jerry Nelson moments.