Gonzo Gonzo , formally known as " The Great Gonzo " or " Gonzo the Great , " is the resident daredevil performance artiste on " The Muppet Show " . He is an odd looking , unclassifiable creature with blue fur , bug eyes , and a long crooked nose . He takes pride in his uniqueness and enjoys everything that he does - - no matter how painful or ill - advised it may be . Originally introduced as a frustrated performance artist , Gonzo would perform bizarre avant - garde acts such as demolishing a car with a sledgehammer to the tune of the Anvil Chorus . Such acts nearly always ended with the audience booing him off the stage . The notion of Gonzo , as a character who performs terrible acts but considers them artistic , was devised by Jerry Juhl . As Dave Goelz recalled , the character might have been forgotten were it not for Jack Burns , the show ' s original head writer , who during an early meeting suggested Gonzo perform " these crazy acts like eating a tire to ' Flight of the Bumblebee ! ' " So , in , Gonzo did exactly that , and the character grew from there . Burns also coined the character ' s name . Early Life . Accounts of Gonzo ' s early life are sketchy and often contradictory . For example , in of " The Muppet Show " , he explains that his mother died before he was born , leaving a note to his father regarding the matter of his name . However , this is contradicted in of " Muppets Tonight " , when Gonzo claims his mother liked his unique college interpretation of " Death of a Salesman " . Again it is contradicted on Muppets . com in a video where he answers a question about his first stunt - - his birth . He proceeds to explain it as if his mother was giving birth to him . As an infant , like many of the Muppets , he was under the care of Nanny ( as seen in " Muppet Babies " ) . Looking at home videos of himself as a baby , Gonzo has said , " What a handsome little devil I was ! " According to the Muppet Kids book series , Gonzo was later raised by his grandmother and his aunt Grace , both of whom are , of course , the same species as he is . Grace ' s young son Gander ( Gonzo ' s cousin ) is also shown , and the four of them live together in a ramshackle house in the suburbs . Another cousin of Gonzo ' s shows up much later in his career , when Kevin is revealed as his double in an attempt at stage magic in " An Audience with Joe Pasquale " . Gonzo , along with his chicken girlfriend Camilla , became a traveling plumber . He met Kermit and Fozzie and joined them in their quest for Hollywood . He started his acting career as a daredevil performance artist , but would later evolve to play dramatic roles , including Charles Dickens . According to " The Muppets Take Manhattan " , Gonzo , at one point in time , lived in a cement mixer ( which was far inferior to lodging in an airport locker ) . In the home video " Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff " , he and Camilla reside in a mobile home on the Bide - A - Wee Trailer Court . However , if Gonzo had never met Kermit , he would have ended up becoming a depressed street performer that plays guitar accompaniment for a dancing brick ( that ironically does not dance at all ) , as depicted in Kermit ' s parallel world in " It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie " . Career . Gonzo ' s acts frequently attempted to combine bizarre performance art with high culture : " I shall now eat a rubber tire to the music of ' The Flight of the Bumblebee ' . . . music , maestro ! " Another famous performance is best summed up by his quote , " I shall now defuse this highly explosive bomb while simultaneously , and at the same time , reciting from the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley . " Other acts include dancing " Top Hat " in a vat of oatmeal , hypnotizing chickens , and being hammered feet first into a railway tie by two American Gladiators on " Muppets Tonight " . Gonzo ' s musical performances include his song from " The Muppet Movie " , " I ' m Going to Go Back There Someday " , and his affecting rendition of " My Way " that he sang as his finale when he decided to leave The Muppet Theatre in . Gonzo had a prominent part at the start of each " Muppet Show " episode , playing the final trumpet note of the opening theme . In each episode , something different would happen - - for example , the trumpet would explode , or spray water , or blow up a balloon . In the first season , Gonzo did not use a trumpet but instead attempted to hit the white space within the " O " in the " Muppet Show " sign like a gong , usually with bad results . What is Gonzo ? The exact name of Gonzo ' s species has never been revealed . The character originally evolved from Snarl , a Frackle from " The Great Santa Claus Switch " . However when " The Great Gonzo " appeared on the " The Muppet Show " , the frackle species trait did not carry over . In , John Cleese referred to Gonzo as " the ugly , disgusting little blue creature who catches cannonballs . " And in " The Muppet Movie " , Kermit said that Gonzo looked " a little like a turkey , " to which his conscience replied , " Yeah , a little like a turkey , but not much . " In 1985 , a collection of Muppet comic strips were released in a book titled " " Chickens are People , Too ! . . . But what are Gonzos ? " " . The " Muppet Babies " also tackled the subject with the book " What ' s a Gonzo ? " . In the late 90s , the question was posed in the Ask Henson . com web column , " What exactly " is " Gonzo ? " Dave Goelz responded : " Nobody knows except his parents , and they ' re not talking . It was always one of those taboo subjects around the dinner table . " Gonzo the " Whatever " . It was in 1981 during " The Great Muppet Caper " that Gonzo solidified himself as a formal " Whatever . " When Kermit , Fozzie and Gonzo were shipped to England in crates . Kermit ' s crate was labeled " Frog " , Fozzie ' s was " Bear " , and Gonzo ' s crate read " Whatever . " " Whatever " was used thereafter whenever Gonzo ' s species came into question . In one of the later Muppet comic strips , Gonzo is seen walking past a " Men " and " Women " bathroom to enter a third door labeled " Whatevers " ( The strip can be seen in " " ) . He was called a " Whatever " in " The Muppets Take Manhattan " and " Muppet Treasure Island " . In " Muppets from Space " , Gonzo told Noah to put him down as a " Whatever " in his dream . Gonzo the " Weirdo " . On " Muppet Babies " , Gonzo ' s species was often cited as " Weirdo . " However , in the episode " , " Gonzo eventually became worried that he was an endangered species , and briefly imagined himself as an anteater . In " , " Gonzo imagined that he came from another planet and his family sent him to Earth because everything on his home planet was turning normal , and his parents didn ' t want him to become normal . Gonzo the Alien . In " Muppets from Space " , Gonzo began to have disturbing dreams of abandonment and a feeling of aloneness in the world . He stated that he was " tired of being a one - of - a - kind freak . " Gonzo lamented that he didn ' t know where he came from or what he truly was . Contradicting all past accounts of Gonzo ' s youth , it is established that Gonzo has never known his family ( or anyone of his species ) and feels that he is not just a unique and distinct individual , but also part of a species on the brink of extinction . Gonzo is contacted by aliens channeling his breakfast cereal , and a pair of Cosmic Fish soon reveal to him that he is , in fact , an alien from outer space , the planet Oznog according to the novelization . It is later revealed that many " zotons " ago as a baby , Gonzo was lost , and his family has been looking for him . His alien family has been trying to contact him for some time by placing the message " R U There " all over Earth . After they make contact with Gonzo , they make plans ( via a sandwich ) to rejoin with their long - lost brother and take him home . They arrive at Cape Doom in their giant spaceship ( guided by an egg - like light beacon ) . The aliens displayed the same general physical characteristics as Gonzo ' s ( such as the nostril - less crook - shaped nose and blue / purple fur ) . They are a musical culture , and their " most ceremonious of ceremonies " includes blowing the honoree out of a cannon . Gonzo is ecstatic to discover what he is , and considers going with them ; however , in the end , he realizes his true home is on Earth with his Muppet family . In the years immediately following the release of " Muppets from Space " , most merchandise labeled Gonzo as an alien ( his vehicle in " Muppet RaceMania " is a spaceship , and in " A Very Muppet Christmas " Gonzo wrote a letter to Santa Claus about how he learned he was an alien that year ) but that direction with the character was soon abandoned and Gonzo was reverted back to being labeled a " whatever " . Gonzo and Goelz began telling audiences during live appearances ( and others ) , that his identity as an alien was done just for the movie . In " The Muppet Show Comic Book Issue # 3 : Gonzo ' s Story " , the Muppets once again don ' t know what Gonzo is . Even before Gonzo was outed as an alien in 1999 , the suggestion that he had otherworldly origins had been made several times , and minor references have continued : Gonzo the " Thing " . Despite " Muppets from Space " ' s seemingly definitive answer as to what Gonzo is , the movie , as with any other Muppet movie , leaves some room for interpretation . Interviews with Gonzo and Dave Goelz suggest that the events of " Muppets from Space " were " just a movie " and his designation is still up in the air . At MuppetFest in 2001 , Gonzo speaks about his origins : In the 2002 BBC documentary , " I Love Muppets " hosted by Gonzo , he welcomes the viewer to the show , " an hour of company with your favorite pigs , frogs , dancing cheeses , lobster banditos , and uh . . . [ looks at himself ] er , things . " In 2005 , instead of playing " The Wizard of Oz " ' s Tinman in " The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz " , Gonzo is dubbed the Tin Thing . In " Muppets Most Wanted " , Gonzo refers to himself as a handsome long - nosed purple thing . Gonzo ' s Romances . In of " The Muppet Show " , Gonzo falls in love with Miss Piggy , who is disgusted and annoyed by him . He transfers his affections to guest star Madeline Kahn in , and informs Miss Piggy that he doesn ' t love her anymore . Gonzo is confident that Madeline will marry him , and is crushed when he finds out that she doesn ' t have any romantic interest in him . However , they agree to be friends . Although Gonzo tells Miss Piggy that he doesn ' t love her anymore , in the book , when he is saying goodbye to everyone and tells Piggy goodbye he confesses that he ' s always had a crush on her . In addition to the aforementioned episodes , in " The Muppet Movie " , Gonzo briefly shows interest in the prospect of a romantic dinner with Miss Piggy . He also tries to get Miss Piggy to dance with him in , but only because he needs a partner . On " Muppet Babies " , Baby Gonzo has an ongoing crush on Baby Piggy , going so far as to view Baby Kermit as a rival . In episode 217 , Gonzo is briefly attracted to a live cow that appears backstage . However , Gonzo ' s amorous desires are most often centered on chickens . This poultry passion first surfaced in , when he held auditions for dancing chickens . Dave Goelz ad - libbed the line , " Don ' t call us , we ' ll call you . . . nice legs , though ! " After this , the writers decided that Gonzo should have an attraction to chickens . In Episode 217 , despite the cow crush , Gonzo ' s chicken attraction was further developed . In the episode ' s Talk Spot , he complains to Kermit that Sweetums and Thog were playing badminton with his chicken . He sings " Won ' t Somebody Dance with Me " , looking for a dance partner before settling for a chicken ( The video " Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff " retroactively claims this was how Gonzo first met Camilla ) . When Gonzo learns that the cow is missing , he comments that he can still take a chicken out on a date . In " The Muppets " episode " , " Gonzo ( using a photo of Liam Hemsworth ) has an online romance with a woman named Debbie . Gonzo and Rizzo . Beginning with the 1992 movie " The Muppet Christmas Carol " , Gonzo has been paired with Rizzo the Rat , who has since become his best friend . The two co - hosted " The Muppet Christmas Carol " ( Gonzo as Charles Dickens and Rizzo as himself ) . The team connected with audiences , and Gonzo and Rizzo continued to be paired ( often as the stars of the show ) throughout the 1990s . The two , as a pair , hosted " Muppet Classic Theater " ( 1994 ) and appeared as a team in " Muppet Treasure Island " ( 1996 ) . Gonzo and Rizzo were also teamed together for most of " Muppets from Space " ( 1999 ) , in which it was shown that the two are roommates in The Muppet Boarding House . In of " Muppets Tonight " , they hosted a one - shot segment called " Gonzo and Rizzo ' s Incredible Discoveries " . The segment focused on what happens after a series of painful circumstances ( Rizzo gives them all the same response : " It hurts ! " ) . One of their more recent pairings was on the album " A Green and Red Christmas " , where they sang " It ' s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year " together . They also sang " Mr . Spaceman " with Jimmy Buffet , on the " Kermit Unpigged " album . In the " Pepe ' s Profiles " segment on Gonzo , Rizzo claims they first met in The Muppet Theatre , when Gonzo crashed into a wall Rizzo was living in . Gonzo ' s Outfits . Gonzo ' s style of fashion , according to a Disney . com profile , includes purple tuxedos , checkered suits , and anything with chili peppers on it . Originally , Gonzo wore a purplish - red tuxedo . In " The Muppet Movie " , he donned a light blue shirt and a black vest , which he occasionally wore in later seasons of " The Muppet Show " , in addition to his tux . Starting with " The Great Muppet Caper " and lasting throughout the 1980s , Gonzo ' s regular outfit was a white button - down and a gray sweater vest . For most of the next couple decades , his common attire included a variety of loud ( often checkered ) suits and other unusual clothing elements ( e . g . chili pepper patterned shirts ) . In " Muppets From Space " , he wore a similar outfit , consisting of a vest and a tie with a chicken on it . In " It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie " , he wore an ordinary gray suit jacket with a blue - white stripe pattern shirt and golden necktie . " See also : Gonzo ' s stunt gear " Performing Gonzo . Gonzo first appeared as Snarl the Cigar Box Frackle in the 1970 special " The Great Santa Claus Switch " , where he was performed by Daniel Seagren . In 1974 , he appeared on the Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass special in the musical number " Five Minutes More " . He was performed by Jim Henson during this special , but was completely silent . Since then , Dave Goelz has been his performer . In 2006 , Gonzo was performed and voiced by puppeteer Brett O ' Quinn for The Disney Cruise Line ' s Muppets Ahoy ! stage show . In the first season of " The Muppet Show " , the character was underplayed with a permanently sad look . The producers noticed that he worked better in a more energetic form , so Dave Goelz modified the eyes to have movable eyelids which helped make him a more active character . As such , he became one of the principal characters in the series . Goelz spoke of the mechanism and how it works ; In 2008 , Gonzo received a new eye mechanism that allows him to lift one eyelid separately . Goelz commented on the origin of the new mechanism ; Jerry Juhl stated on many occasions that Gonzo was his favorite character to write for and develop . He said he had a special connection with the blue weirdo . Juhl gave a presentation at the American Film Institute talking about long term character development and used Gonzo as the example . Juhl has said that he really enjoyed evolving and developing the character with Goelz from his debut eating the tire to " The Flight of the Bumblebee " through his evolution up to Charles Dickens in 1992 . For this reason , Gonzo has become one of the deepest and most developed characters . Juhl developed " Muppets from Space " ( originally titled " Star Gonzo " ) as a film to focus solely on the emotional arc and development of Gonzo . Sources . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _