Marvin Suggs Marvin Suggs , the demented Whatnot musician , appeared many times on " The Muppet Show " playing the Muppaphone , an instrument made up of living balls of fluff . Marvin Suggs and the Muppaphone first appeared in " The Muppet Show " , playing " Lady of Spain " . In , Marvin auditioned with an All - Food Glee Club , singing " Yes , We Have No Bananas " . He was back with the Muppaphone in , singing " Witch Doctor " . In , Kermit interviewed Marvin in a Talk Spot that appeared as a UK Spot . Kermit tells Marvin that he wants to ask him the question that most people ask , and Marvin tells him that the answer is , " Mutual love and respect . " Kermit asks the Muppaphones the question that most people ask : " Does it hurt ? " Since Marvin Suggs is right behind them , they nervously answer , " No . " When asked if they are the original Muppaphones , Marvin says that he has to replace them every two or three months , since by then they go flat ( not off - key ; they become two - dimensional ) . Kermit asks what happens to them after that . " I don ' t think you want to know , ” Marvin replies . In , guest star Lesley Ann Warren was horrified to learn that Marvin was the accompanist in one of her numbers . She accused him of being cruel , because he makes music by hitting live creatures . " Of " course " they ' re alive ! " he answered . " You can ' t make music by hitting " dead " creatures ! " In the " Alice in Wonderland " - themed , Marvin played the judge at Alice ' s trial . He struck the jurors on the head as if they were a Muppaphone . Marvin appeared in multiple films , including " The Muppet Movie " , where he can be seen gyrating through the theater before the movie starts . He showed up again in " Muppets from Space " twenty years later . In 2004 , Palisades Toys released a Marvin Suggs Action Figure . In the liner notes of the Music , Mayhem and More ! CD , Frank Oz said : In 2006 , the puppet was on display at the " " exhibit at the University of Maryland . After a twelve year absence , Suggs reappears in " The Muppets " , performed by Eric Jacobson . He also made a brief appearance in the music video for " The Muppet Show Theme Song , " using the band members of OK Go as a Muppaphone . Although nowhere to be seen , part three of " " has " Marvin Suggs and the All - Food Glee Club " listed on a marquee outside the theater . Forerunners in pop culture . Other comedy skits have involved characters committing cruelty against living creatures for music ' s sake ( a concept that dates back to at least to 1928 , when Mickey Mouse yanked piglets ' tails to create musical squeals ) , which in some ways predate Marvin Suggs . In 1957 , in a sketch from his radio series ( later released as a record ) , Stan Freberg created Monsieur Toulier and his Tuned Sheep . The French - accented Toulier tied bells to his sheep , and when struck on the head with a shepherd ' s crook , the sheep would play music ( a rendition of " Lullaby of Birdland " ) . Like Marvin , Toulier chided his sheep individually by name when they were out of synch or tempo . A similar sketch , with closer parallels in some respects , occurred in a 1969 episode of " Monty Python ' s Flying Circus " ( an episode titled " Sex & Violence " ) . " Arthur Ewing and His Musical Mice " features Mr . Ewing ( played by Terry Jones ) beating on tuned mice ( in boxes so as to be unseen by the viewer ) in his " Mouse - organ " with two mallets , in a rendition of " The Bells of St . Mary " . The sketch also appeared in the film " And Now For Something Completely Different " ( 1971 ) with the name changed to " Ken Ewing and His Musical Mice " , playing " Three Blind Mice " . Sources . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _