- Born
- Died
- Puppeteer, actor, musician, and master of voices, Jerry Nelson originally joined Henson & Company as a temporary replacement for Frank Oz, who had been drafted into the armed services in the 60's. He later re-joined the crew as a full-time performer in the 70's, and has since been heavily involved in almost every major Muppet project, including Sesame Street (1969), The Muppet Show (1976), Fraggle Rock (1983) and feature films. Memorable characters include "The Count", "Herry Monster", "Mumford the Magician", "Robin the Frog", "Crazy Harry" and "Gobo". Come the late 1990s, Nelson has begun to focus more on his musical career but continues his involvement in The Muppets.- IMDb Mini Biography By: The Muppet Avenger
- SpousesJan Berguson(July 16, 1984 - August 23, 2012) (his death)Jacqueline 'Jacquie' Moore Nelson Gordon(1960 - ?) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- His puppetry and voice acting with Muppets
- Most known for the characters The Count, Herry Monster, Robin the Frog, Crazy Harry
- Daughter Christine Nelson was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis when she was a little girl. Jim Henson may have adjusted the "ceiling" (the limit one gets before paying out of pocket) on the health insurance for his workers, to ensure her many hospital visits would be covered. He also allowed her to cameo with her father - since her dream was to be a movie star. She passed away before seeing herself on screen. The scene is the father and daughter walking through the park ("Look Dad it's a bear", "No Christine, bears wear hats").
- Worked on Sesame Street for 42 years until his death.
- His daughter, Christine Nelson, made a cameo appearance with him in The Great Muppet Caper (1981).
- I only realized recently that my whole life was in preparation to do the kind of job I had with the Muppets. Of course, I didn't know it when I was ten years old driving my mother crazy, making funny noises, discovering and stretching my imagination, playing with my voice.
- [After being asked if he would be alright talking about his late daughter Christine and express what the public should know and remember] Certainly when you lose a child, life changes. Your life changes. In a way, there were a lot of different ways of looking at it, I think because both Jacquie [Gordon, Christine's mother] and I were right there when Christine died. Although she was not conscious, I think she knew we were both there. When I talked to her I could see tears in her eyes. I've asked nurses about this, and they say, "Oh, that could happen, it doesn't necessarily mean anything." Jacquie wrote a really nice book about Christine. I've still never been able to read the end.
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