MuppetFest Memories : Day Two Day Two : Introduction . Sunday ' s host : Craig Shemin , Associate Creative Director and Staff Writer for the Jim Henson Company . Craig doesn ' t have an Emmy like Kirk , so he brings out a bowling trophy instead . He promises lots of excitement for today ' s event : " We ' ve got some special technical difficulties for you ! " He introduces another taped introduction : Miss Piggy , appearing on tape , welcomes us to the second day of MuppetFest . " Don ' t you people have a " life " ? " Kermit appears and corrects her : " Piggy ! You can ' t say that about the fans . " " Oh , yeah ? " Piggy snaps . " You should see what they say about " us " on the Internet . " Kermit ( and Steve Whitmire ) enter as the clip ends , and Kermit greets us : " Good morning , MuppetFesters ! . . . Sounds like some kind of skin disease . " He introduces today ' s first guest . Jane Henson . Jane Henson enters and sits on a chair . She gives a brief introduction about meeting Jim , and starting " Sam and Friends " on WRC - TV Washington , D . C . in 1955 . They got a terrific time slot , between the news and Steve Allen . " We got the " Huntley - Brinkley " audience , and the " Steve Allen show " audience . . . and what could be better ? " She introduces some clips from " Sam and Friends " : " Sam and Friends " opening : Professor Madcliffe and Harry the Hipster shout about Esskay Meats . " Poison to Poison " : Harry and Chicken Liver star in a skit set to a Spike Jones comedy record , with Harry as Edward R . Murrow interviewing Chicken Liver as Alfred Hitchcock . " Punsmoke " : Chicken Liver and Kermit appear as Marshall Dilly and Pester in a Henson - scripted parody of " Gunsmoke " . " The Westerners " : Kermit and Chicken Liver appear in a cowboy sketch set to a Bob and Ray soundtrack , trying desperately to control their horses long enough to talk to each other . " The Yellow Rose of Texas " : Kermit sings " The Yellow Rose of Texas " , interrupted by a little out - of - control drummer . Jane explains that they used commercial comedy records quite a bit on " Sam and Friends " , including Stan Freberg ' s . " Punsmoke " was one of the first pieces that Jim actually wrote and recorded . " We ' d use a lot of records . . . if it didn ' t go well , we wouldn ' t use it again , but if it did go well , we ' d save it and use it again . We would do ten shows a week - - about two or three would be Jim ' s originals , and the rest would be comedy records . . . The whole business was much more cottage industry - - it wasn ' t the way it is now . " Jane never used her voice on the show . She only performed the puppets to a pre - recorded soundtrack - - either Jim ' s voices or a record . She takes questions from the audience . Q : How many Wilkins Coffee commercials did they make ? Q : Did she have a personal favorite character ? Kermit was very special on the show . Jim was on television for a little while before he made Kermit - - he realized that television could make a puppet face just as important and expressive as a human face , and Kermit was Jim ' s attempt to make an extremely expressive puppet . Being on the " news strip " helped them a great deal : " You ' d have national news , international news , weather , sports . . . and Kermit ! " Q : Did they have to clear the rights for the commercial comedy records ? Q : Did the people who created the records get mad , or did they like the show ? Q : Did they have dreams of a network show ? Q : How did Rowlf come about ? Jane says that Rowlf was created for Purina Dog Chow commercials , with a sidekick dog , Baskerville . " Baskerville didn ' t really have a future in front of him , but Rowlf did . " Q : Did Jim ever talk in character voices at home ? Jane announces that the University of Maryland - - where Jim and Jane went to college , and met in puppetry class - - will be putting up a statue of Jim and Kermit in the next year or so . Jane leaves to a huge standing ovation . Henson Clips . Craig introduces a historic clip that has never been shown in public before : The Muppet Show Pitch Reel . The Tonight Show , 1979 : Kermit ' s opening monologue as the guest host of " The Tonight Show " , with Fozzie Bear coming out on stage to help him get laughs . Muppet Q & A . Craig introduces the next panel of performers and characters : Steve Whitmire with Bean Bunny , Dave Goelz with Gonzo , Jerry Nelson with Floyd Pepper , Kevin Clash with Elmo , Bill Barretta with Pepe the King Prawn , and Brian Henson with Sal Minella . Jerry - - " the Laziest Man on Earth " - - is wheeled out by Bill and Brian in a huge barcalounger armchair . Gonzo talks as Dave puts his hand in : " Excuse me , I ' m not ready yet . Whew ! Even for " me " that hurts . " Elmo turns away from Floyd , to Pepe . Bean turns away . They take questions from the audience . Q : What was it like casting Steve as Kermit after Jim ' s death ? Audience member says that Steve does a great job performing Kermit . The audience applauds - - and so does Gonzo ! Q : When they make a new puppet for an established character , do they intentionally change the design , or do they try to keep it as similar to the original as possible ? Q : Pepe did ballet in " Muppets from Space " . Does he have aspirations to be a prima ballerina ? Q : What happens to old puppets ? Brian says that they have a huge storage of Muppets . In " The Muppet Christmas Carol " , they used 400 puppets - - over the years , there ' s been thousands . Elmo starts waving at a little girl sitting in the front row . Pretty soon , Gonzo and Bean notice her too , and they all start waving at her . Kevin and Bill go to the front of the stage , so that she can meet Elmo and Pepe . She loves Elmo - - but when Pepe approaches , she gets a little scared . Q : How do they know which characters will work ? Kermit comes up , replacing Bean . Q about Kermit and Miss Piggy ' s relationship . Q : Have they ever lost a puppet ? Brian says they have lost some . Dog ( dinosaur ) from " Living with Dinosaurs " was stolen . Jerry says that Robin the Frog was stolen . Kevin says that once he left Clifford in a dressing room , and someone came and cleaned out the dressing room - - it was a tense moment until they found him again . Q to Pepe : Did you ever tell Gonzo why you asked him to build the jacuzzi ? Pepe tells the audience member that he never explained it , and he shouldn ' t tell Gonzo anything . Q : An audience member asks if Kermit remembers her . She called when Kermit was on the radio , and asked about Gonzo ' s relationship with Camilla . Q : Are there writing limitations because the same performer can ' t play two characters in the same scene ? Dave tries to answer , but gets all confused and makes a hash of his answer . Pepe gets up and starts rubbing Dave ' s neck . " Let me just loosen you up a little , okay ? " Sal gets up and massages Dave : " Relax , relax . . . Okay . . . " Nyaaaaaa ! " " Sal breaks Dave ' s neck , which seems to help . Then they all sit down again . Steve says that in " Muppets From Space " , when they shot the Muppets all running down the hall , he actually did both Rizzo and Kermit ' s lines as they were shooting . But they don ' t usually do that , because it ' s so hard . Q : How do you keep all the voices separate ? Q : Kermit refused to make commercials for Doc Hopper in " The Muppet Movie " , but now Pepe is making commercials for Long John Silver ' s , encouraging people to eat shrimp . . . Q : Will the complete " Muppet Show " be available on DVD ? Craig says that there are currently ten volumes of " The Muppet Show " episodes on DVD . " Yes , we know that ' s not enough . And the best way to get more " Muppet Shows " on DVD is to buy them . " Q : What happened to " Muppets Tonight " ? Why didn ' t it do as well as it should have ? Brian says that when " MT " started , ABC promised to do a big marketing campaign to " reposition " the Muppets as adult characters , but they didn ' t really do it . They marketed it mainly as a kid ' s show . When they did focus groups , they confirmed that the show was too sophisticated for 2 - 3 year olds . Starting at 4 , kids thought it was " Sesame Street " , and they thought they were too old for it . 11 - 15 year olds thought it was a really good show , but they don ' t watch that much TV . Parents thought it was just " Sesame Street " . Critically , the show did very well , but it wasn ' t marketed well , and it didn ' t do well in the ratings . Q : Can you tell stories with puppets that you can ' t tell with human actors ? Brian says that fantasy and science - fiction as genres are great for storytelling , because you can still do a heavy theme , and people will open up to it . Muppets as characters do that automatically . For example , " Dinosaurs " tackled a lot of heavy issues , like animal research and drugs , and people accepted it . Q : Pepe is a great character . With the new exposure in his Long John Silver ' s ads , will his role expand ? Pepe looks at Brian . Brian says that Pepe is very popular - - he ' s a breakout character . Brian changes the subject . . . Q : What is Elmo going to do on January 9th ? Kevin talks about the Tickle Me Elmo Surprise Contest . Bill and Kevin leave at this point to get ready for tonight ' s live show . . . Q : An audience member simply thanks the performers for coming , and being so great . Q : Why aren ' t there more female Muppet characters ? Brian says that aren ' t as many female puppeteers . Karen Prell jumps out of the audience for a moment , goes up to the microphone and harrumphs : " Ex - " cuse " me ! " Q for Floyd : Where ' d you get that snappy Sergeant Pepper outfit ? Q : Is it true that Brian started out cleaning the toilets at Sesame Place ? Brian says that when he was a college student , he wanted to get a job that wasn ' t just because of his father ' s connections . So he worked for a summer cleaning at Sesame Place in Pennsylvania , and he and Bill Barretta became friends when they were both working there . Q : How can someone become a Muppeteer ? Q : With all the new advances in technology , is there anything they ' d still like to be able to do technically ? Brian says that they ' ve all talked about doing a hockey story , because it would be a fun thing to do , just sliding around on the ice on platforms . The performers are so patient , they ' d stay for longer if they could - - but there ' s more stuff on the schedule , so Craig tells them they ' ve got to go . . . Kermit ' s Swamp Years . Craig introduces the next panel , on the new " Kermit ' s Swamp Years " direct - to - video special . First , they show the teaser trailer , which is being shown in public for the first time : " Every Tadpole has a Tale . . . Every Frog has a First Adventure . . . Come Home to the Swamp - - " Kermit ' s Swamp Years " ! " Kermit is seen as a 12 - year old frog , with a big head and big eyes . " It ' s my true story - - warts and all ! " The panel : Mike Polis is the Vice President of Marketing for JHC , and the Executive Producer of " Kermit ' s Swamp Years " . Jim Lewis is the writer of " KSY " ; he ' s written for the Muppets for many years , including " Miss Piggy ' s Hollywood " , " Muppet Classic Theater " and " Muppets Tonight " . David Gumpel is the director of " KSY " ; he ' s also directed " Wubbulous World " , " Telling Stories with Tomie dePaola " , and " " . Ritamarie Peruggi is the Senior Executive Vice President of Production . John Kennedy was the Puppet Captain on " KSY " , and performed Blodge the Toad . Steve Whitmire performs Young Kermit in " KSY " and has also done a couple of other things with the Muppets before . Q : When will " Kermit ' s Swamp Years " be released ? Mike says that right now they ' re looking at late summer or fall of 2002 . Q to Jim : Is this Kermit ' s origin ? David says that " KSY " was shot on High Definition Video , so they could use real locations and keep it on budget . They finished principal photography just before Thanksgiving , and it ' s being edited now . Steve brings up the Young Kermit puppet , and John performs regular Kermit , so we can see the difference . The body ' s about the same ; the main difference is that Young Kermit ' s head is bigger and rounder . They show a temporary - mix rough cut of the scene with Goggles and Blodge being captured and taken away in a truck . Kermit and Croaker try to stop the pickup , and Croaker gets run over . Jim talks about how great it was to film on location . " A real live swamp . . . There ' s nothing like it . God is the best set director in the world . " Q for Steve about keeping Kermit ' s characterization consistent . Q : Was this project more special because it was connected as a prequel to " The Muppet Movie " ? Jim talks about Kermit ' s friends , Goggles and Croaker : " You ' ll learn more about them in Episode V . " Steve says that " KSY " " is about Kermit - - literally and figuratively - - learning his voice . " This is the film in which he discovers his destiny . Q : Will there be a sequel ? They wrap up the panel . . . " The Muppet Show " 25th Anniversary Panel . Brian moderates the next panel , celebrating the 25th Anniversary of " The Muppet Show " : Jane Henson , Dave Goelz , Jerry Nelson , Karen Prell and Steve Whitmire . They start by talking about the pre - history of " The Muppet Show " , including the pilots - - " The Muppets Valentine Show " and " " . Dave was the puppet builder who built Nigel , the host of " Sex and Violence " . Jim performed Nigel , and he never intended for Kermit to be the host . " As far as I know , Kermit would be free to come on . But Jim wanted something new . " Then they did " Saturday Night Live " for a season . . . They mention Ploobis , Scred , the Mighty Favog and Vazh , but they can ' t remember who performed Vazh . Then they got financed by Lew Grade to produce " The Muppet Show " . So they went to England to do " The Muppet Show " . Jane says that meant an end to " The Mucking Fuppets " - - John Belushi ' s nickname for the Muppets . Jerry says that they shot the first two episodes - - with and - - as pilots , to look at them and see how to " tweak " the show . Brian quotes the common statistic that " The Muppet Show " was seen in 100 countries , and 230 million viewers around the world . " It ' s presented a lot as fact . . . We also know it ' s virtually impossible to know how many people are watching around the world . But it ' s a pretty good estimate . " Karen talks about a " TMS " memory . During the " Rockin ' Robin " number , she got to perform Rockin ' Robin - - which was a big deal for her , since she was a new puppeteer at the time . The Robin puppet didn ' t have any knee joints , but it was supposed to dance - - so Dave Goelz jumped in and engineered knee joints for the puppet , and then performed the feet . Dave has no memory of this . " This is a great panel , isn ' t it ? It ' s like : aaaah . . . it ' s time for my noon tablets . " Karen says that there ' s a shot of them performing this number together in the " Of Muppets and Men " documentary . Jerry remembers shooting " The Windmills of Your Mind " , a completely exhausting number . He did it over and over , and it wasn ' t working : " I wore out after about take thirty - something . . . So Jim took it . I think we did a couple more . He had it down . " Karen shares a memory about Richard Hunt keeping Sweetums ' legs on between takes - - there ' s a picture of this in the " Of Muppets and Men " book . She remembers once when Richard was napping on a couch , still wearing the Sweetums legs . Dave came over and poured sugar into Richard ' s open mouth . " So he woke up with a start - - " who was it " ? He saw you . . . and just took off after you , in the Sweetums feet . " Dave talks about master Muppet builder Don Sahlin , who loved practical jokes and explosions . He ' d run " squibs " - - little remote - control explosions - - all over the office . He ' d wire one on your desk , with a wire going down desk legs to a doorbell under Don ' s desk . He would wait until you were having your coffee . " He would just sit there and choose when you would explode . He would just sit there , talking to you , waiting for the moment - - and then you went . " Don used to rig up the most amazing , technically elegant jokes . Once he rigged up a little spring - loaded mouse : " He ' d just wait until the right moment - wait until everyone was in the right position , and then just pull the ring . " Jerry remembers that Don rigged up a hose over Jerry Juhl ' s desk . He waited until Jerry was in the office for an hour and a half , then left the room and whispered through the hose : " Jerrrrry . . . Jerry Juuuuuuuhl . . . " Dave says that Don would " always " win the practical jokes . " I used to say , I will kill you now . I will scare you so much that it will kill you . And he would say , oh no , I ' m not well . I may only have a few weeks to live . " Dave tried once to " really " scare Don . The joke was based on the fact that Don would always work really late hours , coming in the middle of the night to work . So Dave snuck into the office one night and sat in the dark , covered in black velour , waiting for Don . The idea was to just have his hand on the light switch , he would feel a human hand . " It would be the ultimate scare . And then he would die , and I would be the one who killed him . And I would " win " ! And I got all set up . . . and he didn ' t come back that night . I was there about two and a half hours that night , and he never showed up . " Dave says that these jokes may seem weird , but " it ' s a key part of what " The Muppet Show " was . Don would never be working on what he was supposed to be working on . . . That spirit permeated everything that he did , and we caught it . It was all about having fun , and it became very passionate . " Brian talks about a practical joke that they ' ve often played on each other . When they go to an Important Event , and meet Important People , they team up to make each other laugh . Brian asks Steve , Jerry and Dave to help him demonstrate the joke . Steve is , let ' s say , Michael Eisner , and Brian is talking to him at this Event . Jerry and Dave are standing behind " Michael " , picking their noses and making faces at Brian . Then " Michael " turns around , and Jerry and Dave look away . Speaking of cracking each other up , Dave says that you can hear Richard in the . They ' re supposed to be doing " auditions " in that episode , and they were planning to use the sound of the real cast and crew laughing . But Richard ' s laugh was so loud that they had to mix it with recorded laughter : " Nobody else could go up to that level ! " And with these fond memories , they move to the next panel . . . Creature Shop . David Barrington - Holt from Jim Henson ' s Creature Shop demonstrates their animatronics techniques . The highlight is a song by Mr . Tinkles , the evil white cat from " Cats and Dogs " , who performs a live version of " That ' s Life " , assisted by a whole team of puppeteers . Digital Performance Control System . Barrington - Holt also presents the next event , a demonstration of the Henson Digital Performance Control System . He ' s joined by Steve Whitmire and Dave Goelz , who take their places at the Control System boards . The Henson Digital Performance Control System takes live puppet performance and translates it into data , which can be turned into computer animation in real - time . This data can then be used to animate characters in a movie , in a computer game , or over the web . It ' s a way of digitally " capturing " the performance of the Muppeteers . Steve and Dave are totally into this . They ' ve been practicing on the system , and they ' ve each programmed different effects into their setup . They put their hands on the control devices , and the screen shows a real - time render of their performance of Kermit and Gonzo . They immediately start playing with the cool effects . Gonzo gets really tall : " That was my ego getting out of control . " They bounce up and down a bit . Gonzo announces that he has a cool trick to show , and tells Kermit to hypnotize him . Kermit says he ' s hypnotized , and Gonzo ' s pupils shrink down to tiny dots . Gonzo turns to stare fixedly at Kermit . Kermit snaps his fingers , and Gonzo ' s pupils come back to normal size . Gonzo makes his nose flip up and down . " I ' m experimenting ! This is a new body for me . " When he bends down , his arms go down : " If there was something here , I could pick it up . " Gonzo can also bug out his eyes . Kermit notices a limitation with his programming : " I can ' t look at my watch , because when I look down , my hands go down . " David says that what we ' re seeing is just a " low poly model " in real time . This is what the puppeteers would see as feedback while they ' re doing the performance , then it would get cleaned up and rendered more smoothly , and in a three - dimensional environment . Then Gonzo asks David : " I have a question . It ' s more in the nature of a complaint . See on the top of my head , I have these four feathers ? When I started on " The Muppet Show " , I had eleven feathers . When you look at the real me , I have eight feathers . Now I ' m down to four . So , my question is : Can you make me a rug ? " David and Craig start talking about all the cool things they can do with the Control System , while Kermit and Gonzo bounce up and down and shamelessly mug behind them . When they ' re fully rendered , the characters can be completely free , moving as full bodies in a fully - rendered environment . They can even program each joint of each finger to move separately . Gonzo and Kermit move towards each other , and their arms go through each other ' s . Kermit figures out how to move one finger alone , and he flips it back and forth . They ' re having a good time . Q from the audience : Is this the future of Muppets ? Kermit shakes his head vigorously . " It ' s just a complement , something new . " Q : Is the animation program proprietary software ? David says that the animation program could actually be off - the - shelf . The Control System records all the data , but then that data could be ported into any animation program , or game engine , or anything . From the point of view of the puppeteer , it ' s not much harder to learn how to operate the controls than it is to learn how to perform a puppet . This system would allow a puppeteer to perform both the puppet " and " digital versions of a character , to create a unified performance - - unlike , say , " Cats and Dogs " , where the puppet animals were controlled by puppeteers , but the animated versions of the same characters were created by animators . " This is the current state of the art of a project we began in 1985 . . . The performer doesn ' t need to know anything about computer graphics . It ' s the same as puppeteering , but easier on the arms . " Steve concurs that the amount of movement is the same between performing the puppet Kermit and the digital Kermit . The panel ends , with a standing ovation for Dave and Steve . Video Tribute to Jim Henson . Charlie Rivkin introduces the Jim Henson tribute : " I ' m the President and CEO of the Jim Henson Company . . . and it ' s pretty obvious that I have the best job in the world . Don ' t be too jealous . " He says he doesn ' t need to explain to us why he ' s happy to see us all celebrating the life and work of Jim Henson . " I think I ' d be preaching to the choir . . . Jim pulled the best out of everyone , and made everyone feel wonderful at the same time . " Their work now is " a responsibility , as well as an opportunity , to build a business on the tall and broad shoulders of Jim Henson . " They play a video tribute to Jim Henson . It ' s a lovely , touching video compilation , full of behind - the - scenes clips of Jim . The soundtrack is Uncle Traveling Matt singing " Follow Me " , from " Fraggle Rock " . It ' s lovely . Muppet Music . The MuppetFest Band plays some more Muppet music . Craig gives more prizes away for Trivia Questions as the band sets up , including some really hard ones . Q : On " Fraggle Rock " , what ' s Doc ' s last name ? Nobody knows . Craig says , " I ' m ashamed of you people ! " The answer : He ' s Doc Crystal . Q : What was the first song Paul Williams wrote for the Muppets ? The answer : " The Bathing Suit That Grandma Otter Wore " for " Emmet Otter ' s Jug - Band Christmas " . Q : Which actor made a cameo in two different Muppet movies ? The answer : Elliott Gould , in " The Muppet Movie " and " The Muppets Take Manhattan " . Q : How many times did the Muppets appear on " The Ed Sullivan Show " ? The answer : Twenty - five times . Auction . Henson collectibles are auctioned off for charity . " Dark Crystal " soundtrack record : $ 40 Eyeball , created by the Creature Shop specifically for this event : $ 160 3 scripts - - " The Muppets Valentine Show " , " The Frog Prince " and " The Great Santa Claus Switch " : $ 380 From " The Muppets Take Manhattan " : a prop playbill from " Manhattan Melodies " , invitation to the premiere , and a one - sheet program : $ 220 Two tickets to tonight ' s live show : $ 260 Orchestral score for " Labyrinth " , signed by composer Trevor Jones : $ 220 Guitar signed by Steve Whitmire and Kermit , with a huge Kermit doll : $ 720 Kermit candlesticks : $ 100 " Muppet Show " Anniversary pack , with an " Of Muppets and Men " book , a press kit for the " Of Muppets and Men " documentary , tickets for tonight ' s show , and a signed lithograph : $ 340 Number of fans puzzled by why the autographed guitar got the highest bid : All of us . You Be The Star ! Puppeteer Victor Yerrid teaches audience members how to perform Muppets , ending in a big musical number with Fozzie Bear . Henson Clip . One more clip , to close the convention . " The Jimmy Dean Show " : Rowlf meets Lassie , and acts in a scene with her . He calls for help , and she shows off her jumping and acting skills . Then it ' s off to The Muppet Show Live . . .