the Sesame Workshop. Until 2011, he was the sole performer as Elmo in all his public relations appearances, making his schedule, as he called it, "crazy". Cheryl Henson, president of the Jim Henson Foundation, called him "essential" to the show. Clash worked on the first film version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in 1990 and the sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, which was dedicated to Henson, in 1991, voicing Master Splinter. He performed in several productions with Jim Henson Productions, including as the Muppet Clifford in The Jim Henson Hour (1989), and performing the puppetry for Frank Oz's characters (Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Sam the Eagle, and Animal) in Muppet Treasure Island (1996). Clash performed in the films Muppets from Space (1999) and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005), and the TV series Muppets Tonight (1996—1998), in which he reprised Clifford, who served as the show's host. He performed characters and worked behind the scenes on the sitcom Dinosaurs. In 2006, Clash published his autobiography, co-written by Gary Brozek and Louis Henry Mitchell, entitled My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud. His life was featured in the 2011 documentary Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey. After a hiatus of several years, Clash returned to performing with the film The Happytime Murders (2018), directed by Brian Henson and co-produced through Henson Alternative. He later puppeteered in the 2019 Netflix series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, which serves as a prequel series to the 1982 Jim Henson film The Dark Crystal. Personal life Clash has stated that although children ignore him and speak directly to Elmo, black adults tend to be surprised when they meet him. He has stated in interviews that his racial identity was pertinent to his work, and that it came through in his performances. Clash was married for 17 years and has a daughter who was born in 1993. In November 2012, Clash publicly revealed his homosexuality in response to the allegations that led to his resignation from Sesame Workshop, stating, "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." In 2015, Clash moved to Los Angeles to work on other Jim Henson Company productions, including The Happytime Murders and The Dark