Jerome Ravn Juhl (July 27, 1938 – September 27, 2005) was an American television and film writer, best known for his work with

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompas ...

Biography

Juhl was born in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

; his family moved to

Menlo Park, California Menlo Park is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County within the San Francisco Bay Area of California in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south ...

, when he was 14. He received a bachelor's degree in theater arts from

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) ...

in 1961 and worked on children's shows for local television stations while in college. He met

Frank Oz Frank Oz (born Frank Richard Oznowicz; May 25, 1944) is an American actor, puppeteer, and filmmaker. He began his career as a puppeteer, performing the Muppet characters of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle in ''The Muppet Show ...

when they both worked for the Oakland Recreation Department's Vagabond Puppet Theater as teenagers. The two later met Henson at a puppeteer gathering in California. Juhl was recruited by

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

as a puppeteer and writer on '' Sam and Friends''. He focused increasingly on writing as other puppeteers, such as Frank Oz, joined the Henson stable. Juhl was the head writer on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as ...

'' from seasons 2 to 5 (season 1 had Jack Burns as head writer). He also wrote for the television shows ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim Hen ...

'' and ''

The Jim Henson Hour ''The Jim Henson Hour'' is a television series that aired on NBC in 1989. It was developed as a showcase for The Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the Muppet characters. Nine of the twelve episodes produced aired on NBC bef ...

''. He was involved in some capacity with all of the ''Muppet'' films from ''

The Muppet Movie ''The Muppet Movie'' is a 1979 American musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film featuring the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the fil ...

'' in 1979 to ''

Muppets from Space ''Muppets from Space'' is a 1999 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Tim Hill (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman. The sixth theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' fran ...

'' in 1999. According to Lisa Henson, "So much of the humour, irreverence, caring and heart began with Jerry. He was, in many ways, the real voice of the Muppets." He appeared as himself in the 1981 documentary ''Of Muppets and Men: The Making of The Muppet Show'', the 1984 documentary ''Henson's Place'', and the 1994 documentary ''The World of Jim Henson''. In addition to being interviewed in all three, he also appeared in archival footage in the last two. He was married to Susan Doerr Juhl and lived in

Caspar, California Caspar is a unincorporated community in Mendocino County, California, Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located on the Pacific Ocean, north of Mendocino, California, Mendocino, at an elevation of . It is bounded on three sides by ...

. In his last few years he semi-retired from writing, but taught at local colleges and spoke at puppeteer conventions. He died on September 26, 2005 from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of pancr ...

at the age of 67.

Awards

Juhl co-wrote ''

'' with Jack Burns, for which the two shared a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

nomination for Best Writing. He was nominated for a shared

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

four times, for his writing on ''The Muppet Show'', finally winning the award in 1981 for Outstanding Writing in a Variety, Music or Comedy Program. He was also awarded for his work on ''The Jim Henson Hour'' (Outstanding Children's Program, 1989, 1990) and ''The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson'' (Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, 1991). His work on ''

A Muppet Family Christmas ''A Muppet Family Christmas'' is a Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, its teleplay was conceived ...

'' won him the

WGA Award WGA may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Web Gallery of Art * Writers Guild of Alberta * Writers Guild of America, an American union ** Writers Guild of America, East ** Writers Guild of America, West Other uses: * Wagga Wagga Airport ...

for Variety – Musical, Award, Tribute, Special Event.

Filmography

References

External links

*
An interview with Jerry Juhl

at IGN FilmForce
A tribute to Jerry Juhl
at Jim Hill Media {{DEFAULTSORT:Juhl, Jerry 1938 births 2005 deaths San Jose State University alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer Muppet performers American male screenwriters American television writers Emmy Award winners Fraggle Rock Sesame Street Muppeteers Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota Sesame Street crew Deaths from cancer in California Writers Guild of America Award winners American people of Danish descent American male television writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American screenwriters