September 27, 1976 - May 24, 1981
CBS Variety Series - 120 Episodes
Puppeteers:
Jim Henson
Frank Oz
Richard Hunt
Dave Goelz
Jerry Nelson
Erin Ozker
Louise Gold
Kathryn Mullen
Steve Whitmire
This whimsical mixture of puppets and people was probably
the most widely viewed television program in the world
during the 1970s. Originated by an American and produced in
England, The Muppet Show was seen in more than 100 countries.
The host was a frog. Kermit (Jim Henson) presided over a half-
hour of chaos each week as the desperate emcee and manager
of a theatrical troupe of shaggy animals, monsters, and even
humanoid screwballs who seemed to turn every big production
number into a shambles. In the troupe was Miss Piggy (Frank
Oz), corpulent and very determined to be the star; Rowlf (Jim
Henson), the shaggy, piano-playing dog; Fozzie Bear (Frank Oz),
with his peaked head and tiny hat; Dr. Teeth (Jim Henson) and
the Electric Mayhem, the resident band, including spaced-out
guitarist Floyd (Jerry Nelson) and drummer Animal (Frank Oz);
Dr. Bunsen Honeydew (Dave Goelz), the short, balding, and
quite mad scientist; Gonzo (Dave Goelz), who always tried to
open the show with a trumpet fanfare; and a host of others.
A running feature was "Pigs in Space," a soap opera with
handsome Capt. Link Heartthrob (Jim Henson) of the
starship Swinetrek, doing battle with the evil plots of Dr.
Strangepork (Jerry Nelson) and the amorous advances of
Miss Piggy, who bullied her way from a supporting
character in the early years of The Muppet Show to second
billing (but don't tell her that!) after Kermit. Guests on
The Muppet Show ranged from George Burns, Zero Mostel,
and Steve Martin to Rudolf Nureyev, Elton John, Beverly
Sills, Peter Sellers, John Denver, Milton Berle, and Chris Reeve.
The gags were often corny, and the skits bizarre to say the
least, but what made The Muppet Show such a hit with
adults and children alike was The Muppets themselves.
The Muppet Show was the creation of the acclaimed puppeteer
Jim Henson, an aspiring filmmaker from his youth who got
into puppetry initially as a way to getting himself into the
world of filmmaking. Jim had his first short-lived TV puppet
show as a senior in high school on a local TV station in
Hyattsville, Maryland. In 1955, at the University of Maryland,
Jim met and fell in love with Jane Ann Nebel, who he would
eventually marry in 1959, right after graduating from college,
and whom he would eventually co-parent 5 children: Lisa,
Cheryl, Brian, John, and Heather. In 1969, Joan Ganz Cooney,
founder of Children's Television Workshop, hired Jim to
create new Puppet characters for a new series she was
creating for the PBS Television Network she called Sesame
Street, which debuted that November to great success.
By the late 1970s there were more than 400 Muppet characters,
the most frequent of whom were seen on The Muppet Show.
In 1979 Jim's horizons expanded even further with the first
Muppet Movie. In the years since then, there has been all
manner of Muppet merchandise available, including a famous
parody on cheesecake posters featuring Miss Piggy.
Click HERE to download theme song.
Click HERE to purchase Muppet Show videos!
Look for The Muppet Show on The Hallmark Channel.
Jim Henson
From Wikipedia
The Muppet Show
From TV.com
The Muppet Show
From The Internet Movie Database
These links were last tested May 2024.
Check out this classic TV Guide cover...
