Fozzie Bear Fozzie Bear is " The Muppet Show ' s " resident comedian . He ' s an orange - brown , fuzzy Muppet bear who tells bad jokes , usually punctuated with his catchphrase laugh , " Wocka wocka wocka ! " Fozzie ' s best friend is Kermit the Frog , although they occasionally have differences of opinion . During the first season of " The Muppet Show " , Fozzie ' s monologues usually consisted of Fozzie telling simple setup / punchline jokes , while being heckled by his mother ' s old friends , Statler and Waldorf . After the first season , most of his monologues relied on gimmicks such as telling jokes on roller skates . A common schtick in many episodes is that Fozzie would attempt to imitate the guest star ' s most famous act to attempt to emulate their success , only to comically fail completely at the attempt . For instance , Edgar Bergen inspired him to try ventriloquism while stage magician Doug Henning inadvertently convinced Fozzie to try his hand at being a magician . In " " , Christopher Finch wrote : " One of the biggest problems [ with the first season ] was with Fozzie Bear . Fozzie was crucial to " The Muppet Show " because he was conceived as Frank Oz ' s main character , and the success of the show would depend to a significant degree on Frank having the opportunity to display the full range of his virtuoso performance and comedic skills . " It was logical to have a comedian as a primary character on " The Muppet Show " , particularly once The Muppet Theatre had been established as its basic setting . And given the spirit of the Muppets , it was almost inevitable that he would be a bad comedian . The problem with Fozzie was that his bad jokes and failure to win over an audience provoked more embarrassment than sympathy . For instance in , Fozzie gets so fed up with the heckling that he demands everyone but true Fozzie fans leave the auditorium . As a result , the seats are left completely empty ; even Fozzie ' s own cousin leaves ; Fozzie departs the stage almost in tears . " Jerry Juhl and Frank Oz gradually transformed Fozzie by building up the positive aspects of his personality . They allowed his perpetual optimism to offset his onstage failures until he became a more rounded character . Fozzie ' s virtues ultimately made his ineptness acceptable - - and even endearing . So successful was this metamorphosis that he became one of the most popular of all the Muppets . " As Brian Henson notes in a generic " Muppet Show " introduction , " Fozzie is always telling terrible jokes , but he ' s just trying so hard you ' ve got to love him . " Early Life . As an infant , like many of the Muppets , Fozzie was under the care of Nanny ( as seen in " Muppet Babies " ) . Fozzie ' s mother however kept some early home videos of Fozzie and the other Muppets , as shown in " A Muppet Family Christmas " . As a kid , Fozzie was raised by his mom and dad , along with his baby brother Freddie . Fozzie grew up right next door to his best friend Kermit and often spent time with his grandpa . Even as a baby , Fozzie always had an interest in becoming a comedian . Fozzie remarked at the 2009 D23 Expo that he understudied at the Country Bear Jamboree . Fozzie became a stand - up comic at the El Sleezo Cafe , where Kermit invited him to come to Hollywood to become famous . Fozzie took his uncle ' s car , which was left to him while his uncle hibernated , and the pair set out for California . However , if Fozzie had never met Kermit , he would have ended up becoming a skilled pick - pocket ( so good that he could pick the pocket of someone without pants ) . However , according to " The Great Muppet Caper " , Fozzie and Kermit are identical twin brothers and share the same father . Family . Fozzie ' s mother is Emily Bear . Fozzie has a cousin ( who looks just like him ) who appeared on " The Muppet Show " , but apparently he has no more respect for his relative ' s talent than anyone else . Fozzie also mentioned an uncle in " The Muppet Movie " . Family Members Fozzie and Kermit . Since the early days of " The Muppet Show " , Fozzie has often interacted with Kermit . Fozzie got Kermit to reluctantly assist him for one of his best - known monologues , " Good Grief ! The Comedian ' s a Bear ! " , and has also had quite a bit of interaction with Kermit backstage . In , Fozzie constantly annoyed Kermit with a running gag , delivering a number of pun items , such as a " wire " and a " letter " for Kermit the Frog which turned out to be a clothes wire and the letter R , respectively . In , Fozzie performed the supposedly famous " Banana Sketch . " When Kermit confessed that he didn ' t know what " The Banana Sketch " was , the cast and guest star Sandy Duncan teased him for his ignorance . Kermit and Fozzie have also frequently been paired together in countless movies , books , and specials . In " The Muppet Movie " , Fozzie was the first Muppet Kermit met on his journey . After Fozzie ' s unsuccessful comedy performance at the El Sleezo Cafe , Kermit invited Fozzie to come to Hollywood with him . The two friends sang the duet " Movin ' Right Along " in the same film . Fozzie and Rowlf . Fozzie was also frequently teamed up with Rowlf , beginning in of " The Muppet Show " , in which Fozzie played a bandit opposite Rowlf ' s saloon piano playing hero in the sketch " Cowboy Time . " Fozzie also appeared as a patient in two Veterinarian ' s Hospital sketches , in which Rowlf starred as Dr . Bob . In , Rowlf learned that Fozzie could play the piano ( a talent Fozzie didn ' t know he had , either ) , and they played a duet of " English Country Garden . " Rowlf has also played back - up to Fozzie ' s renditions of " Hi - Diddle - Dee - Dee ( An Actor ' s Life for Me ) " and " I Got Rhythm . " During the latter number , Rowlf attempted to help Fozzie with his singing . The young incarnations of Fozzie and Rowlf were also frequently paired together on " Muppet Babies " . Fozzie ' s Showbiz Associates . Fozzie ' s agent , introduced in of " The Muppet Show " , is Irving Bizarre , who is so short that his top hat covers most of his body . Fozzie also has a hired writer , Gags Beasley , who was first mentioned in . Fozzie and Gags have a deal , whereby Fozzie pays his writer by the laugh . According to Frank Oz , " [ Fozzie ] can ' t afford good joke writers , and he can ' t write good jokes himself . " Other Talents . Although Fozzie ' s main job on " The Muppet Show " is to be the stand - up comedian , he takes on the occasional dramatic role and often assists backstage . He appears in sketches with guest stars Avery Schreiber and Nancy Walker , and he also appears in the recurring sketch " Bear on Patrol " . In , Kermit let Fozzie help plan the show . His abilities in doing so earned him the title of " Honorary Hip Dude " from the Electric Mayhem band . Sadly , his planning also later lost him that title . Then , when Kermit becomes sick in , Fozzie is put in charge of hosting the show , which proves quite taxing for the bear . Fozzie had also made an attempt to write for the show in when he decided that the show needed a script . Unfortunately , Fozzie is either a bad speller or a bad typist ( or both ) , as Kermit found it difficult to read the introductions that Fozzie wrote for him . Fozzie later admitted that he was a bad speller when he wrote the word " Muffets " as part of the title card for " The Muppets Go to the Movies " . Later Appearances . Fozzie Bear hosted a recurring segment on " Little Muppet Monsters " , called " Fozzie ' s Comedy Corner " , in which he discussed certain jokes , mainly those involving chickens . Fozzie Bear only appeared in a handful of episodes of " The Jim Henson Hour " . One of his most notable appearances was in the episode , in which Fozzie decided to give up comedy and become a weather bear . He went to the set of " The Today Show " to get some tips from the show ' s weatherman , Willard Scott , only to inadvertently lock Scott in a closet . With Scott locked in the closet , Fozzie came on - stage to report the weather , but had trouble reporting , and went back to comedy . During the early 1990s , Fozzie appeared less frequently , usually in supporting roles and often wearing a wig . In " The Muppet Christmas Carol " , he made a cameo appearance as Scrooge ' s employer Fozziwig . Shortly afterward , he appeared in one sketch in " Muppet Classic Theater " , portraying the title character in " The Emperor ' s New Clothes " . In " Muppet Treasure Island " , he had a more substantial role as Squire Trelawney , who financed the voyage and hired the crew , based on Long John Silver ' s suggestions . In this movie , Fozzie ' s character referred to and often spoke to a tiny man named Mr . Bimbo , who lived inside his finger . On " Muppets Tonight " , Fozzie made quite a few appearances , but was less integral to the series , with most of his appearances being in sketch roles . He appeared with Kermit and Billy Crystal in a sketch called " City Schtickers " , with John Goodman and Miss Piggy in a " Honeymooners " parody called " The Lunar Mooners " , and in a recurring sketch called " EIEIO - R " , portraying a doctor who told jokes , similar to Rowlf ' s role as Dr . Bob . Fozzie ' s only backstage appearances were in , in which he watched one of Whoopi Goldberg ' s acts and wrote down some of her jokes , and in where he helped cheer up guest star Pierce Brosnan . Back in the Spotlight . Fozzie became more of a primary character again in " Muppets from Space " . He was part of the main cast and was the one who drove the Electric Mayhem Bus . He also got to work with Kermit again , reviving a pairing which had been absent for most of the 1990s . He was also a significant presence in " It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie " , which was Eric Jacobson ' s first major performance as Fozzie . Unlike many of his 1990s appearances , in which Fozzie was written as a rather dim - witted bear , he was depicted as more intelligent again , with humor coming from his devotion to the other Muppets . When Pepe the King Prawn revealed that Rachel Bitterman changed the contract for payment of The Muppet Theatre , Fozzie chose to cancel his big Christmas monologue in order to hand - deliver a payment , in an attempt to save the theater . Later in the film , when Kermit saw what life would have been like if he hadn ' t been born , it was revealed that the Fozzie Bear of the Kermit - free world would ' ve become a pickpocket . Shortly afterward , Fozzie would have a major role as The Cowardly Lion in " The Muppets Wizard of Oz " , and he got his own track , " North Pole Comedy Club " , in " A Green and Red Christmas " . Fozzie is a main character in " The Muppets " , performing with The Moopets , a Muppet tribute band in Reno , until he ' s reunited with Kermit . In " Muppets Most Wanted " , Fozzie is one of three Muppets to first discover that Kermit has been replaced by Constantine . In " The Muppets " , Fozzie works as Miss Piggy ' s sidekick and warm - up act on " Up Late with Miss Piggy " and is dating a human woman named Becky . Performing Fozzie . In the two pilot episodes of " The Muppet Show " Fozzie had a mechanism which allowed his cheeks to move . During the remainder of the first season , Fozzie was a bit plumper and had ears that wiggled . The later versions of the puppet had less control over the cheeks , but they still contained a mechanism that would alter their angle depending on the position of his lower jaw : an underbite results in a grin while pulling the jaw in produces a frown . Fozzie was rebuilt for the second season of " The Muppet Show " ; he was given a brighter orange hue , a tighter overall design , and a less " dopey " appearance . A special mechanism allowed his eyebrows to move , but the effect was barely noticeable , especially when he wore his hat . This eyebrow feature was removed when he was replaced with yet another puppet , just seven episodes into the second season . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _