 At 17 he attended a puppetry festival where he met Kermit Love, who spoke to Jim Henson (as did Oznowicz) about the young puppeteer.At 18 he moved to New York City and acted in some TV commercials, as well as landing a puppeteering job working for his childhood idol, Bil Baird.At 19, Earl was hired sight-unseen by Jim Henson for "The Muppet Movie" and subsequently won the role of Mr. Snuffleupagus on "Sesame Street" (replacing Jerry Nelson, the originator), also creating the roles of Forgetful Jones, Oscar the Grouch's pet worm Slimey, Poco Loco, Polly Darton and the Honkers.