Was Animal based on a famous drummer?

Contrary to urban legend, there is no evidence that Animal, the drummer for the Electric Mayhem, was based on any particular person.
One popular rumor suggests that Animal was inspired by Keith Moon, the wild drummer of The Who.Front page, Keithmoon.co.ukBBC News, "Myers 'to play' Who's Keith Moon". September 30, 2005. Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac is also sometimes cited as the inspiration for Animal."Fleetwood Mac Artistfacts", Artisfacts.com.
However, evidence in the original character sketches reproduced in the 1981 book Of Muppets and Men does not suggest Animal was based on anyone in particular. While early sketches for other Electric Mayhem members indicate direct connections with famous musicians — Michael K. Frith designed Dr. Teeth as a cross between Dr. John and Elton John; Sgt. Floyd Pepper based on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album, and the original concept for Janice was a skinny, long-haired male character based on Mick Jagger — Animal, in contrast, was designed by Jim Henson, and the early rough sketch doesn't appear to be related to any real musician. Henson's biographer Brian Jay Jones weighed in on the rumor on Twitter in April 2023, coming to the same conclusion.@brianjayjones "Most likely not." April 12, 2023
However, it's unsurprising that Animal often gets compared with famous drummers — as Buddy Rich said in his Muppet Show episode, "All drummers are animals."
While promoting the release of The Muppets in 2011, web blog "What's That Dude Play?" interviewed the band and asked them about their influences. Animal responded, "[Gene] Krupa! [Buddy] Rich! [Keith] Moon! [Ginger] Baker!"What's That Dude Play? "Mayhem Returns!" November 7, 2011
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Category:Rumors