What happened to good old Herry?

[minor muppetz]

I wonder if Jerry Nelson is having trouble doing the voice of Herry these days.

 

[BEAR]

Herry is sometimes seen on Sesame Street today, but in old material. Remember the song he did with the other monsters and Garth Brooks?

 

[MuppetGirl85]

I haven't watched Sesame Street in quite some time, but I've also had to wonder what happened to Herry Monster. He was one of my favorite monsters as a kid, despite being a rather loud monster, but that never scared me. The character was usually in small segments, either with another Muppet or--my personal favorites--a young kid who would usually converse with the blue monster. I actually miss seeing Herry, and wish that Jerry Nelson was still doing his voice.

I think it's great that Jerry is still doing puppeteering for Sesame Street in its present state, as turned off as I am about Elmo's World (I won't go into that here, though) taking up about half the episodes nowadays. Sure, the Count is certainly more well-known, and perhaps the voice is easier to do with the accent he has, but I was not as much a fan of the Count as I was of Herry Monster. I thought he was sweet, even though he was a rather strong monster with a loud voice, and his singing was some of the best I'd ever heard from a Muppet. Kids who were featured in segments with Herry also seemed to like him.

What's not to love about Herry?

 

[Ilikemuppets]

nothing. I can't think of anything! He a lovable kind of guy! But seriously, it could be a possibility that maybe it just takes a strain on is voice. But I could be completely wrong, though? Just an uneducated guess, LOL! But he is a lovable guy!

 

[minor muppetz]

I don't know whether Jerry Nelson is having any difficulties with the voice or what, butif he is, then I think they should recast Herry. Some people here have thought that Joey Mazzarino should perform Herry. A few years ago, when I heard that Jerry Nelson was semi-retiring (and before I knew that he was still performing on Sesame Street), I thought that Martin Robinson could have done a good Herry voice (well, good attitude at least). I wonder if Matt Vogel or Jim Martin could do a good Herry. Or Eric Jacobson (though I would like for Grover and Herry to appear in skits together again).

 

[Drtooth]

When it comes to recasting characters, it is a pretty long and involved process. Firstly, they have to be in touch with the character. it's not just a matter of voice copying. The puppeteer has to have a bond with the character. That's why a lot of characters have multiple recasts... including my name sake... I don't even think they found a perminant him yet. This is also partly why they don't have any new Guy Smiley skits, even though Eric played him in the "ready to Learn" segment.

It also falls on the burden of the writers to come up with new Herry material. Even if they do recast him, he won't be seen too much initially, as the character is still being re-explored.

 

[mikebennidict]

Why do you say it's a burden to come up with new Herry material?


They've been comming up with new material for SS every year since it debuted in 1969.

 

[MrsPepper]

I loved Herry. Up until just now, I always thought it was spelled Harry, but it's cuter with an e. I never found him scary at all, I thought he was cool.

 

[LincolnHeights]

It's rather disapointing to see Herry's role get diminished in recent years. He has been around since the show's second season, or u could even say the first season if you count his very first appearance in Season 1 when he sang the Up and Down Song with Cookie Monster and was voiced by Jim Henson. I'm pretty sure I did see Herry in one of the episodes when Gina adopted Marco this past season, but he was just in the background and had no lines. He was also in the background in a Season 34 episode, but I don't think wev'e heard the charachter speak since 2000 or 2001. It's understandable though, since Jerry Nelson has Throat Cancer, and is probably no longer able to do the voice. At least we still have him as The Count and Fat Blue. Mabye somebody new will take over the role of Herry. I also think Marty Robbinson would be a good canidate for the new voice of Herry. Marty needs to perform some new charachters anyways since the only ones he performs now are Telly and Snuffy. All the rest that he used to perform, Monty, Shelly Turtle, Buster, Irvine, Vincent Twice, and one of the Martians, have been discontinued throughout the years. I hope Herry does return someday in a full time role.

 

[SSLFan]

It's rather disapointing to see Herry's role get diminished in recent years. He has been around since the show's second season, or u could even say the first season if you count his very first appearance in Season 1 when he sang the Up and Down Song with Cookie Monster and was voiced by Jim Henson. I'm pretty sure I did see Herry in one of the episodes when Gina adopted Marco this past season, but he was just in the background and had no lines. He was also in the background in a Season 34 episode, but I don't think wev'e heard the charachter speak since 2000 or 2001. It's understandable though, since Jerry Nelson has Throat Cancer, and is probably no longer able to do the voice. At least we still have him as The Count and Fat Blue. Mabye somebody new will take over the role of Herry. I also think Marty Robbinson would be a good canidate for the new voice of Herry. Marty needs to perform some new charachters anyways since the only ones he performs now are Telly and Snuffy. All the rest that he used to perform, Monty, Shelly Turtle, Buster, Irvine, Vincent Twice, and one of the Martians, have been discontinued throughout the years. I hope Herry does return someday in a full time role.

Don't forget Marty also performs lovable Slimey! (another one of Mr. Nelson's past charcthers).