Lucas Jackson / Reuters file

Kevin Clash with the puppet Elmo in 2010.

Kevin Clash, the man who voiced the popular puppet Elmo on "Sesame Street," is facing accusations of underage sex abuse by a fifth man. On Tuesday, a new federal lawsuit was filed against the puppeteer in New York. The latest suit accuses Clash of sexually abusing Kevin Kiadii, 25, who was 16 at the time of the alleged incident.

Kiadii claims in his lawsuit that the two met via a gay phone chat line, and that it was Clash who initiated the contact. According to the suit, the puppeteer invited the young man over to his Manhattan apartment and sent a luxury car to Kiadii's home to pick him up. Kiadii also claims that Clash gave him alcohol and "groomed him with attention and affection" before engaging in sexual contact. The suit alleges that Kiadii was a "compliant victim" who "was not immediately aware of his injuries."

Kiadii is suing for actual and compensatory damages, costs of the lawsuit and attorneys' fees. The lawsuit was filed by attorney Jeff Herman, who also represents four other men who have filed sexual abuse suits against Clash.

"The allegations in this lawsuit follow the same pattern we've seen before," Herman said in a statement. "Each of these victims alleges that Kevin Clash was a father figure who groomed them with attention before engaging them in sexual contact. By coming forward and standing up for his 16-year-old self, Kevin Kiadii has taken the first step in his healing process."

Clash's attorney, Michael Berger, said in a statement Tuesday that the latest lawsuit is without merit and is barred by the statute of limitations.

"This case has been brought by the same lawyer, Jeff Herman, who brought three other similar cases in federal courts in New York, and we have moved to dismiss all three of those cases," Berger added. "Mr. Clash continues to deny any wrongdoing, and we intend to defend this case forcefully."

Clash resigned from "Sesame Street" in November last year.

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Lucas Jackson / Reuters file

Kevin Clash with Elmo in New York in 2010.

Updated 4:15 p.m. ET: NEW YORK -- The puppeteer formerly behind the "Sesame Street" character Elmo faces a new accusation of having sex with an underage boy, a week after a similar allegation prompted him to resign from the iconic public television children's program.

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, a man identified only as John alleges Kevin Clash engaged in oral sex and other sex acts with him when John was 16 years old. The suit seeks at least $75,000 in damages.

The suit alleges the incident occurred in either 2000 or 2001 when John, who is from Florida, visited New York for modeling opportunities. John came to know Clash, then 40, through a telephone chat line for gays on which Clash claimed to be a 30-year-old named Craig, according to the suit.

John returned to New York when he turned 18, and he and Clash renewed the relationship, the lawsuit said.

"Mr. Clash believes the lawsuit has no merit," Clash's publicist, Risa B. Heller, said in an emailed statement.

Jeff Herman, an attorney for the accuser, read a statement on behalf of his client during a news conference in New York on Tuesday, saying, "I’m only coming forward as support for the two victims that were accused as liars. I too at first thought it was a money thing, and wanted to stay silent. But Cecil (Singleton’s) story reflects me, and deserves validation. Just say sorry so we can all move on with our lives. I pray that Kevin seeks help, because under these sexual demons is an incredible man.

Herman also read from a chapter in a manuscript penned by his client and being made public for the first time. The chapter, titled “Tickled my heart,” describes the early days of the relationship the accuser alleges to have had with Clash. "When we first met I was 16 and there was no intercourse; however lots of heavy kissing ...” he wrote.

Herman said that Clash and his client also had an "adult" relationship after the client turned 18. That relationship lasted "about a year," according to Herman.

This is the latest charge levied against Clash, now 52, who resigned on Nov. 20 from Sesame Workshop, the company behind "Sesame Street," after nearly 30 years on the show.

Clash's resignation came the same day Cecil Singleton filed a claim seeking more than $5 million in damages from Clash. Singleton claims he met the then-32-year-old puppeteer in 1993 in a gay chat room when he was 15.

The claim added that on numerous occasions over a period of years Clash engaged in sexual activity with Singleton.

The newest allegation comes about two weeks after an initial accuser, 24-year-old Sheldon Stephens, recanted his claims that Clash had sex with him when he was 16 years old. Stephens later said the relationship was consensual.

Clash had denied the allegations and acknowledged a past relationship with Stephens. He added the pair were both consenting adults at the time.

Sesame Workshop said in a statement Tuesday that it learned of the first accusation in June of this year. "Based on our own internal investigation, the use of outside investigative firms, and Kevin’s vehement denial, we found no evidence of an underage relationship. We did not know about subsequent accusations until we read about them in the press. We trust the judicial process to reach the ultimate conclusions about the truth or falsity of these allegations."

The Elmo character debuted on "Sesame Street" in 1979, 10 years after the show premiered and introduced the now-iconic characters Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster, among others, to American children.

While Clash was the third performer to animate the child-like shaggy red monster, Sesame Workshop credits him with turning Elmo into the international sensation he became.

TODAY staff contributed to this report from Reuters.

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"Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential," the statement read. "Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization.

"Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from 'Sesame Street.' This is a sad day for 'Sesame Street.'"

In the new lawsuit, filed Tuesday in New York, Cecil Singleton says he met Clash, then 32, in a gay chat room in 1993, when Singleton was 15, and they began a relationship.

Another man made similar charges earlier this month, and later recanted, saying he was of age when the relationship began. On Nov. 12, Clash, 52, took a leave of absence from the show following allegations of the first relationship.

That first man, now 24 and a college student, reached out to Sesame Workshop in June and said he was just 16 when he had a relationship with Clash. The company said in a statement that it investigated the relationship and found the charges that the man was underage to be "unsubstantiated," but that Clash was disciplined for using poor judgment and violating company Internet usage policy.

On Nov. 13, a Pennsylvania law firm representing the first man issued a statement saying their client had recanted his claim that the relationship began when he was underage, calling it an "adult consensual relationship" and saying the man would have no further comment.

"I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter," Clash said last week in a statement to NBC News issued through a representative. "I had a relationship with the accuser. It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was. I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation."

Clash has performed with Sesame Street characters since 1979, when he played Cookie Monster in the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade." He became an official puppeteer on "Sesame Street" in 1984 and created character voices for puppets such as Baby Natasha and Dr. Nobel Price, but the marriage of Elmo and Clash's stylized high-pitched toddler voice caught fire once he began voicing the puppet in 1985. (Elmo had been a recurring puppet on the show since the early 1970s, but not a major player until Clash took over.)

Clash was the subject of a 2011 documentary, "Being Elmo," which documented his lifelong love of puppeteering.

"Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of 'Sesame Street' to engage, educate and inspire children around the world," said Sesame Workshop when Clash took his earlier leave.

-- Additional reporting by Randee Dawn

In a statement of his own, Clash, 52, the puppeteer and voice behind popular red Muppet Elmo, said, "I am relieved that this painful allegation has been put to rest. I will not discuss it further."

There was no word Tuesday afternoon on whether Clash would cancel the leave of absence he has taken from "Sesame Street" since news of the relationship surfaced.

Sesame Workshop said in a statement: "We are pleased that this matter has been brought to a close, and we are happy that Kevin can move on from this unfortunate episode."

On Monday, Sesame Workshop issued a statement saying that the man had contacted them in June saying he and Clash began a relationship seven years ago, when the unidentified man was 16.

"We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action," that statement read. "We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation. We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. Although this was a personal relationship unrelated to the workplace, our investigation did reveal that Kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage and he was disciplined."

In a statement to NBC News issued Monday, Clash said the man was of age when the relationship began.

"I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter," Clash said.  "I had a relationship with the accuser. It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was. I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation."

Clash has performed with "Sesame Street" characters since 1979, when he played Cookie Monster in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He became an official puppeteer on "Sesame Street" in 1984 and created character voices for puppets such as Baby Natasha and Dr. Nobel Price.

Clash was not the first puppeteer to voice Elmo, but once he took over the character in 1985 and gave it a high-pitched toddler voice, the character became enormously popular.

Clash was the subject of the 2011 documentary "Being Elmo," which documented his lifelong love of puppeteering.

"Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of 'Sesame Street' to engage, educate and inspire children around the world," said Sesame Workshop.

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The now recanted underage-sex allegations against "Sesame Street" puppeteer Kevin Clash have put the revered children's television staple in the spotlight of a scandal. But while Clash's case could prove to be the biggest scandal the show has seen, it's hardly the first.

Over the years, "Sesame Street" has seen its share of headline-grabbing hubbub, from public handwringing over the on-air actions of certain Muppets to scenes deemed too hot for tot TV.

One of the most famous controversies to hit the "Street" came when the show filmed pop star Katy Perry singing "Hot N Cold" -- along with her pal Elmo -- while wearing an low-cut outfit some might have considered inappropriate for a kids' show.

The powers that be decided to cut the skit before it aired, but that action made for a bigger scandal as far as others were concerned, including Perry herself. The frustrated singer went on to show the public television program just how low-cut she could go by wearing a much more revealing Elmo shirt on "Saturday Night Live."

In 2002, the South African version of "Sesame Street," "Takalani Sesame," introduced an HIV-positive character to help educate children about the disease. The character, Kami, proved to be a hit with her intended audience, as well as former President Bill Clinton. But some stateside groups didn't approve.

Cookie Monster caused a stir when he went from a cookie-gobbling beast to a responsible cookie eater several years ago. But in an effort to satisfy parents who didn't want their own kids to be monsters when it came to cookies, the show saw backlash from others who felt the Cookie Monster's new  "A Cookie Is a Sometimes Food" approach was an example of political correctness gone too far. These days? Cookie monster likes to keep a healthy balance between bananas and butter cookies.

And of course, most recently, the show -- and one big yellow character in particular -- recently found itself at the center of always-polarizing presidential politics.

During the presidential debates, then-hopeful Mitt Romney brought up Big Bird when discussing his desire to cut funding to PBS. Those on the right and left of the political spectrum used the moment to prop up their own parties, but "Sesame Street" wanted no part of it.

"Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns," the non-profit said in a statement.

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Updated 1 p.m. ET: Kevin Clash, the puppeteer behind "Sesame Street's" Elmo since 1985, has taken a leave of absence from the show following allegations that he had a relationship with a 16-year-old, according to a statement from Sesame Workshop.

Workshop representatives said that in June a 23-year-old man reached out to Sesame Workshop alleging that he had a relationship with Clash beginning seven years earlier. 

"We took the allegation very seriously and took immediate action," said the reps in the statement. "We met with the accuser twice and had repeated communications with him. We met with Kevin, who denied the accusation. We also conducted a thorough investigation and found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated. Although this was a personal relationship unrelated to the workplace, our investigation did reveal that Kevin exercised poor judgment and violated company policy regarding Internet usage and he was disciplined."

Clash is then said to have been granted leave from the show so he can take action "to protect his reputation."

"I am a gay man. I have never been ashamed of this or tried to hide it, but felt it was a personal and private matter," Clash said in a statement to NBC News issued through a representative. "I had a relationship with the accuser. It was between two consenting adults and I am deeply saddened that he is trying to characterize it as something other than what it was. I am taking a break from Sesame Workshop to deal with this false and defamatory allegation."

Clash has performed with Sesame Street characters since 1979, when he played Cookie Monster in the "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade." He became an official puppeteer on "Sesame Street" in 1984 and created character voices for puppets such as Baby Natasha and Dr. Nobel Price, but the marriage of Elmo and Clash's stylized high-pitched toddler voice caught fire once he began voicing the puppet in 1985. (Elmo had been a recurring puppet on the show since the early 1970s, but not a major player until Clash took over.)

Clash was the subject of a 2011 documentary, "Being Elmo," which documented his lifelong love of puppeteering.

"Elmo is bigger than any one person and will continue to be an integral part of 'Sesame Street' to engage, educate and inspire children around the world," said Sesame Workshop.

There was no date given for Clash's return.

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Victoria Will / AP file

Elmo.

Superstorm Sandy made for a frightening time even for the bravest adults in the storm's path. So just imagine how scary the devastating storm was for children who lived through it first hand or even those who simply saw the images of destruction on their televisions. For kids, no amount of statistics or estimated recovery times really explain the weather event or provide comfort in its wake.

Parents have no doubt been working overtime to soothe their affected tykes, and now they have some help from a voice every child trusts.

On Tuesday morning, "Sesame Street's" Elmo visited Brian Lehrer's WNYC's radio show and spoke directly to his young audience. And as it turns out, the Muppet is a hurricane pro, having been through a scary storm on "Sesame Street" in the past.

"Well, the wind started blowing really bad, and we had to put tape on windows and stuff," he explained of the episode. He even had to help his pal Big Bird put his nest back together after the storm destroyed it.

Joining Elmo and host Lehrer was Dr. Rosemarie Truglio, the vice president of education and research for Sesame Workshop. She explained that the episode was created long before Sandy or even Hurricane Katrina. It was meant to help parents if their kids should ever face a similar storm.

"'Sesame Street' is based on a whole child curriculum, and so we focus not only on the cognitive skills, but social and emotional skills of children," Truglio said. "We wanted to have a community show like this where we could model for parents tips -- so that we could model how you prepare for a storm and how you get through the storm with activities ... and keeping your child calm and safe."

As for Elmo, he took a question from a fan who wanted to know if he was scared on Monday night, as Hurricane Sandy hit his hometown.

"Yeah, but Elmo was with his mommy and daddy, so Elmo asked a lot of questions and learned a lot about what was happening," he assured.

His main question of the night was, "Will the wind ever stop blowing?" And he shared the answer he got.

"The windows were moving and stuff and they said, 'Yes, everything would calm down and be OK."

And so it was for Elmo, and hopefully it was for all of his young fans, too.

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Danny Moloshok / Reuters file

"Sesame Street" character Big Bird sits onstage before accepting a lifetime achievement award at the Daytime Emmy Awards in this August 2009.

Plans to save Big Bird, the fuzzy yellow character on U.S. public television's "Sesame Street," from possible extinction are taking shape in the form of a puppet-based protest next month dubbed the "Million Muppet March."

The demonstration is planned for Nov. 3 at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., three days before the general election. 

Before the presidential debate between Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney had concluded on Oct. 3, two men who had never met each floated the Million Muppet March idea on social media. They immediately united to defend public broadcasting. 

Romney pledged during the debate to end the U.S. federal government's subsidy for the Public Broadcasting Service despite his professed love for Big Bird, one of the characters on PBS's 43-year-old children's educational program "Sesame Street," which features the Muppets. 

Michael Bellavia, 43, an animation executive from Los Angeles, and Chris Mecham, 46, a university student in Idaho, separately came up with the Million Muppet March idea in response. 

Big Bird, played by actor Carroll Spinney in an 8-foot bird costume, is strictly speaking not a member of the group of puppet characters known as the Muppets. 

Bellavia bought the Internet address www.millionmuppetmarch.com during the debate and discovered Mecham had already started a Facebook page by the same name. 

Within 30 minutes of the end of the debate they were on the phone with each other, planning the march. 

"I figured, why just make it a virtual show of support? Why not take this opportunity because it seemed like there was already a growing interest in it and actually make it an active, participatory event," Bellavia said. "I literally just said, 'It's happening.'" 

Both men consider themselves fans of "Sesame Street," perhaps the best-known program on PBS, which received $445 million of $3.8 trillion in federal budget outlays in 2012. 

Coming from rural Idaho, Mecham said he was aware how important public broadcasting was in sparsely populated areas that receive no other signals over the air. 

"Romney was using Muppets as a rhetorical device to talk about getting rid of public broadcasting, which is really so much bigger than 'Sesame Street,' " Mecham said. "While he was still talking I was thinking of ways I could express my frustration at that argument. Before the debates were over I had put up the Million Muppet March Facebook page." 

The two men said they immediately decided to work together. 

Mecham is a writer who is studying political science at Boise State University out of his interest in healthcare policy. 

Bellavia is president of the animation studio Animax Entertainment, founded by former Second City actor Dave Thomas. 

They may fall short of attracting a million people, or Muppets, to the event, but they do hope to create what Bellavia called a "lovefest" featuring skits and musical performances with Muppets. 

"It does seem like we might get close to the biggest ever assemblage of puppets in one place," he said, "and probably the most ever puppets marching on Washington." 

The Million Man March was a gathering held on the National Mall on October 16, 1995 to promote civil rights, with an emphasis on African Americans, and was led by rights advocate Louis Farrakhan.

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AP

Big Bird of Sesame Street

He's Big. He's a Bird. And he's now a political football.  The Obama campaign has put up a new web ad using Big Bird to attack Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for threatening to kill funding for "Sesame Street" and PBS during last week's debate. 

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"Big. Yellow. A menace to our economy. Mitt Romney knows it's not Wall Street you have to worry about, it's Sesame Street," intones the narrator in the spot, which features a clip of the Muppet saying, "It's me, Big Bird."

Big Bird's forced cameo didn't go over so well with the folks behind the legendary children's educational show.

"Sesame Workshop is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and we do not endorse candidates or participate in political campaigns," read a statement from "Sesame Street" producers. "We have approved no campaign ads, and as is our general practice, have requested that the ad be taken down."

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As of this writing, the ad is still online.

No word from the president's camp yet whether he will honor that request, though a campaign official tells E! News they are reviewing "Sesame Street's" concerns.

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But it's worth noting that the program's executive vice president, Sherrie Westin, said on "Sesame Street's" blog that the show "would not exist were it not for PBS and its local stations," and that PBS takes up just 0.014 percent of the federal budget.

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Big Bird reaped a major publicity blitz following the presidential debate on Oct. 3, but a new portrait of the “Sesame Street” icon, concocted solely out of breakfast cereals, definitely marks the sweetest, crunchiest parody of the bunch.

The artwork, created by San Francisco-based visual artist Jason Mecier, depicts Big Bird waving an American flag, and is made of assorted cereals, including Honeycomb, Fruit Loops, Fruity Pebbles, Cheerios, Lucky Charms and Cocoa Puffs. It’s a decidedly sarcastic retort to Mitt Romney’s suggestion the government cut funding from PBS.

“I don't think cheating our children on education is the right thing to do,” Mecier told NBCNews.com about his reaction to the Republican candidate’s remarks.

The artist spent 25 hours following the debate gluing cereal bits onto the canvas.

“Sugar cereals are colorful and nostalgic and something kids love,” he says explaining that the picture now hangs on his friends’ kitchen wall. “It will eventually disintegrate or get eaten by bugs!”

Jason Mecier

Jason Mecier made portraits of President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney out of beef jerky.

Mecier’s edible interpretation of Big Bird is only the latest installment in his series of celebrity-inspired mosaics, some of which are produced with the stars’ personal trash.

He recently fashioned images of both GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, using beef jerky. He’s also made Dolly Parton and the Spice Girls out of candy, Clint Eastwood out of household objects ranging from cell phones to dominos, Marilyn Manson out of yarn and “The Dukes of Hazzard” cast out of beans.

Jason Mecier

Mecier dubbed this beef jerky portrait "MEAT Romney."

More controversial have been his works based on fallen figures,including Jon-Benet Ramsey made from children’s shoes and deceased stars such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and Amy Winehouse out of pills.

But Mecier, whose nickname is “The Macaroni Monet,” says that there are no specific messages attached to his portraits. 

Jason Mecier

A Mecier portrait of Clint Eastwood.

“I try to match each of my subjects with an appropriate medium,” he commented. “I like people to get out of it whatever they want. They are open for interpretation.”

Big Bird, not surprisingly, has been a hit; his most liked and shared photo on Facebook.

Slideshow: Quirks of art: Creators who work in madcap media

Launch slideshow

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If you thought Batman sounded a little gruff in Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” film series, you're not alone. There's now an explanation for the muffled speech -- Batman is also the Cookie Monster.

sesamestreet.org, Warner Bros.

Is the Dark Knight really Cookie Monster?

In a viral video posted Aug. 21 on YouTube, a user has recreated a scene from the series where Batman meets with Commissioner Gordon on a secluded rooftop. They're supposedly discussing crime in Gotham City, but a sweeter, more crumbly topic naturally comes up.

“Cookies. Do you have cookies?”  the Dark Knight demands of Gordon, though the officer appears to have no interest in the subject and blathers onward about his cause.

“You really started something,” Gordon replies.

“Cookie, me Cookie Monster,” says Batman.

Gordon then begins a rant addressing concerns over the crime rate, escalation of terror, and appreciation for Batman’s presence in the city’s call-to-action. Yet, like most people with a raging appetite, the winged superhero has a one-track mind, and proceeds to demand his delicious treats.

“Cookie Monster still hungry,” Batman explains.

The conversation hits a standstill, and Batman decides to carry on his way. After the Commissioner offers a word of gratitude, Batman reiterates his "Sesame Street" ties, and takes a plunge into Gotham City, likely in search of confectionary goods.

Though it was the evil villain Bane who reaped most criticism for his muffled voice in the latest edition of the trilogy, “The Dark Knight Rises,” Christian Bale’s growly diction has also been the subject of great debate as the film series played out.

At Chicago’s pop culture conference C2E2 in 2008, the topic was discussed at length by Kevin Conroy, voice of Batman in the 1990s Fox animation series, who flat-out dissed the star’s performance.

“Christian Bale is an excellent actor, he just got steered wrong,” Conroy commented. “Obviously someone should have stopped him and said, ‘You sound ridiculous.’”

Conroy’s remarks were met with applause, though as one reader later noted online, such character direction was inspired by the original comics.

“The growling voice is not an original idea: it is referenced in the comics,” Brad wrote on ScreenRant.com. “In “Knightfall”, Robin makes a reference to Batman’s “gravelly” voice while talking to Nightwing. Yes, the purpose is two-fold: cover his identity, and to be intimidating. I grew up watching Batman on television, and wondered why no one recognized the voice of well-known Bruce Wayne.”

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Jerry Nelson, the skilled puppeteer who played "Sesame Street's" math-addicted vampire Count von Count, has died, The Jim Henson Company confirms. He was 78.

In a statement posted to the studio's Facebook page, Lisa Henson, CEO and daughter to its legendary founder Jim Henson, writes, "Jerry Nelson imbued all his characters with the same gentle, sweet whimsy and kindness that were a part of his own personality. He joined The Jim Henson Company in the earliest years, and his unique contributions to the worlds of Fraggles, Muppets, Sesame Street and so many others are, and will continue to be, unforgettable."

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"On behalf of the Henson family and everyone at The Jim Henson Company," she continues, "our deepest sympathies go out to Jerry's family and to his many fans."  

Nelson's long collaboration with Henson began when both met at NBC affiliate WRC in Washington D.C., the birthplace of The Muppets. The two first worked together as puppeteers after both had moved to New York City in the mid-1960s, and Nelson was called on to fill in for Frank Oz on variety series "The Jimmy Dean Show," playing the right hand to Rowlf the canine pianist.

That first gig would lay the groundwork for what would become a decades-long creative partnership that took Nelson to "Sesame Street" in the 1970s, and "The Muppet Show" and various Muppet movies throughout the 1980s. 

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Besides The Count, Nelson also created such indelible Muppet characters as Mr. Snuffleupagus, a shy pachyderm friend to Big Bird; Sgt. Floyd Pepper, bassist of the Electric Mayhem Band; Dr. Julius Strangepork, science officer on the USS Swinetrek; Camilla the Chicken, the other half of Gonzo's inter-species relationship; Lew Zealand, master fish-boomerangist; and Robin, sweet nephew to Kermit the Frog. Nelson also played Gobo Fraggle, the lead subterranean creature of "Fraggle Rock."

In 2004, Nelson announced his retirement as a puppet-operator  -- a physically strenuous art -- but still worked with The Muppets in the years that followed, providing voice to The Count up to his death. He also appeared as a telethon announcer in 2011's "The Muppets."

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