Jerry Juhl

Jerry Juhl (July 27, 1938 – September 26, 2005) was a television and movie writer best known for his work with Jim Henson's Muppets. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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.

Juhl 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.

In August 2005 Juhl was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died five weeks later. He was cremated. The location of his ashes is unknown.

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
• New York Times: Jerry Juhl, 67, Award-Winning Head Writer for Muppet Shows, Is Dead
• An interview with Jerry Juhl
• A tribute to Jerry Juhl at IGN FilmForce
• A tribute to Jerry Juhl at Jim Hill Media
• Jerry Juhl at Find-A-Grave
• Guardian obituary: Jerry Juhl: Puppeteer behind the witty dialogue of the Muppet Show