Why isn't Kevin Clash given other roles?

[beaker]

It's no secret that Clash is a master puppeteer, performer and artisan. Anyone who has seen Clash with Elmo in person(be it Muppetfest, the various Henson/performing arts appearances, or random events) knows that he has an uncanny ability and craft.

A recent interview with a Sesame muppeteer confirms the level of Clash's ability and commitment:
http://themuppetmindset.blogspot.com/

I have to point out an amazing performance by Kevin Clash in the Spanish version of the video. A Spanish fellow named Moises Belizario was hired to be the Spanish voice of Elmo. Moises recorded the Spanish script onto a cassette and it was given to Clash to learn. Clash was out in China and learned the cadence (not the words) of the Spanish dialog on his flight back to the USA. Mind you Clash did not know what was being said in the Spanish dialog. He just learned the cadence of Moises’ Spanish Elmo dialog. Then, when we went into production, on the set Moises sat right under the video camera and mouthed the entire Spanish dialog live and Clash didn’t miss a beat lip-synching Elmo live on-camera. He mouthed Elmo perfectly considering he didn’t know the language. Awesome performance.

Like Whitmire's inhuman marathon ability(such as having his arm erect for hours upon hours straight in a float or cramped space performing Kermit), Clash knows no bounds.

Yet, why is Clash simply the "performer of Elmo". Yes, I've been chief among many people on here on the Elmo bashing. And we know Elmo has long been Sesame's top breadwinner, which we begrudgingly see as allowing more projects to flourish. So the time commitment to Elmo and worldwide appearances seems chief among reasons why Clash can "only be Elmo and noone else"...

Yet surely with Disney Muppets or Henson or even amongst Sesame Workshop there must be other roles?

Ok, this may be a not so subtle "bring back Clifford" thread, but I greatly miss the hip purple catfish. And I can only imagine what characters that havent even been invented that Clash could breathe great life too.

Its been amazing seeing an endless trove of characters performed by Whitmire, Goelz(including a Muppet Goelz as seen in Stinky and Jake), Jacobson, Kennedy, Baretta, Brill, etc over the years...but who hear hasn't wondered what non Elmo Clash characters would be like?

 

[Drtooth]

I'd tend to think the problem IS that he performs Elmo, and that's such a demanding job considering how much SS has to shove him in. Kevin is such an amazing performer and he has a great range of character... from hipster Clifford, to mild mannered Elliot Shag, to a perfectly believable Baby Natasha. But he does so much on the show, I'm wondering if he even has time left to be Elmo, let alone anyone else. Though, this season, he has performed a few other characters, the return of Natasha for one.

There's too much work at SW and too much distance between New York and LA (where Muppet projects will most likely be filmed) for him to make a major Muppet character comeback. I'd expect to hear looped dialogue, maybe a brief performance as a puppeteer on SW's off season if he's not taking a well deserved break as far as the next project goes.

 

[dwmckim]

That's pretty much it. Kevin is pretty much "Mr. Sesame Street" - being the ubiquitous Elmo not only takes up much of his time but considering all the other behind-the-scenes stuff he does in regards to Sesame: directing, producing, training, international meets - the guy's pretty booked! Trying to do all this and working more with The Classic (Disney) Muppets - well, that's essentially become a Frank Oz before semi-retirement level situation in regards to schedules, calendars, coordinating travel etc etc.

True, Kevin will always be primarily remembered as Elmo but his fans will also remember his numerous contributions to Muppetdom including playing the lead character in three major series (SST, Dinosaurs, and Muppets Tonight)

 

[Animal31]

Or maybe he's just happy being Elmo, if it's not broken, why fix it?

There are alot of actors/Performers who grew to hate the character(s) that made them special, Kevin on the other hand, seems very thankful for the opportunity that "threw" itself at him years ago!

 

[Canadian Fan]

I liked Hoots the Owl when I was a kid, cool character. I also remember Kevin's version of Dr. Nobel Price more than Brian Meehl's version. You got to admit, kids love Elmo. I didn't mind Elmo when I was watching Sesame Street.

 

[dwmckim]

Kevin played Sam in VMX but it's been Eric Jacobson since. Clifford was last seen in MWOO (and if memory serves, Kevin looped the lines) and does seem semi-retired (sadly) due to Kevin's pretty much full time job with almost all aspects of SST.

Hoots is an interesting one. Kevin doesn't do a huge amount of other characters on SST just because with Elmo used 95% of the time, it's hard for him to do/create other major characters because they can't easily interact with Elmo. Hoots went into a stage of not being used for so long that he reportedly had his picture included in a "Hall of Dead Muppets" in the SST studios which was a wall of long forgotten, retired characters - but Hoots has made a bit of a comeback in recent seasons. So he "came back from the 'dead'" as it were.

 

[minor muppetz]

Hoots went into a stage of not being used for so long that he reportedly had his picture included in a "Hall of Dead Muppets" in the SST studios which was a wall of long forgotten, retired characters - but Hoots has made a bit of a comeback in recent seasons. So he "came back from the 'dead'" as it were.

I'd like to see images or video footage of that wall someday. I wonder if there's a way of contacting Martin Robinson about showcasing it in the Sesame Family Robinson blog. But then again, it's sad that a wall of retired characters had to be called the "Dead Muppet" wall.

Was Hoots even used last season? I think I saw him in the 2010 Macy's float but can't remember (I know that Herry, Alice, and Barkley were absent for the first time in years). I think Baby Natasha is still used from time to time, though I don't think she was on the show these last two seasons. I think I also read that Kevin performed the girl from "I Love My Hair" (though somebody else was the voice).

 

[Drtooth]

Kevin played Sam in VMX but it's been Eric Jacobson since. Clifford was last seen in MWOO (and if memory serves, Kevin looped the lines) and does seem semi-retired (sadly) due to Kevin's pretty much full time job with almost all aspects of SST.

I've said it before and I'll say it again... he does so much I'm surprised he even has time to perform Elmo as it is. Every so often you may just see him as someone else. Again, Natasha and one of the Dirtballs inc movers this season... sporadically others. Even if he is happy playing that one character, I feel like it's an artist that only paints the same thing over and over when he's capable of so much, much more. Of course, some of his best characters are associated with long canceled programs (Dinosaurs, Dog City to name a couple), and again, there's a big distance between LA and New York. Even if SS was in its off season and didn't need Kev for anything else, you'd tend to think he'd want to use a break from SS as just that, a break.

It is a shame that we don't see Clifford, Leon, and the like anymore... but when you're busy, you're busy. Though I would love to see some of his other SS characters (and potential new ones) pop up in future episodes. I'd love to see more of Hoots and Natasha and the Grand High Triangle lover (who didn't even get to make his yearly episode this year).

 

[minor muppetz]

It's a shame that Kevin Clash didn't even perform in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, since that was filmed in New York and featured a number of Sesame Street performers who haven't performed in non-SST productions in quite a while (though around that time David Rudman and Matt Vogel were starting to take over as certain classic characters and probably will become a big part of the non-SST Muppet family of performers soon).

It seems like even if Kevin is busy with Elmo, he's still given other characters quite a bit, unlike Caroll Spinney who is more-or-less stuck with Big Bird and Oscar. With the show's current budget cuts, it's a wonder he didn't perform any of those additional characters in the "Do all creatures take baths?" episode where Oscar made a mere cameo.

 

[beaker]

That's pretty much it. Kevin is pretty much "Mr. Sesame Street" - being the ubiquitous Elmo not only takes up much of his time but considering all the other behind-the-scenes stuff he does in regards to Sesame: directing, producing, training, international meets - the guy's pretty booked! Trying to do all this and working more with The Classic (Disney) Muppets - well, that's essentially become a Frank Oz before semi-retirement level situation in regards to schedules, calendars, coordinating travel etc etc.

True, Kevin will always be primarily remembered as Elmo but his fans will also remember his numerous contributions to Muppetdom including playing the lead character in three major series (SST, Dinosaurs, and Muppets Tonight)

Well speaking of which, the documentary about his life
is one of the films getting the biggest buzz at Sundance right now:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/48070