Jerry Juhl

From Freepedia

Jerry Juhl (October 12, 1937 - September 27 2005) was a television and movie writer best known for his work with Jim Henson's Muppets.

He was originally recruited by Henson as a puppeteer and writer on Sam and Friends, but focused increasingly on writing as other puppeteers, such as Frank Oz, joined the Henson stable.

He was a writer on The Muppet Show (and head writer from the second season on), Fraggle Rock, and The Jim Henson Hour, and on many Muppet movies and television specials. He co-wrote The Muppet Movie with Jack Burns, for which the two shared a Saturn Award nomination for Best Writing.

He was nominated for a shared Emmy four times, for his writing on The Muppet Show, finally winning the award in 1981 for Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. He was also awarded for his work on The Jim Henson Hour (Outstanding Children's Program, 1989, 1990) and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, 1991). His work on A Muppet Family Christmas won him the WGA Award for Variety - Musical, Award, Tribute, Special Event.

He appeared as himself in the 1981 documentary Of Muppets and Men: The Making of "The Muppet Show", the 1984 documentary Henson's Place, and the 1994 documentary The World of Jim Henson. While being interviewed in them all, he also appeared in archival footage in the last two.

He died of pancreatic cancer, diagnosed five weeks before.

Filmography

Jerry Juhl was the writer, unless otherwise mentioned.

• Sam and Friends (1955-1961, Muppeteer)
• The Cube (1969)
• Sesame Street (1969-1975)
• The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970)
• Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince (1972, Muppeteer for Taminella)
• The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
• The Muppets Valentine Show (1974)
• The Muppet Show (writer 1976, head writer 1977-1981)
• Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977)
• The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)
• The Muppet Movie (1979)
• The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
• Fraggle Rock (1983, writer and creative producer)
• Muppet Video: Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff (1985)
• Fozzie's Muppet Scrapbook (1985)
• The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)
• A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
• The Jim Henson Hour (1989, writer and co-producer)
• Living with Dinosaurs (1989, co-producer)
• The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992, screenplay, co-producer)
• Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
• Muppets From Space (1999)

External links

• Jerry Juhl at the Internet Movie Database
• An interview with Jerry Juhl
• A tribute to Jerry Juhl at IGN FilmForce
• A tribute to Jerry Juhl at Jim Hill Media