Richard Hunt, a puppeteer known for his work on the "Muppet Show," died on Tuesday at Cabrini Hospice in Manhattan. He was 40.

He died of HIV complications, his family said.

Hunt, a native of the Bronx, was a member of Jim Henson Productions for more than 20 years, as the performer behind Scooter, Janice, Forgetful Jones, Junior Gorg and many other characters from the popular television programs "The Muppet Show," "Sesame Street" and "Fraggle Rock."

He directed several episodes of these shows, and was a puppeteer in the Henson films "The Muppet Movie," "The Great Muppet Caper," "The Muppets Take Manhattan" and "Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3-D," a Disney-M-G-M Studios Theme Park attraction.