Why Matt Vogel is the Man

Has anyone seen what turned out to be Sesame Workshop's "Top Secret" video on YouTube was for them reaching 1-billion views?

This marks the debut of Matt Vogel taking on the character since the passing of the late and great original Muppeteer, Jerry Nelson.

This isn't the first of Jerry's characters that Matt has taken on; when THE MUPPETS (2011) came out, Matt took on the characters of Sgt. Floyd Pepper, Robin the Frog, Uncle Deadly, and other of Jerry's characters. In addition to that, for over the past decade, Matt has also been Caroll Spinney's understudy performer for Big Bird (of which Caroll remarked was a good sign, as "Vogel" is the German word for "Bird").

I just have to say, that Matt is an absolutely awesome performer: not only has he had some tremendously large shoes to fill, but also, he performs some characters of his owns, if only as one-shot, or supporting characters, and his performances are so flawless, and he is an incredibly versatile performer; as a puppeteer, you have to admire a person like that, who went from being a "Puppet Geek" as a kid (haven't we all?), to being quite an important asset to the greatest company of puppets the entertainment industry has ever produced.

Matt never ceases to amaze me with his performances, and while I, like many others, was saddened by Jerry Nelson's passing, I also had no doubt that, after his performances in THE MUPPETS (2011), Matt would do an outstanding and excellent job as Count Von Count - I'm sure Jerry would be proud.