![]() A green puppet made of felt could correctly be referred to as “Doctor.” Kermit received an honorary Doctorate of Amphibious Letters from Southampton College in New York. I’ll write it again just so it can wash over you a little bit more. How did Jim Henson create such an iconic character? He cut up a ping pong ball and one of his mom’s old coats that she was going to throw out and all of a sudden: magic. ![]() ” It was on this show that many of our favorite Muppets today were created, including everybody’s favorite amphibian, Kermit the Frog. Almost immediately after starting in a theatre arts program at the University of Maryland, Henson got a job as a puppeteer at a local NBC station and within six months had his own five minute show called “Sam and Friends. There is no way to write an article about the Muppets without mentioning their brilliant creator, Jim Henson. Although if you really think about it, why would they be named after a combination of puppets and marionettes when there is very little marionette work to be found in a Jim Henson production? He told journalists that the word was a combination of puppet and marionette because it sounded more professional and plausible than the truth. They’re called Muppets because Jim Henson liked the sound of it. Not so fast, you’ve still got to answer question #9įine. So to answer your question, I don’t know.”Ĩ. If Homer has taught me anything - and believe me, he has - it’s that a Muppet is “not quite a mop and it’s not quite a puppet…but man…. I’ll finally answer the question that is now on everybody’s mind: “Why is a Muppet called a Muppet?” To answer this question, I will turn to the single greatest philosopher of the late 20th century. The Muppet has become so ingrained into our popular culture that most people don’t spend much time thinking about the reasoning behind its name. Watch the first part of “Sex and Violence” below. So why do I bring up this bit of misdirection? It’s to get you to rethink “The Muppet Show.” “The Muppet Show” was not just a fun show for kids that the family could watch together without getting bored it was smart, funny, profound, satirical, surreal, and sometimes subversive. The first line of the episode is actually an announcer saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, presenting the end of sex and violence on television,” followed by Crazy Harry blowing the sign up using a giant Wile E. Here’s the part where I admit that I’ve led you all slightly astray. This second half-hour variety special was called “The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence.” If you were too young to remember this or too young to be alive for this, I can only go ahead and assume that your brain has just exploded. However, it was the second Muppet special that really served as the true pilot episode. It was about love and chocolate and chubby naked angels and whatever Valentine’s Day is supposed to be about. There were actually two different Muppet specials that were aired during the planning stages of “The Muppet Show.” The first one, in 1974, was a Valentine’s Day special. The Name of “The Muppet Show” Pilot Episode So, for your reading pleasure, here are ten things that you may not have known about the Muppets:įrank Oz: ‘Disney Doesn’t Want Me’ Involved with ‘Muppets,’ Has Taken Soul Out of Franchiseġ0. Of course I refer to those lovable scamps, the Muppets. (And since we’re American, we don’t have access to either of those.) Instead, we’re going to put on our warm and fuzzy nostalgia robe – I keep mine next to my cold and lonely sadness boxers – and applaud the non-bastardized return of one of the few things that made our troubled childhoods bearable for at least half an hour every week. Unfortunately, that takes a lot of hard work and good insurance. Healing the deep, emotional wounds that we all carry around takes time, energy, and years of therapy. For today I celebrate the release of a movie ( “ The Muppets”) that will contain such sheer, honest, unadulterated joy that it will be enough to eliminate all the bitter cynicism that has continually grown and festered in my coal black heart ever since I found out the truth about Sparky. This ineffable joie de vivre has been slowly filling me to the brim and today my cup will indeed runneth over. I am far more excited than a grown man with a full beard should be. It’s time to light the lights! It’s time to learn 10 things you might not know about the Muppets!
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