Jerry Nelson

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Jerry Nelson (born July 10, 1934) is a Muppet puppeteer.

He performed many characters on The Muppet Show, including Sgt. Floyd Pepper of the Electric Mayhem band, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Lew Zealand, Robin, and Gonzo's sidekick Camilla the Chicken, as well as less prominent characters including Lewis Kazager, Pops, Fleet Schribbler, and J.P. Grosse.

His Sesame Street characters include Count von Count (1972-), Sherlock Hemlock (1970-1992), The Amazing Mumford (1970-), Herry Monster (1970-2002), and half of the Two-Headed Monster (1978-1999), as well as Herbert Birdsfoot (1970-1973), Genie (1976, 2002), Simon Soundman (1971-1992), Frazzle (1971-1983), Fat Blue (1970-1999) and the Announcer (1970-). He was also the first puppeteer to perform Mr. Snuffleupagus, keeping the role until 1980.

On Fraggle Rock he performed Gobo Fraggle, Pa Gorg and Madame Trash Heap.

Nelson had a daughter, Christine. She had cystic fibrosis and died from the disease in 1982. She was a frequent visitor to Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live and The Muppet Show. She had a cameo in The Great Muppet Caper; she played the girl who said, "Look, Dad, there's a bear!" (to which her companion, played by real life dad Jerry, replied, "No, Christine, that's a frog... bears wear hats!"). Her mother Jacquie Gordon wrote a book about Christine called Give Me One Wish.

In 2004, Nelson announced he would no longer be performing his Muppet characters, citing health reasons. However, he will continue to perform his characters on Sesame Street.