Zoot Zoot is the balding , blue - haired saxophone player for the Electric Mayhem . According to his performer and builder Dave Goelz , " Zoot is just a fifty - year - old burnt - out musician . " Zoot first appeared with his bandmates in " " before securing a regular gig on " The Muppet Show " , where he played both in the Muppet Orchestra and with the Mayhem . He has also appeared in every Muppet movie , the most recent being " Muppets Most Wanted " , except " Kermit ' s Swamp Years " . One of Zoot ' s trademarks is blowing small notes of music at a time . He notably blew the final note of " The Muppet Show Theme " in the closing credits on every episode of " The Muppet Show " ( except ) , " The Muppets Go Hollywood " , and " " . Although most of his appearances were with the Electric Mayhem , Zoot was more prominently featured as an individual in the early episodes , appearing with Juliet Prowse in a blackout in , and playing a reluctant duet with Mahna Mahna in " Sax and Violence " in . Zoot was considerably more talkative during the show ' s first season , but he soon started speaking less , often expressing himself purely with music . Dave Goelz explained that " I found that when the writers gave Zoot lines to speak , I would always try to give them away to other characters because I didn ' t know what to do with him . Maybe that helped to define the character . Perhaps it ' s best that he ' s so non - verbal . " Thus , Zoot ' s proclivity towards speaking more in the earlier episodes may have been due to the fact that Jerry Nelson , who played Zoot ' s more animated bandmate Floyd , was not available for tapings of " The Muppet Show " ’ s first episodes . Zoot became much more talkative on " The Muppets " , often making candid observations which ultimately came across as humorous . Personal Life . Is Zoot Jewish ? It is likely that Zoot is . Hints at this possibility are in " " , where Zoot wishes Kermit a happy when he and the rest of the Electric Mayhem arrive at the party , and in the release , where Zoot lights a Menorah . Is Zoot Homeless ? Several Muppet Show episodes mention how poor he is . Close to the ending of the " Bohemian Rhapsody " [ Kermit ' s Commentary ] video , Kermit finds Zoot in the phone booth . Kermit says he didn ' t hear him come in . Zoot replies , " Come in ? I ' ve been sleeping here for three months . " Additionally , although Zoot has had about 8 outfits he ' s worn the most , in " The Great Muppet Caper " it is revealed that he has only one pair of pants . Zoot also wore the same pair of shades until 2009 ( when he started donning more modern shades ) . The only deviations from his original trademark shades were in " Muppet Treasure Island " and " The Muppet Christmas Carol " , where his look was adjusted to fit the time period . That being said , Zoot has only been seen without shades at all once in " The Great Muppet Caper " , when the Muppets arrive at the Mallory Gallery wearing Groucho Marx glasses , it ' s shown that he has no visible eyes - which contradicts an earlier scene in the movie where his eyes are visible after Gonzo took . Behind the Scenes . Evolution . Throughout the years , the Zoot puppet has been redesigned several times , his skin changing from gray to blue to green , the texture from exposed foam to fleece and back again , and his nose from green to yellow . Zoot ' s trademark shades ( up until 2009 ) , his bald spot , and his long , blue hair have always stayed with him , though . See Zoot Through the Years to track his changes . Sax playing . For the run of " The Muppet Show " , Zoot ' s musical " voice " was Frank Reedy . For " The Muppet Movie " , sax player David Garland performed the duties . See also . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _