Jerry Juhl

Jerry Juhl, who wrote the scripts for The Muppets and created Fraggle Rock, has died at the age of 67. There is an obituary by Christopher Reed in The Guardian.

Even puppets need a scriptwriter when they become big business, and one of the biggest was the Muppet Show, seen on TV in 100 countries. One of its main attractions was the witty dialogue, the work of Jerry Juhl, who has died after a brief illness at the age of 67.

The creator of the Muppets - the name comes from marionettes and puppets - was Jim Henson, who died in 1990. However, the contribution Juhl made to the success of the Muppets was acknowledged by Henson's daughter Lisa, now co-chief executive of the Jim Henson Company, who said: "So much of the humour, irreverence, caring and heart began with Jerry. He was, in many ways, the real voice of the Muppets."