Well Richard Hunt was gay, it was a deep part of his identity. He crafted Scooter to accurately reflect how he was and felt in high school and in college. Obviously it woulda been a poop storm had they dared make any concrete statements, but Muppet historians and deeper fans get the wink and nod. It pains me not just that he left this mortal coil so early, but that his name is not very well known to most people like Henson and Oz is. His gentle, affectionate and gracious manner about his craft thankfully lives on now but I wish PBS or some channel could make a biography of his life. It's funny because Beaker is the opposite of his personality from interviews Ive seen, so its interesting how little parts of a performer's personality come out(like Rizzo to Whitmire)
I agree--your use of language is lovely. But, I want to add a comment or two and make cautionary statement about assuming things about
characters based on what we know about the actor. Often, fans think they know an actor because they know so much about a character, but, as Miss Piggy would say, "It's called
acting, sweetie!" (Famous example: David Duchovny is a total non-believer in the supernatural.) A good actor can be convincing in any role if they take the time necessary to prepare their understanding of the character. I know that Richard was gay--yes--but that doesn't necessarily mean that Scooter is, too. (It doesn't necessarily mean that he's not, either.) It is insulting to actors and to gay people to suggest that only a gay person could play a gay character, or only a straight person could play a straight person. As Beaker said above, Richard's characterization of Beaker was VERY different from even what Richard was like. Whatever Richard's intentions about Scooter, they were not portrayed openly enough to be conclusive about his sexual identity.
Also, since Scooter's, um, handler has changed, you have to look at the whole history of his behavior--not just who the character was when Richard was portraying him. In IAVMMC, Scooter is obviously trying to chat up the unimpressed chorus girls (with a lampshade on his head, no less.) It is implied that he is slightly tipsy (lampshade) so one can assume he's acting in a somewhat more uninhibited way than normal. However, later in the Kermitless world, Scooter is portrayed as a sexy (well...sortof) cage dancer. Though I have heard some say that this was an obvious reference to Scooter's orientation, I don't see it. (And what are we saying if it is--that Scooter would have been gay if Kermit had never been born?
That makes
no sense.) I thought (and think) it was simply a reference to the way the muppets had become victimized and morally corrupted (doing whatever necessary to make a living) by never having the positive influence of Kermit and his wholesomeness.
I always admired George Takei for not trying to commandeer the character of Sulu once George came out of the closet. Sulu was
obviously heterosexual. George is openly gay. But George went out of his way to be true to the character that he once portrayed instead of trying to say, "Oh, well,
I was gay portraying Sulu so Sulu must have been secretly gay all that time." George made a distinction between who HE was playing a role and the character that he portrayed, which is what a skilled actor does. Is is considered an insult to say about an actor, "Oh--he always plays himself." It implys that there is no acting skill involved--just showing up.
Last little quibble: I am going to take issue just a smidge with the comment that "Richard's sexual orientation was a deep part of his identity." Neither gays nor straights can claim that their sexual identity is more a part of their identity than the other group--to suggest other wise is to suggest that one group has a superior right or claim which is, itself, a biased attitude.
What I always loved about Richard's characters was their sweetness and openness to life, and that legacy will remain long after Richard has left us.
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