The Muppet Show is a humorous puppet show based on characters from the children's educational program Sesame Street, with the addition of some new characters, more adult humor and a satirical sketching style. In this article you can find photos and names of the characters of the Muppet Show.
What is a Muppet Show?
The Muppets is a Jim Henson family television show featuring Muppets that parodies pop shows that were very popular in the US and the UK in the 70s. The characters in the Muppets are monsters, invented by Henson, anthropomorphic animals and humans, controlled by a puppeteer. Most of the main characters (for example, the main character of the show - Kermit the Frog) first appeared in Jim Henson's children's educational show "Sesame Street", but other characters were added that were more suitable for the new format.
History of creation
Jim Henson is an American puppeteer and puppet maker, as well as a director, screenwriter, actor and producer. In 1969, he created the cult children's program Sesame Street, which is one of the longest, most popular and significant in the entire history of world television to this day. However, Henson really wanted to make such a show that not only children, but also teenagers, and their parents, and even grandparents, can watch. So he came up with the creation of the Muppets. In the photo below, Jim Henson is surrounded by the Muppet Show characters.
The first issues of the "adult" Muppets were two independent stories of 1974 and 1975, however, US television producers refused to broadcast them, much less pay for the creation of a permanent broadcast. Help came from the UK - the commercial television channel ATV and its head, Lew Grade, did not consider puppet television to be exclusively a child's privilege, and therefore offered Henson to release the show on his channel, and even on an ongoing basis. From the UK, the program has spread all over the world, quickly becoming ultra-popular and very beloved. American producers could only bite their elbows, realizing what kind of jackpot they missed.
The first issue of the Muppets was released on September 27, 1976, after which five seasons were created, including more than a hundred half-hour episodes. March 15, 1981 the final release of the show. During this time, the program received four Emmy awards and was nominated for another 17, and also won three BAFTA awards and one Grammy, Peabody, Golden Movie Camera and Golden Rose awards.
At different times, the show was visited by such stars as Rudolf Nureyev, Elton John, Dayana Ross, Roger Moore in the image of Jame Bond and Mark Hamill in the image of Luke Skywalker, as well as Charles Aznavour, Julie Andrews, Sylvester Stallone, Twiggy, Lisa as invited celebrities. Minelli, Alice Cooper and many others.
The main characters of the Muppets
The plot is life and work in a variety theater, directed by Kermit Lyagshonok. The main ones are those Muppets that appear in all issues (with rare exceptions), meet with invited stars and are necessary for the plot. Below are the main characters of the "Muppet Show" with pictures and brief characteristics.
1. Kermit the Frog is the main character and the actual leader of all the Muppets. Pragmatic and a little nervous, he appeared in absolutely all episodes of the Muppets, as well as in Sesame Street and even Jim Henson's debut puppet show Sam and His Friends. Kermit’s role has always been voiced by Henson himself.
2. Miss Piggy - an eccentric and temperamental pig, "diva" and the Muppet show superstar. Puppeteer and Piggy's voice was the second person after Henson - Frank Oz.
3. Fozzie Teddy Bear is another Frank Oz character. A naive and awkward comedian stand-up genre.
4. Gonzo - the character of the "Muppet Show", similar to a dove, created and performed by Dave Goltz. Gonzo - an extraordinary artist, performs dangerous stunts, invariably ending with a single note, which he independently performs on the trumpet.
5. Dog Rolf - the character of Jim Henson, who first appeared in Purina dog food commercials, and then later used in the Muppets. Unlike the rest, Rolf is almost devoid of human features, almost never wears clothes and has a restrained and self-derogatory sense of humor.
6. Scooter - a humanoid character, stage manager and nephew of the owner of the theater. Incarnated by Richard Hunt on the basis of himself in his youth.
7. Pepe king prawn - an insidious and impudent character of a clear Hispanic origin. He was embodied and voiced by Bill Barrett.
8. Rizzo's rats are cunning and sarcastic, personifying a typical New Yorker. He became one of the main characters in the fourth season and was embodied by Stevie Whitmeier.
9. Animal - the character of Frank Oz, a typical muppet monster - carnivorous, primitive wild and always hungry. He is the drummer of several Muppet rock bands.
Minor Heroes
The Muppet Show includes a huge number of characters playing episodic or supporting roles.
Among them are the analytical scientist Dr. Bunsen and his assistant Bicker, the blue Eagle Sam (a parody of Uncle Sam), the Swedish Chef, members of the rock band Doctor Teese and Electrohaos, grouchy old spectators Statler and Waldorf and many others.
Best episodes
The most popular episodes of the Muppet Show are those in which guest stars participated. The so-called Cold Opening was a small clip in which a guest appeared surrounded by muppets. Each of these “discoveries” appeared before the show's splash screen.
Also very popular with the audience were short musical numbers with the participation of the group "Doctor Teese and Electrohosa". Once these heroes even appeared on the cover of the main music magazine Rolling Stone.
Further fate
Even during the release of The Muppets, the characters appeared in two feature films - The Muppets (1979) and The Big Puppet Journey (1981). After the show closed, about ten different full-length films with the participation of the Muppets were released, the premiere of the latter took place in 2014. After the death of Jim Henson, they decided to resurrect the program, giving it the format of a more modern Saturday Night Show and adding a lot of new characters. The show was called "The Muppets" and was released from 1996 to 1998, but could not achieve the same success as the original.