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This is take 2 because I put it in the wrong forum the first time (I'm newish here). It's not that I want this to happen (In fact Dave Goelz is my favorite Muppeteer), but I feel like this is a thing we need to think about since Dave is at the point where he might retire in the next few years or... the other thing. Dave plays an important part in Henson productions so I feel like it will be a challenge to find new performers for his characters, but it will be interesting to find out who has the talent to follow up the legacy of this long time performer.
In terms of his Fraggle Rock characters (Boober Fraggle, Uncle Traveling Matt and The World's Oldest Fraggle) he basically already found is successor in the first season of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock: Frank Meschkuleit. But in terms of his muppet characters (Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, Waldorf and of course Gonzo) I can't think of a puppeteer off the top of my head who could replace him to where the internet won't have another Matt Vogel/Kermit the Frog fiasco. I'm curious as to who you guys think could take on such iconic characters in the event that this happens (which hopefully won't be for a long time). Hit me with your ideas. Zach (talk) 15:36, 25 October 2022 (EST)
- Let's see, for Bunsen Honeydew, Bill Barretta briefly performed him in the first episode of Muppets Tonight, so Bill could take over as Bunsen if anything happened to Dave. Meanwhile, Gonzo, Goelz's most famous character, could be recast to Drew Massey (Massey already puppeteered Baby Gonzo in the Muppet Babies Play Date shorts). Waldorf, he'll probably need a performer that sounds closer to Jim Henson's take on the character. I'd say Peter Linz, but he's already doing Statler, so I'll go with Ryan Dillon, unless Linz was recast as Waldorf and Statler was given to, say, Dillon or Paul McGinnis. And as for Zoot, well, we haven't heard him speak much nowadays to justify an immediate recast, but if Zoot really needed a new performer should Goelz retire or pass away, I'd say Tyler Bunch would be the best option. - User:Connolly86 (talk) 15:57, 25 October 2022 (EST)
