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.

The Top Hat Sasquatch team reads a lot of blog posts every day, and some slip through the crack or just don’t warrant their own post. That’s where Missing Links comes in. Every few days we collect the best links we’ve come across and pass them on to you.

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If you listened to our last episode of Bubble Pipe Theater, you heard me mention ‘A Muppet Family Christmas’ as I rambled on about the Muppets with Tim and Rob. I can’t believe I haven’t written about it on the site before, because it just may be my all-time favorite holiday special. It’s a unique blend of Henson characters that just couldn’t be possible today with Disney owning the Muppets.

‘A Muppet Family Christmas’ first aired on television way back in 1987 and I just have vague memories of seeing it as a kid. It wasn’t until 2003 when I picked up the (now out of print) DVD that I fell in love with it. The hour-long show is the perfect blend of Christmas warmth and the classic Muppet humor we grew to love with The Muppet Show and the early movies. Without further ado, I’d like to kick off a new series here on the site with 10 Awesome Things about ‘A Muppet Family Christmas.’
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Follow That Bird was Sesame Street’s first (and best) movie, and to celebrate it’s 25th Anniversary, Warner Bros has released a special edition DVD. I upgraded from the previous version, and since I’ve written about the movie in the early days, this is mainly going to be a short review of the new DVD.

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Ah, 1985. The year of my birth, the year Nintendo brought the Famicom to us as the NES, and last but not least, the year Sesame Street released their first full length motion picture: Follow that Bird. Follow me to rediscover the lost delights of this musical adventure or to discover them for the first time. Or, read on if you just really like hyperbole!! And cameos!!

DISCLAIMER: I love the Muppets. In fact, I’d say I probably appreciate them on a much deeper level than you. The Muppet Movie is one of my favorite films of all time. I’m counting down the days until the Power of the Dark Crystal and the Fraggle Rock movies come out. So forgive me if this review is a little biased, what can I say? Jim Henson is one of my heroes. Anyway, on with the movie.

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