Biography

A longtime puppet designer and performer, Goelz was picked up by Jim Henson and company to design Muppets for various television projects in the early 70's. By the time Jim Henson and Frank Oz were beginning work on "The Muppet Show", they managed to convince Dave to come work as a puppeteer. He soon began to perform and develop such memorable characters as the Great Gonzo and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. He has gone on to become a principal Muppeteer and one of the major talents of the Jim Henson Company.
- IMDb mini biography by: The Muppet Avenger

Best known for his association with The Muppets and in particular the character of The Great Gonzo which he has performed since 1970.

Distinctive voice

He and Steve Whitmire are the only Muppeteers to have been featured in all 8 theatrical Muppet movies (The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), Muppets from Space (1999), The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014)). Goelz and Whitmire also contributed to the two theatrical Sesame Street movies (Follow That Bird (1985) and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)) and the two fantasy Henson-company theatrical productions (The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986)).

Began working for 'Jim Henson' as a puppet builder.

He and Louise Gold are the only puppeteers to reprise their roles from 'The Dark Crystal' for the Netflix prequel series.

Jim had five children of his own, and by nature was extremely playful. He related well to children because he could access that part of himself. The fascinating thing was that while he functioned as an astute businessman, he could integrate play into the process.

I now have children of my own, and have come to believe that we are all born perfect - well, maybe not absolutely perfect, but certainly completely without evil. As a parent, one of my goals is to see whether I can raise my children to survive in the world without losing that childlike innocence, trust, optimism, curiosity, and decency. I am certain it is possible because Jim was the living embodiment of it.

On Muppets head writer, Jerry Juhl: "There's a philosophy I think Jim [Henson] started out with - that people are basically good, life is to be enjoyed, take care of other people, there's enough for everybody - and Jerry [Juhl] was absolutely in sync with that."