Clash, Kevin 1961(?)–

views updated

Kevin Clash 1961(?)–

Puppeteer

Kevin Clash is considered one of the finest puppeteers in the world today, which explains why no one has ever heard of him. His puppets however are known and adored worldwide—most especially, the red darling of Sesame Street fame, Elmo. No one would ever guess this small furry monster child is actually a six-feet-tall African-American man. That is just further proof that Clash is a master of the complicated art of puppetry.

Inherited Talent From Family

Clash was born c 1961, into an economically poor family in Baltimore, MD, but one he considers happy and rich in creativity and inspiration. His parents, Gladys and George Clash always encouraged and defended Clash. Since he started building puppets as early as age ten, some of the neighborhood kids would tease him for playing with dolls. Other parents would also chide the Clash’s for not forcing Kevin to play sports or hang out with other kids. “My parents would tell them that I was building things and enjoying myself, and I didn’t need to be with the other kids,” he told Rudy Miller in Maryland Family Magazine. “Because my parents had the strength to ignore all of that, so could I.”

It made sense to Clash that he would want to make puppets. It grew out of the natural artistic ability he inherited from his father, who drew and painted a lot, combined with his mother’s sewing materials. All the kids in the family were creative, Clash just took his the farthest. And luckily, neither Clash nor his parents dismissed puppetry as a worthless occupation. On television Clash saw the likes of Jim Henson, Kukla, Fran and Olli, and Captain Kangaroo obviously making good livings, why couldn’t he? He has also noted that his parents always encouraged their children to follow their dreams, regardless of whether or not those dreams would make money.

Successful Puppeteer in School

In junior high school, Clash had to do a history assignment on Russia. He decided to put on a puppet show. His partner would interview the individuals from the troupe of Russian puppets Clash created. Not only did he get an A, he was asked to put on a command performance for the entire school. The News American

At a Glance…

Born C. 1961, in Baltimore, MD; son of George and Gladys Clash. Married wife Genia; children: Shannon Elise. Education: Graduated high school.

Began puppeteering at age ten, c 1971; worked on two local children shows, c 1977-1979; moved to New York City to work on Captain Kangaroo, c. 1979-1985; joined the Sesame Street crew, but only for one season, c 1980; went back to Sesame Street and began developing the Muppet named Elmo, c 1985; continued to perform with Jim Henson Productions, Inc., 1985 present. Has also appeared—in puppet form—in feature films including Labyrinth, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, parts I & II, and Muppet Treasure Island; and television shows including The Jim Henson Hour, Dinosaurs, Dog City, and Muppets Tonight!.

Awards: The Emmy for Outstanding Performer m a Children’s Series, for Sesame Street, 1993.

Addresses: Production Company—Jim Henson Productions, Inc., 117 East 69th Street, New York, NY 10021.

wrote up the event in their “Young World” section, putting Clash on the cover back in 1974. The publicity led the way for Clash to put on a show every Sunday at Baltimore’s harbor front. Shortly thereafter he met up with Stu Kerr who was starting a children’s television show as Professor Kool. Clash auditioned with his puppet Bartee and got the job. He was in 10th grade.

A tape of Professor Kool’s show was screened at a children’s television convention in New York City. Bob Keeshan, who long played the beloved Captain Kangaroo on television, saw the show and admired Clash’s work. Captain Kangaroo’s producer and head writer came to Clash’s home and chose the puppets they wanted to use. So while Clash’s friends were going off to college, he was already working on national television.

After one season on Captain Kangaroo, Clash was picked up by the syndicated show The Great Space Coaster as both a puppeteer and Associate Producer of Puppeteers. The screening in New York also caught the eye of Muppet designer Kermit Love, who introduced Clash to the Muppets and Sesame Street. Soon the Muppets came through with an offer to join them. But after one season of performing on three different shows it became too much and Clash dropped Sesame Street.

As luck would have it, when the runs of Captain Kangaroo and The Great Space Coaster were coming to an end in 1985, Clash’s idol, Muppet inventor Jim Henson invited him back to Sesame Street. Clash was thrilled with the chance to work full-time with this troupe he admired so much. “I got to work with the best, “he told Black Enterprise, “and I never take that for granted. When they were here, I sat my butt as close as I could to them so that I could learn and learn and learn.”

The Birth of Elmo

It wasn’t long after that Clash was introduced to Elmo. Elmo had just been another Muppet in the crowd before Clash got to him. Two previous Muppeteers had not been able to boost his profile on the show. “When I got Elmo,” he told P.J. Tanz in Sesame Street Parents, “I knew exactly what I wanted to do.” When Clash was a boy, his mother ran a day care program. He used those memories to create Elmo’s character of a curious two-and-a-half year old boy who makes learning a game. Clash’s daughter Shannon is also a big inspiration. To Tanz he explained, “Elmo’s sensitivity to people’s feelings is something I picked up from her.”

Clash’s work with Elmo made the little guy a star, as pertinent to pop culture as Muppets Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Big Bird. Still, that wasn’t apparent enough to Clash to encourage him to attend the 1993 Daytime Emmy Awards. He’d already framed his nomination notice for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series, and was very happy with the honor. It didn’t occur to him that he could possibly win competing against the very popular Pee Wee Herman, LaVar Burton, and Mr. Rogers. But Clash won the Emmy.

That acknowledgment of his ability was important to Clash. He confessed to Miller, “It bothers me a lot that [the entertainment] industry is down right disrespectful when it comes to this occupation. Most people in the industry view this as kind of contrary to acting, especially when it comes to awards—the Emmys, or the Academy Awards or the Tonys—that we are involved in. That frustrates me…”

Not only is Clash acting with as much skill as any actor, he’s doing it with many hindrances. Clash has to put all the emotion into his voice that a straight actor could also convey through facial expressions and body language. Those characteristics Clash must transmit through his puppets, which often involves extremely complicated manipulations. Add to that the fact that he’s a six-foot-tall man standing—or crouching—with a two-foot-tall puppet on his arm doing everything he can to make sure only the puppet is seen and that the puppet is absolutely believable. And when Clash is the puppet master, it’s always believable.

Not only have audiences young and old been convinced by and fallen in love with Elmo, they’ve been caught by a number of Clash’s puppets. On Sesame Street Clash plays many characters, among them Baby Natasha and Hoots the Owl. On the popular ABC primetime series Dinosaurs, Clash played the precocious Baby Sinclair. He was also Splinter in two of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle films and Bad Polly in Muppet Treasure Island. Another character in Clash’s long resume of puppets is Clifford, who first appeared as a band member on The Jim Henson Hour in 1989, and who later became the host of Muppets Tonight! in 1996.

The Muppet Show ended in 1981 after six prime time seasons when Jim Henson went off to direct feature films. That was the show that made Henson’s Muppets superstars, as opposed to just being stars of the PBS children’s show Sesame Street. The Muppets set out for TV again in 1989 for NBC’s short-lived The Jim Henson Hour. Following Henson’s tragic death from pneumonia in 1990, his children kept Jim Henson Productions going and creating.

But 1996’s Muppets Tonight! would certainly be a gamble. Here they would reunite much of the cast of The Muppet Show, but in a different setting—a modern TV station as opposed to an old Vaudeville theater—and with new additions. The Muppet Show was much beloved and comparisons were sure to be made. Clifford might bear the brunt of the criticism, taking over Kermit’s role as “the show’s” host—Kermit is behind the scenes working at the station. In its first season as a midseason replacement, Muppets Tonight! garnered around 14 million viewers, which is actually only marginally successful in the world of TV. Its future remains unclear.

Love of Family and Work

With all the work Clash does, even in addition to Henson TV and film productions—his work with The Shadow Box Theater in New York for example—the success or lack of success for Muppets Tonight! is unlikely to seriously affect Clash’s career. The hard part for him is usually just juggling it all. He is a family man devoted to his roots in Baltimore, where he makes his home with his wife and daughter, but he must commute to New York for Sesame Street, and often to the West Coast for other work. And besides, being a puppeteer is exhausting physical work, although Clash says a regular exercise routine, working with different puppets—hence working in a variety of positions, and years of experience helps keep away tendinitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. But still, your arms get awfully tired.

Kevin Clash loves what he does and he always has. His job involves producing, directing, scouting out new puppeteers, and performing on recordings, in videos, feature films, television specials and series, and parades. For this he makes a great deal of money. But he doesn’t do it for the money. This loving father does it for the children—for everybody’s children.