My Life as a Furry Red Monster - Kevin Clash [51]
AFTER ABOUT THREE years or so, I was officially offered the chance to do ten shows with Sesame Street for the 1983 season. It seemed that my unofficial temping and interning had finally paid off, and I couldn’t wait to sign the contract.
It was standard practice that shows like Sesame Street would work around the featured performers’ and puppeteers’ schedules when they could—but not for part-time players like me, as they usually worked more than one gig. Since I was busy with Captain and Coaster, I called the person who handled the scheduling to explain my situation. Sesame Street did more than a hundred shows, so I figured it would be easy to find ten that fit my schedule. I was stunned when I was told that under no circumstances could they work with my schedule. They didn’t want to talk to Ron Kreidman, the lawyer I’d hired to do the negotiations (who is my lawyer still). Why couldn’t they cooperate with me on this? I was willing to be flexible. They weren’t.
I wanted to work with Sesame Street and Jim Henson very badly, and I didn’t want to start off on a sour note, so I agreed to let them tear up my contract. Hard as it was, I figured it was best to just walk away and not create any ill will.
I continued my work on Captain and Coaster for a few more years, keeping in touch with my Sesame Street connections. One day I got a call from Jim’s wife, Jane Henson, who was involved in recruiting new talent for Jim’s various ventures. She asked me if I wanted to help with some puppeteering workshops she was leading for the Jim Henson Company. I’d be involved in training new puppeteers for the Henson organization. I eagerly accepted. My strategy worked, and I was on my way to Sesame Street!
Stu Kerr’s lessons on cooperation—learning to work with other professionals in areas ranging from the creative and artistic to the business and financial side—really were paying off. But every once in a while, my youthful ambition would get ahold of me and I’d need a refresher course. Kermit Love often stepped in to do the job.
While I was still on Captain and Coaster, I got a call from one of the producers of an upcoming Jim Henson film, The Dark Crystal. Duncan Kenworthy, who would go on to produce many hits, including Four Weddings and a Funeral, wanted to know if I might be interested in talking further about performing in the movie, as it would involve lots of special puppeteering effects. I was psyched—I would be working with Jim and doing a movie. Even better, I would get to spend eight months living and working in London at Jim’s Creature Shop.
I called Kermit to tell him about the opportunity, as I was sure an offer was pending. I was so excited I was talking a hundred miles an hour, and when I paused for a breath, I heard Kermit’s patient sigh. The man had become like a grandfather to me, as he had for a whole generation of designers and puppeteers, and I’d come to recognize that sound.
“So you see a problem with me doing this, then?”
“Kevin, keep in mind two things. One, you’ve made a commitment to two shows. You should honor that commitment. You don’t want to be known in the business as someone who puts his interests ahead of the show. Two, you’ve got work on two series. Series work is steady work. Let’s say you go to London, do the film. You come back to nothing. Security is a good thing. Stick with it. They’ll ask you again.”
Though I hated saying no to Jim, I knew deep down that Kermit was right. On his recommendation, I went through with the meeting and even got an offer, but I had to tell Jim himself that I was declining.
Turning down that offer was one of the hardest things I had to do, but it was the right thing. With Kermit’s support, I was gaining the confidence I needed to take control of my career and my future. And I was reminded, once again, that this is a business that’s based on group efforts and on being cooperative.
FROM THE VERY beginning,