Kevin Jeffrey Clash (born September 17, 1960) is an American puppeteer, director and producer best known for puppeteering Elmo on Sesame Street from 1985 to 2012. He also performed puppets for Labyrinth, Dinosaurs, Oobi, and various Muppet productions. Clash developed an interest in puppetry at an early age and, in his teen years, performed for local television children's shows in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.
Source: Wikipedia