Richard Hunt: The Gay Man Behind the Muppets

For over sixty years The Muppets have been entertaining kids and adults alike. You probably know their creator, Jim Henson, who brought everyone together, and you might be familiar with Frank Oz, Jim’s close collaborator. But there’s another Muppet performer you might NOT know — part of the core group who was there from almost the very beginning, and in the 1970s became one of the most famous gay men in the world… who nobody recognized.

Most of the direct quotes and details from personal interviews come directly from Jessica Max Stein’s forthcoming full-length biography of Hunt. See http://JessicaMaxStein.com or https://www.patreon.com/Richard_Hunt_Biography to support the book!

Thanks to Joshua Gillespie for suggesting this video and helping with research!
http://twitter.com/muppethistory

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Want to see the Muppet Show’s queer guests? Check out these episodes:
https://muppets.disney.com/
– Joel Grey – 1.01
– Jim Nabors – 1.04
– Vincent Price 1.24
– Rudolph Nureyev 2.13
– Elton John – 2.14
– Liberace – 3.09

More Muppet stuff to watch:
– The Muppet Movie: https://amzn.to/2Wh1pZY
– The Muppets Take Manhattan: https://amzn.to/3x7zbxo
– The Great Muppet Caper: https://amzn.to/3iEFuTY
– Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street: https://amzn.to/3x4FQIP

Written by Matt Baume