Jerry Juhl

Jerome Ravn Juhl (July 27, 1938 - September 26, 2005) was the head writer for the Muppets and Fraggle Rock for nearly four decades. He played a key role in developing the personalities of many of the best known Muppet characters, and scripted five Muppet movies.

Early Years
Juhl began his puppetry career as a young man, building puppets and putting on shows in high schools. He majored in Theater Arts at college, and continued puppeteering. He performed on a San Jose children's TV show, and in the summer, he put on shows in parks in Oakland, CA. As a teenager, Frank Oz also worked at the Oakland Recreation Department, and the two became friends. Jim Henson saw Juhl and Oz perform together at a puppetry convention, and was impressed with both of them. In 1961, Henson hired Juhl to work for his fledgling company, which at the time was being run out of the basement of his and his wife Jane's home in Maryland. Juhl began as a puppeteer, filling in for Jane Henson on the final season of Sam and Friends.

Juhl moved with the Hensons to New York, working as a puppeteer and beginning to branch out as a writer. He performed on some of the Muppets' variety show guest spots, but moved away from puppeteering as they went on. "I did it for self protection," he says. "Frank Oz joined us around 1963. He was, and he is, a magnificent puppeteer... absolutely A-1! I never rated much better than B-2... so I figured I'd better save my job by doing something else and besides, my arm was sore!" Juhl's most notable contribution as a puppeteer was performing Taminella Grinderfall, who debuted in the Tales of the Tinkerdee and went on to appear in the Shrinkel and Stretchel industrial film. Juhl reprised the role years later, providing the voice only, in The Frog Prince.

From Puppetry to Writing
Eventually, Juhl discovered his true forte was writing. Although he became a freelance television writer in 1968, working mostly for PBS, he continued to write for numerous Muppet productions, and would do so for the next thirty years. Projects ranged from industrial films (Muppet Meeting Films) to special proposals (Johnny Carson and the Muppet Machine) to the non-Muppet experimental drama The Cube. He wrote scripts for television specials, including The Great Santa Claus Switch, and penned both book and lyrics for The Frog Prince and The Muppet Musicians of Bremen. He wrote for Sesame Street, creating Grover's alter-ego Super Grover and writing song lyrics and special linking material for records, as well as contributing to The Sesame Street Storybook and The Sesame Street Library.

After penning the pilot special The Muppets Valentine Show, Juhl joined the writing staff of The Muppet Show in 1976, and replaced Jack Burns as head writer starting with season 2. He joked, "The guest stars posed problems because it was the first time I had to write for feet!" Juhl remained as head writer through the show's final season. Following the end of that series, Juhl became head writer for the entire run of Fraggle Rock.

Outside of television, he wrote five of the six Muppet theatrical movies: The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, and Muppets From Space. After retiring from writing, Juhl continued to make appearances at special screenings of Muppet film work in N.Y. and L.A. For his final addition to the Muppet legacy, Juhl contributed many of the trivia facts that appear on the Season 1 DVD's for The Muppet Show, released in August of 2005.

Juhl died of cancer on September 26, 2005. Fans on the Tough Pigs message board have decided that September 26th should be celebrated as Jerry Juhl Day -- a day to do honor Juhl's memory by doing silly things.

Writing Credits

 * The Jimmy Dean Show (1963-1966)
 * Adventure in the Arts: Muppets On Puppets (1968)
 * The Cube (1969)
 * Sesame Street (various dates)
 * The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970)
 * The Frog Prince (1971)
 * The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)
 * The Muppets Valentine Show (1974)
 * The Muppet Show (head writer seasons 2-5) (1977-1980)
 * The Muppet Movie (1979)
 * The Muppets Go Hollywood (1979)
 * Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1980)
 * The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
 * Fraggle Rock (co-creator & writer) (1983-1987)
 * Episodes 101, 102, 105, 106, 109, 110, 114, 119, 203, 208,
 * with Susan Juhl, episodes 122, 205,


 * The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)
 * A Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
 * The Jim Henson Hour (1989)
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
 * The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
 * The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
 * Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
 * Muppets From Space (1999)

Puppeteer Credits

 * The Jimmy Dean Show: Rowlf's Nephew
 * The Mike Douglas Show: Tilly
 * Munchos commercial: Arnold the Munching Monster
 * The Ed Sullivan Show: Business Business Creatures (Green Monster, Purple Creature)
 * Tales of the Tinkerdee: Taminella Grinderfall
 * The Frog Prince: Taminella Grinderfall (voice)

Awards & Honors

 * 1981: Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for The Muppet Show Episode 515 (with David Odell and Chris Langham)


 * 1989: Writers' Guild of America Award for best Variety (Musical, Award, Tribute, Special Event) program for A Muppet Family Christmas