Kevin Jeffrey Clash is an American actor, puppeteer, producer, and director, who is best known for his voice role as Elmo in Sesame Street (1985–2012). His other Muppet characters include Hoots the Owl, Natasha, and Benny Rabbit. Clash resigned from Sesame Workshop in November 2012, following allegations of misconduct, despite having been cleared of the charges. He has since relocated to the Jim Henson Company, continuing to puppeteer for various projects.
For Disney, he portrayed Baby Sinclair, Howard Handupme, and Mr. Ashland in the comedy series Dinosaurs, as well as occasionally puppeteered Ethyl Phillips in a few early episodes. Other Muppet characters he played were Polly Lobster, Clifford, and Carter.
Outside of Disney, Clash is well-known for voicing Splinter in the first two live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films and Ace Yu in Dog City. In 2016, he played Wembley Fraggle of Fraggle Rock at a "Puppets for Puppetry" fundraiser event.
Clash was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to George Clash, a flash welder and handyman, and Gladys Clash, who ran a small daycare center in their two-bedroom, one-bath home in the Turner Station area of Dundalk, Maryland. Being the third of four children, Clash developed an interest in puppetry at an early age, inspired by children's shows, like Kukla, Fran and Ollie and Sesame Street. He made his first puppet, a version of Mickey Mouse, at the age of ten. When he was twelve, he made a monkey puppet out of the lining of his father's coat. His first performances were for his mother's daycare children. By the time he was a teenager, he had built almost 90 puppets, which he based upon commercials, popular music, and his friends. While still in high school, Clash performed at venues throughout Baltimore, including schools, churches, fundraisers, and community events.
Roles[]
(Dinosaurs)
(Dinosaurs)
(The Muppets franchise)
(The Muppets franchise)
