The RHLC!

[analeisa]

Hey Richard Hunt fans! I'm Ana and I’m new-ish to the boards. I want to introduce myself to the club because I love Richard lots too. I'm a really shy person so to read about how out-going Richard was really inspires me. He didn't edit his opinions and had love for pretty much anyone. Plus, he had such a wide range of talent. I've always wondered why Janice never had a bigger role, for instance.

Oh and Frackles: great post! I'm not gay but it impresses me when others are open about it. Love is love. I also think you should look into this: http://jessicamaxstein.com/zines/the-rainbow-connection-richard-hunt-gay-muppeteer/

It is a zine about Richard's life as both a performer and gay man.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Hi, Ana - welcome to the RHLC!

I'm kind of shy, too...and Richard really seemed to have a gift for coaxing people out of their shells. In all the articles I've read, it seems that whenever Richard was in the room, the mood goes way up.

I know from Jessica Max Stein - in fact, she just did a very nice interview with Richard's mother and stepfather not too long ago. It's posted on her site, and on Tough Pigs as well.

 

[Nekoshema]

hey Ana, nice to meet you too. i can be a shy person until i get to know someone, then you can't shut me up

i know Richard was bullied a lot, how did he not let it bother him? i'm like Richard in some ways [no where near as confident though] and yesterday, my two closest friends got infuriated at me and now hate me cuz i'm me [one of them said something that upset me, and because i got upset by it, we're no longer friends] i'd yell your face at them, but that'll make it so much worse, and i'm sick of apolojizing to them... oh well [sorry, seem to have vented on you guys]

guess i'll go watch Fraggles, that'll make me smile

 

[minor muppetz]

After talking earlier about what I've read about Richard being more of a background performer for quite some time, it seems like many other performers became major sooner than Richard apparantly did. I know that Michael Earl and Brian Meehl both joined halfway through season 10, and both had vocal characters by season 11 (Michael Earl became the voice of Snuffy, Brian Meehl became Telly). I've seen an interview with Karen prell where she said that she was given the role of Deena Monster as soon as she joined. Marty Robinson joined in 1980, and took over as Snuffy the following year. Kevin Clash seemed to get quite a few speaking parts and recurring characters his first year in 1984 (then again, he was already a major performer on Captain Kangaroo and The Great Space Coaster, before officially joining).

 

[dwmckim]

Brian at least had the advantage of having worked with Jim in the early days.

And quite frankly, Richard majorly exaggerated when he would give his "It took me eight years to get a speaking part" speech. He had lines in Great Santa Claus Switch. He had speaking roles pretty quickly after joining the Sesame team. Even if you disregard all that and count Scooter as his Big Break, that was only six years. Maybe Richard's math is as good as his weather forecasting skills or more likely he's the type who would have told grandkids about how he had to trek miles to school on foot in major blizzards barefoot shooting rampaging bears along the way.

 

[analeisa]

Thanks for the welcome, guys! Nice to meet like minded people. I'm learning to be more confident and it doesn't hurt to have Richard as role model. My favorite stories about him are the always the ones when his friends describe him as the life of the party.

I know from Jessica Max Stein - in fact, she just did a very nice interview with Richard's mother and stepfather not too long ago. It's posted on her site, and on Tough Pigs as well.

Yeah, that interview (btw, I love when Richard's mom has interviews with Muppet fans. She seems super sweet!) is what me look into the zine. I do like that both of these things discuss his sexuality too. I think most people ignore that being gay was a part of him.

i know Richard was bullied a lot, how did he not let it bother him?

I'm not sure. The way I typically deal with it is to act like you're the bigger person. Bullies try to do the same thing so it seems to annoy them when people throw that back. You could go the sarcasm route: "Oh, wow, what a great comeback! I bet it took you days to think of that. So awesome."

But to be on-topic: I'm certain Richard saying it was eight years before he got a speaking part was his way of telling young puppeteers not to be pretentious. That works with the timeline and he seemed like that kind of guy.

 

[Nekoshema]

more likely he's the type who would have told grandkids about how he had to trek miles to school on foot in major blizzards barefoot shooting rampaging bears along the way.

i think thats exactly what he was doing, i can see him doing something like that. it was his way i guess, which i don't mind

and analeisa, i tend to believe all bullies are jerks [like Richard] but i take the sarcastic approach [which doesn't win many friends, but at least it gives me a change to fight back in a way... or hit, luckily it's never gotten that far]

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

Oh, yeah - something tells me that Richard wasn't above "inflating" a story if it made for more dramatic impact.

I tried ignoring the bullies, or telling the teacher what was going on. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

It sounds like Richard had a pretty thick skin when he was in middle school - which is certainly no picnic. But honestly, coming outside after school to find all his newspapers lying in a muddy heap by his bicycle - that must have gotten pretty frustrating after a bit.

 

[minor muppetz]

I just checked out The Works from the library, and noticed that while it says he "joined the company" in 1972 in the timeline section, the section that talks about him joining says that he joined Sesame Street in 1970.

 

[dwmckim]

Uh oh...seems like some Wackbards crept in there...