MuppetFest Memories Following the MuppetFest fan convention on December 8th and 9th , 2001 , a description of the convention was printed in " MuppetFest Memories " , a self - published fanzine which was distributed through the Tough Pigs website . The text of the fanzine is reprinted here , with permission . The zine began with a disclaimer : " This zine is a collection of my memories and notes from the 2001 MuppetFest convention . Like all memories , some of the contents may have shifted during transit . " For this wiki version , if you have notes or recordings from the convention , then please add corrections ! Day One : Introduction . Saturday ' s host : Kirk Thatcher , Muppet writer who co - wrote " Muppet Treasure Island " and " Muppets Tonight " . Kirk enters holding the Emmy he won for " Muppets Tonight " . He says that he carries the Emmy around " to meet hot chicks . " He ' s going to introduce the Muppet performers today . These people have won a lot of awards , but they ' re very shy about them . " They won ' t tell you how great they are , so that ' s my job . I ' m the gusher . I ' m the company big mouth . " Kirk takes a quick poll , asking the audience to raise their hands if they ' ve come from far away . He ends up with everyone ' s hand in the air , and he instructs us to keep our hands up . He mostly goes to " Star Trek " conventions , and Muppet fans need something as cool as " Live Long and Prosper " . He ' s going to teach us the Muppet Salute . The Muppet Salute goes like this : If you meet a fellow Muppet fan , you raise your hand like it ' s a puppet , and you say , " Hi ho ! " Then , if you ' re greeted by a female fan , her response is : " Kissy kissy ! " If you ' re greeted by a male Muppet fan , his response is : " Wocka wocka ! " Kirk practices the Muppet Salute with us a couple of times , and doesn ' t let us put our hands down . " The reason I asked you to keep your hands up is to show you what these Muppet performers go through " every day of their lives ! " " Next , Kirk introduces a special message from a big star . " It ' s a big deal getting her to do anything these days . . . I ' m talking , of course , about Hillary Clinton . " The video screen comes down - - but there ' s technical problems , and they can ' t figure out how to run the tape of Miss Piggy ' s message . " Isn ' t that very " Muppet Show " ! " Kirk vamps for a while . " So , you ' re all wondering . . . What ' s it like to win an Emmy ? " To fill the time while the techs figure out what ' s wrong , Kirk asks the audience trivia questions . What ' s the Muppets ' name in Germany ? Nobody knows . " " Das Muppets " , guys , of course . Come on ! " The video screen lights up - - with live Muppets , backstage ! Rizzo , Gonzo , Clifford , Floyd Pepper and Pepe the King Prawn all appear on the screen , and they ' re all yelling at Kirk . Kirk announces the new show : Who Wants to Marry a Muppet Guy ? Floyd and Clifford exit to go to the bathroom , followed by Rizzo . Gonzo stays behind : " I ' m not going to the bathroom . . . Oh . Yes , I am . " The Muppets all leave . Finally , they play the recorded message from Miss Piggy , who informs us , " It is with great regret that I cannot be with you at Muppetfest , but celebritude brings so many demands . . . But it is moi ' s pleasure , and contractual obligation , to bring to you the Chairman and CEO of the Jim Henson Company - - I have no idea what he does - - Brian Henson ! " Brian Henson enters and welcomes us to Muppetfest . He says that Jim Henson always had a vision - - and then he would involve a lot of other people , and then the vision would come out completely different . Brian says that this weekend , we ' ll get to meet all the real people behind the Muppets . Then the Muppets appear on the video screen again . . . Brian promises the Muppets that they ' ll get their chance this weekend too . The History of " The Muppet Show " . Brian introduces the " Muppet Show " panel : Dave Goelz is one of the core Muppet performers , best known for performing Gonzo , Bunsen Honeydew and Boober Fraggle . Steve Whitmire is another core Muppet performers , who has performed Kermit the Frog since 1990 . He also performs Rizzo the Rat and Wembley Fraggle . Jerry Nelson has been a core Muppet performer since 1965 . He performs Floyd Pepper , Robin the Frog and Gobo Fraggle . Amy Van Gilder was the head of the Muppet Workshop during " The Muppet Show " . Paul Williams was the songwriter who wrote the music for " Emmet Otter ' s Jug - Band Christmas " , " The Muppet Movie " , and " The Muppet Christmas Carol " . He was also a guest on " The Muppet Show " . Martin Baker was the Floor Manager on " The Muppet Show " , and has since become one of Henson ' s main producers . Brian says that Martin is particularly important to him : " One of the few reasons why the company continued after my father passed away . . . it ' s all because of this man , who brought us all together . Martin has done production for us . He ' s produced everything I ' ve directed . And that ' s why people think I ' m a good director . And the next time I direct , he ' ll be producing . He ' s quite an extraordinary guy . He ' s held the team together , and if anybody sort of personifies the spirit of the Muppets and my father , it ' s this guy . " Brian moderates the panel . " Of course , during " The Muppet Show " , I was in school , so I don ' t know anything . " He gives a brief history of the Muppets from " Sesame Street " to " The Muppet Show " . Amy talks about a typical week working on " The Muppet Show " . " I was in charge of the workshop , and the workshop happened to be a room right next to the studio . And so it was a constant flow - - everybody mingling together - - the writers , the music . It was an incredible experience . We would do Whatnots for each show . They would come up with characters , or situations , and then we would build them . We would have to do some crazy , wacky things at the last minute , like dust . Or , ' build a chill . ' Things like that , which was wonderful . To come up with our own ideas and build them , I just cannot tell you how wonderful it was to have that freedom . It was great . I work for Walt Disney now . . . " The name " Walt Disney " gets a murmur of boos from the audience . Amy grimaces : " It ' s . . . very different . It ' s not as fun , because we don ' t have writers coming up with ideas like a character who is a chill . I ' m still sad that it ' s over . . . and it ' s been over for twenty years ! " Paul : " The very best part of my career has involved the Muppets . " On the set of " The Muppet Show " , " there was an ability to " play " , and a respect for hard work . " When you ' re standing with Steve and Kermit , and Dave and Gonzo . . . " there are five of you in the conversation ! The thing about the Muppets is that nothing is sacred , and no one is safe . . . To this day , the most important work I ' ve done has been with the Muppets , and it ' s been a real honor . " Martin describes meeting Jim Henson in the late 60s . Martin was working on " The Tom Jones Show " in England , and the Muppets were booked on the show . Martin had never heard of the Muppets before . Jim and Frank Oz flew to London together , and Martin was responsible for booking the limo to take them to the studio . Jim said he didn ' t want a limo - - just send him a train schedule , and they ' ll take the train . Martin was impressed by Jim , and they really connected when they worked together . Martin later worked with Jim on a Herb Alpert special , and on the " Julie on Sesame Street " special . Jim and Martin became close , and Martin became a part of the core production staff on " The Muppet Show " . Jerry describes the excitement of joining the Muppets in the 60s , when the company was only five people . He talks about Richard Hunt : " Richard was kind of the bad boy on the team . . . and so all us kids " loved " him . " Some glass breaks offstage . Jerry says , " He ' s here in spirit ! That would be Richard . " Dave : " I hadn ' t thought about what I was going to say , but I ' m just gonna go through everything that ' s happened to me since 1973 . " He describes watching " Sesame Street " when it premiered - - being fascinated by Ernie and Bert , and wanting to meet the Muppeteers . " I wanted to know who they were , and I thought they would just be hippies . It turned out that they were really hard - working people . " Jim invited Dave to come and visit the Muppets in 1973 , and Dave showed up when they were working on a program . Dave didn ' t know what he was supposed to do . " Jane told me , ' I ' m sure Jim will find something for you to do , ' . . . and that was twenty - eight and a half years ago . " Steve describes his job interview with the Muppets . He was a puppeteer working on a local kid ' s show in DC , and he managed to get an interview with Henson . He met Jim , Jane and some of the other Muppet staff in an airport , and he took out his puppet and performed for a while . He wasn ' t doing that well , but there were some kids sitting in the cafeteria at the airport , and Steve interacted with the kids . He says that the reason he got hired was because of those kids in the airport . The panel takes questions from the audience . Jerry is asked how he comes up with so many voices . He says that he has to " see " a puppet to really develop a character . It doesn ' t work if he only gets a script and a song . Sometimes , he has to record a song before he gets to see the puppet , " but that ' s very dangerous . " Paul is asked if he got to keep the puppet version of himself that appeared on " The Muppet Show " . Paul says that he has it : " Oddly , it ages and I don ' t . " For a while , the puppet was displayed on his piano , but the sun faded it . Dave : " I think there ' s a warranty ! " Steve is asked his favorite character . He says it ' s Rizzo , who ' s much more sarcastic than the others , and therefore more fun . Brian : " Rizzo is the Dark Steve . " The panel ends ; they get a standing ovation . Henson Clips . Kirk comes out with his Emmy to introduce the Henson Clips reel . His image is being broadcast on the screen behind him . He turns around to look at it : " Now I know what I look like from behind ! I ' m hot ! . . . And I have an Emmy ! " They roll the clips . . . Sam and Friends : Kermit interviews puppet versions of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley . All the dialogue from the newsmen is taken from two sound clips : " Chet Huntley , NBC News , New York " and " David Brinkley , NBC News , Washington . " Wilkins Coffee : Wilkins has four cups of coffee . Wontkins asks why he drinks so much Wilkins Coffee . Wilkins says he won ' t answer : " I ' m taking the fifth ! " The Steve Allen Show : Steve Allen introduces " two young college students , Jim Henson and Jane Nebel ! " Kermit sings " I ' ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face " to Yorick , who eats his own costume and then starts noshing on Kermit ' s leg . Southern Bread commercial : The Colonel promises to do anything to prove his love for Southern Bread - - even take a rocket to the moon ! The rocket explodes . The Creature Shop . David Barrington - Holt introduces a series of film clips by The Creature Shop , from " The Dark Crystal " , " Labyrinth " , " Lost in Space " and " Jack Frost " . One of the big surprises of the presentation is a clip of test footage from " Dragonheart " ; the Creature Shop originally worked on a dragon puppet for that film , but the producers eventually chose to use a CGI dragon . They also show a clip from " Farscape " , which leads to a special appearance . . . Claudia Black . Kirk announces a special surprise guest : Claudia Black , from " Farscape " ! Claudia pretends to punch Kirk across the face as she enters the stage . She welcomes everyone to Muppetfest , and says that she ' s there because she ' s a Muppet fan too . The reason why she accepted the role on " Farscape " is because she wanted to work with the Henson company . She thanks us all for being here , and for keeping the Muppet spirit alive . Timepiece . Lisa Henson introduces " Time Piece " , Jim ' s 1965 Academy Award - nominated short . In the film , a man ( played by Jim ) waits in a hospital bed for his doctor ' s report . The ticking of the clock and the thumping of his heartbeat form the background for a wild fantasy about mortality , and the inevitable passage of time . Bear . Bear from the Big Blue House makes an appearance . He sings " The Bear Cha Cha Cha " and " The Goodbye Song " . Muppet Q & A . Kirk introduces the Muppet Performers for the Muppet Q & A segment : Jerry Nelson , Kevin Clash , Steve Whitmire , Dave Goelz , Bill Barretta and Brian Henson . The performers each have a box of puppets next to them . They take questions from the audience , and they bring different puppets up from the box to answer the questions . Q : Do the performers ever switch characters ? Kevin brings up Elmo . Kevin describes how Elmo was originally performed by Richard Hunt , but he couldn ' t make the character work - - so at one point , Richard unceremoniously threw Elmo across the room at Kevin , and told " him " to try it . Q for Elmo : Why is your goldfish named Dorothy ? There are no more questions for Elmo . Q for Floyd : Is he still tight with Janice ? Rizzo comes up . Gonzo comes up . Q for Gonzo about Camilla . Q : Are you and Camilla still dating ? Q for Gonzo : Do you ever talk to your family in space ? Pepe comes up , to great applause . Q for Pepe : Are you still in touch with Seymour , or have you lost touch with the little people now that you ' re a big star ? Johnny Fiama and Sal come up . The other Muppets tell him that this is Santa Monica . Johnny sings " You Make Me Feel So Young " . Kevin is asked a question about working on " Labyrinth " - - but while he ' s answering , Dave brings up Bunsen , who gets a whoop of applause . It ' s obvious that we don ' t really want to hear from the people . The Muppets are the rock stars . Bunsen observes that he thought he was traveling in the box with Beaker . . . but now that he looks in the box , he finds that it ' s Phil van Neuter . Brian takes the Phil puppet , grumbling that Phil is " the hardest puppet in the world to perform . . . " Bill performs Phil ' s hands . Q for Phil : Are you working on anything these days ? Bunsen approaches Phil . They ' re both scientists , but they ' ve never really worked together before . Bunsen observes that Phil is very nervous and timid - - what ' s the problem ? Phil starts to answer , but Bunsen interrupts him . Q : Were any of the puppets more problematic on the set than the others ? Clifford , Kermit and Sal come up . Kermit surveys the audience : " If something happened here , it could wipe out the entire fanbase . " Q : An audience member comes to the mike dressed in a full - body Kermit costume , and asks in a Kermit voice if he can ask a question . The Kermit - costumed audience member switches to an Elmo impression . Q : Another audience member says that he sent Kermit an invitation to the wedding , but Kermit never showed up . Pepe announces that he has a new doll : " Peel and Eat Pepe " . Q : An audience member introduces herself as an " eligible bachelorette " , and asks Pepe to tell her about himself . The audience member thanks Pepe . Q : Can the Muppets do impressions of each other ? Pepe does a Gonzo impression by moving his mouth while Dave does the Gonzo voice . Gonzo does his Pepe impression the same way : " I just want to say that all of you coming to see us , it is a big important thing , okay . " Elmo does an impression of Ernie ' s laugh , which gets applause . Floyd does an impression of Robin the Frog , singing " Halfway Down the Stairs " . Q for Kevin : Why is Clifford back in sunglasses ? Kevin says that it wasn ' t his decision to take the shades off when Clifford hosted " Muppets Tonight " . " I thought the character was in the glasses . Now they ' re back . . . I like it with the glasses . " Q for the Muppets : Is there anything you ' d like to say to your performer ? The panel ends ; the Muppets get a huge standing ovation . Muppet Music . Kirk does an impression of William Shatner singing " Rainbow Connection " while the band sets up . Jerry , Kevin and Bill come out to sing with the band . They sing " Mahna Mahna " , with Jerry and Bill trading solos . They also sing " Mississippi Mud " and " Cabin Fever " . Fraggle Rock Panel . Martin Baker is the moderator of the " Fraggle Rock " panel , and he introduces the panel : Karen Prell , Dave Goelz , Steve Whitmire and Jerry Nelson . Karen comes out dressed in red . She gives a huge " Whoo - hoo - hoo ! " as she comes out . She pulls a camera out of her pocket and takes a picture of the audience . She sits down , and pulls out a Red Fraggle hat , which she puts on , and cries , " I can out - geek all of you guys ! " She talks about getting cast as Red on " Fraggle Rock " . Originally , she was disappointed , because she wanted to play Mokey . She thought of herself as shy and quiet , and didn ' t know what to do with Red . " That was the great thing about Jim . . . He saw the potential in you that sometimes you didn ' t see yourself . " Early on in the series , in , Red imitated Mokey , and Karen got to see how really different they were : " That ' s the show when I discovered who Red was . From then on , it was clear sailing , and it was one of the best things in my life . " Dave says that the producers had already cast all the characters , but they held a " sham " tryout to match the performers and characters . " They looked at the performers , and picked out our flaws , and made characters out of them . They denied it . . . So that ' s how I ended up with Boober , the suspicious , paranoid character . " Steve says that as soon as he read the character description of Wembley , " I knew it was the character I just had to get . That ' s who I was then . " Steve also performed Sprocket , and he tells a story about performing Sprocket in the German version . After they shot the first thirteen " Fraggle Rock " episodes in Canada , Steve flew to Germany to perform Sprocket in the German version . Steve didn ' t know any German at all . Steve describes Hans - Helmut Dickow , the German actor who was cast as Doc : " He ' d been a Nazi solider , actually . Temperamental actor . . . Nice guy , but temperamental . " The producers wanted him to play the role exactly as Gerry Parkes had in the North American version , but the German Doc refused to watch the North American shows . So on the first day , Dickow said his first line in German , and Steve was stuck playing Sprocket with no idea what Doc had just said . Karen takes a quick poll : If all the " Fraggle Rock " episodes came out on DVD , who would buy them ? Devoted Fraggle fans raise their hands . Jerry deadpans , " Well , that ' s five of them sold . " Dave says that when they were shooting " Fraggle Rock " , they would just stay on the set until they ' d gotten it right . Karen recalls that their record was 6 : 00am on one show . Jerry describes the tradition of " Frosty Friday " , when they would gather at the end of the week and drink beer . They ' d talk about the episode they ' d worked on that week , and how they could make the show better . " That was a part of Jim ' s legacy that lived within us . " Some more panel members join to talk about " The Dark Crystal " and " Labyrinth " - - Kevin Clash , Brian Henson and Jane Gootnick , the current head of the Muppet Workshop . Dave describes his first day of working on the set of " The Dark Crystal " , and being overwhelmed by the size of the puppets . " We had characters that took six people to operate . I was in my Skeksis costume - puppet with my five people . . . and I thought , ' Boy , Jim ' s optimism has really got the best of him this time . ' " Jane says that " The Dark Crystal " was the first project she worked on : " I was hired for three weeks , and stayed on for twenty - three years . " Brian says that in the original version of " The Dark Crystal " , only the Gelflings spoke English ; the other species spoke made - up languages . The studio agreed to finance " Crystal " as long as they made a Muppet movie at the same time , so Jim made " The Great Muppet Caper " . When the first cut was made of " Dark Crystal " , Jim and Frank screened it for four studio executives . At the end of the screening , the four executives stood up and walked out without a word . " That ' s when Jim and Frank decided that more characters should speak English . . . " The panel ends , and they cue up some more historic Henson video clips . Henson Clips . Wilson ' s Meats presentation : This was an industrial short made in the early 60s for Wilson ' s Meats . Henson was doing a series of commercials for Wilson ' s at the time , starring two puppet characters , Scoop and Skip . This industrial was a presentation for the Wilson ' s Meats salespeople . In the short , Scoop brings us behind the scenes at Muppets Inc . ( Skip worries : " You ' re not gonna tell them the truth , are you ? " ) We see Jim Henson , Frank Oz , Jerry Juhl and Don Sahlin working on a Wilson ' s commercial . They talk about how much they love the product ; they even eat it while they ' re working . We see Henson holding a sandwich while he ' s performing . Soon everyone has sandwiches . Even the puppets have sandwiches in their mouths . They start drinking beer . Then the Muppets Inc . secretaries come in - - young women in short skirts , who start dancing and partying . " Every effort is made to turn out fine commercials for a fine product like Wilson ' s . " A puppet is seen discarded on the floor with the rest of the trash . The Dick Cavett Show : A clip from an early - 70s interview with Jim Henson , Frank Oz , Jerry Nelson and Caroll Spinney , promoting " The Muppet Alphabet Album " . Caroll is wearing a suit and tie , and the Big Bird legs . Dick : " Some of you people thought those legs were a costume - - but that ' s how he actually got the job ! " Caroll : " It ' s always been a hindrance until now . " Jim introduces Frank and Jerry , and he gets a little mixed up , saying that Frank performs Herbert Birdsfoot . Frank : " Actually , I don ' t do Herbert Birdsfoot . . . Are you Jim Henson ? " Jim , Frank and Jerry close the appearance by demonstrating three Anything Muppets , then singing " P : My Favorite Letter " . One notable thing about this clip : Jim , Frank and Jerry just perform the characters while sitting in the chairs , with the puppets up front . It seems like they ' re really casual about the puppet - illusion at this point , with Caroll sitting on stage in the Big Bird legs . They became much more protective about that illusion later on . Kirk asks a few more trivia questions as they ' re setting up for the next panel . The hardest one : What ' s The La Choy Dragon ' s first name ? ( The answer : Delbert . ) Creating the Classic Muppets Panel . Kirk introduces the next panel , on Creating the Classic Muppets . The one question they ' re always asked is , How do you come up with your characters ? So this panel will be all about character creation . The panelists : Jerry Nelson , Kevin Clash , Steve Whitmire , Dave Goelz , Bill Barretta , Brian Henson , Jane Gootnick , and Amy Van Gilder . Brian , on Sal : Sal was built by Jane for " Muppet Treasure Island " , for the opening shot where the animals on the island sing . This is one instance where the puppet was definitely built before the character was created . Kevin performed Sal first , and came up with Sal ' s " workout " action with his arms . " We all fell in love with this stupid monkey . " Brian talks about starting to work on " Muppets Tonight " , and the show ' s name gets a little smattering of applause . Brian : " Yeah . . . it " was " a good show ! " When they started working on the show , the performers got together with a bunch of random puppets to start working out characters . Bill picked up a puppet and starting singing , as Johnny Fiama - - this was before the Johnny puppet was built , but Bill had the name and the character - - but everybody else was fooling around with their own puppets and not paying attention . So Brian picked up this monkey and shouted , " Would you all quiet down and listen to Johnny Fiama ! " And that was Sal . From then on , he just wanted to be Johnny ' s gentleman monkey . Brian says that the other reason he stuck with this character is because he ' s kind of quiet , and tends not to shout too much - - so whenever he was frustrated with the business , he would go to " Muppets Tonight " set , and perform Sal for a while , so he ' d have a chance to shout and get all his frustration out . " He was an annoying character . Everyone would run away . " Bill , on Pepe : Pepe ' s character was modeled after Maria Teresa , his wife Cristina ' s aunt . Maria Teresa was from Spain , and she has a very distinctive speech pattern . " The first thing she said to me was , ' You ' re wearing a nice jacket , okay . ' I had no response . . . I said , okay . " He discovered that that was the way she talked , which tickled him . " She was a very funny lady . She was mischievous . She had a very funny laugh . . . I wouldn ' t understand half of what she said . She would start in English , and go off into Spanish , and start laughing . . . and we would just laugh with her , with no idea what she said . " Originally , Pepe was going to be a mouse , but the Muppet Workshop built this goofy little shrimp puppet , and they loved it . " We decided an elephant and a mouse was too easy . " Dave , on Gonzo : There were four sources for characters during " The Muppet Show " - - Jim , the writers , the performers , and the workshop . The Gonzo puppet was created as one of the Frackles , the monsters in " The Great Santa Claus Switch " . Then , when " The Muppet Show " was being written , Jerry Juhl had the idea for a character who comes on and does awful acts , but thinks of them as high art . Jack Burns came up with the name . Jim gave the character to Dave , who panicked : " I have no voice ! " He thought of the voice the morning before he had to actually perform the character . " Over the years , he sort of evolved along with me . . . I was an impostor in show business . In the first season , Gonzo is always self - effacing and embarrassed . But he knows he has something special . " Dave recalls trying to entertain the crew during rehearsals . When the other Muppeteers performed , the crew would always laugh - - but when Dave performed , they would just open their newspapers and read . Finally , towards the end of the first season , Gonzo had a scene where he had to shout , in amazement : " No ! " Jim told him to go bigger , so Dave tried it bigger : " " NO ! " " And the crew laughed , for the first time ! " I got another laugh the second season . It was " unstoppable " now ! And I thought , I could make a character of this . " Steve , on Rizzo : " Rizzo was the character who grew out of my desperation to do something on " The Muppet Show " . " Steve was a background puppeteer when he was hired , and Jim would encourage him to act up . " Jim would say , ' Grab a puppet , get back there , and do something , ' as long as you could do it on television . " Steve went backstage and found a box of rats from " The Muppet Musicians of Bremen " - - " just forgotten puppets . " They were basically just rat dolls on sticks , who could bounce around and not much else . The original Rizzo didn ' t even have a working mouth . So Steve just grabbed a rat and bounced it around in the background . " Jim always encouraged that , he wanted us to go out and just do something stupid . " Steve ' s wife made clothes for Rizzo ; he would have a different outfit for every episode , just to stand out . After a while , puppet builder Polly Smith started making clothes for Rizzo . " It just developed out of - - I just wanted to be a " part " of this ! " Steve struggled with Rizzo ' s character in " The Muppets Take Manhattan " , but he really came into his own with " Christmas Carol " . " As I get older and more crotchety myself , so does Rizzo ! " Kevin , on Elmo : On " Sesame Street " , " Richard and Jerry were like big brothers to us . . . They always encouraged the newcomers to get out there and do something . Richard would always come in with a hangover , and not want to do a chicken or a pig or something . . . " So one day , they had to shoot an Elmo sketch , where Elmo was going on a trip , and he had to have a jacket and a suitcase , even though he was just going down the street . Richard threw the puppet at Kevin , and said he should do the sketch . Kevin did it , and everybody laughed - - so he kept performing the character . " When Elmo became popular , Richard teased me every single day . . . " Kevin ' s mom was a day care worker , and Kevin used to watch his mom ' s kids to see what was funny and Muppety about them . He used what he learned from them to build Elmo ' s character . Jerry , on Floyd : " My wife will tell you that I ' m the laziest man on earth . . . I may be lazy , but I ' m " loud " . I can talk loud while laying down , y ' know ? " Dave actually built the Floyd puppet , which was designed by Michael Frith . Floyd himself pipes up : " Now , Zoot doesn ' t say too much . . . but he ' s more burned out than I am . " Jane describes building Johnny Fiama , and Bill brings Johnny over for her to demonstrate . As she ' s talking , Bill starts mugging with Johnny . Then Johnny gets distracted and starts talking to Floyd . Then Johnny notices Bill . Sal comes over to help Johnny . Sal tries to pull Johnny off of Bill ' s arm . It seems to hurt . Amy gets back to the subject . " There is no thrill like building a puppet and having one of these guys put their hand in it , and have it turn around and say something to you . I ' d recommend it to all of you . " Dave talks about how much Jim loved this energy . " It was all about upstaging . It was an art form to him . When he was doing a musical number , if you could upstage him , he " loved " it . " They take questions from the audience . Q : How was Jim as a director ? Q : What ' s up with Gonzo loving pain ? Where did that come from ? Q : Does Sal consider himself to be more of a pants - ironer , or a boneologist ? Sal demonstrates his Boneology skills on Kermit . He tells Kermit to think about pretty butterflies flying by . Kermit nervously tries : " Yeah , butterflies . " Then : " Yaaaaaah ! ! ! " Sal breaks Kermit ' s neck , and Kermit ' s head flops around uselessly on his neck . Q : What was the performers ' " most compromising position " as puppeteers ? " Kirk " : " You people " are " sick and twisted ! " Steve says his most difficult position was when Kermit was the Grand Marshal at the Rose Bowl Parade in 1996 . Kevin says his most difficult was the " Dinosaurs " episode " , " when Baby Sinclair sat on the toilet for the whole episode . Kevin had to spend the entire week inside the toilet on the set , and people took embarrassing pictures of him from above . Bill talks about a scene from the Muppet Sing - Alongs video , " " . He performed a pig flying a plane in that video - - a real plane , really flying . He was lying on the floor of the plane , doing loop - the - loops , performing a song . He got nauseous , but he knew that if he didn ' t get the shot , he ' d have to keep doing it . So he just grit his teeth and kept trying to get the shot . Dave says his worst was for " The Great Muppet Caper " opening shot . The puppets were rigged into the balloon by Faz Fazakas , with two helicopters flying alongside . Jim , Frank and Dave were in one helicopter , performing Kermit , Fozzie and Gonzo by radio control , and the other helicopter had the camera . They did that for a week . Jerry says that his most compromising position was playing Rover Joe the hound dog in " The Muppet Musicians of Bremen " . For one scene , he had to lie under the " ground " of the set , and perform the puppet . He was down there for so long that he fell asleep . . . until someone walked on him . Q : How hard is it to create a new puppet for a classic character , when the old puppet wears out ? Jane says that the performer is usually involved in the final stages when a new version of a puppet is built , to make sure that the character comes through in the new puppet . For example , Dave has always been involved when they ' ve made a new Gonzo . And that ' s the end of the first day . . . After that , there ' s a big autograph line , and then everybody goes out and talks all night about how cool it was .