Wembley Fraggle

Wembley Fraggle is one of the five main Fraggle characters in Fraggle Rock. His skin is yellowish-green. He has a long nose, big movable eyes, and a big tuft of yellow hair on his head. He usually wears a banana tree shirt.
Wembley is the youngest Fraggle of the group. He is often cheerful and energetic but also very insecure. He usually agrees with everybody at the same time because he hates to argue. Wembley never seems to make up his mind: he even has trouble deciding which shirt to wear, although he owns only two, which are identical.
Wembley shares a room with his best friend Gobo Fraggle. He loves to play the bongos and is a siren for the Fraggle Rock Volunteer Fire Department.
Wembley was the first Fraggle known to encounter The Terrible Tunnel and survive it. Wembley also helped Gobo get the courage to face the beast of Blue Rock.
He is allergic to laundry lint, cave cotton, rock dust (as revealed in "The Voice Inside"), and bonkleberries (as revealed in "Sidebottom Blues"). In "Capture the Moon," he invents the wheel but can't get it to work: it keeps rolling away. His favorite meal is peach and pepper pottage as revealed in "Gone, But Not Forgotten." He is also the referee for the rock hockey game between Gobo's Gorgbusters and Rumple's Roustabouts in "Playing Till it Hurts."
==Outside Fraggle Rock==
Wembley appeared in A Muppet Family Christmas with the other four Fraggles. He was also seen during "The Holly and the Ivy" number when the Fraggles see where the songs are coming from.
Steve Whitmire performed Wembley at Jim Henson's Memorial. Wembley also appears in the background during the "Just One Person" finale in The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson.
In 2012, Wembley appeared at the Jim Henson's Musical World concert at Carnegie Hall, representing Fraggle Rock with Red and Uncle Travelling Matt. He then made a non-speaking appearance in the Ben Folds Five music video "Do It Anyway" (puppeteered by Patrick Johnson).
Wembley has since been performed by Kevin Clash for a Puppets for Puppetry fundraiser event in 2016, Frankie Cordero in the Fraggle Rock: Rock On! shorts (with John Tartaglia puppeteering the character),Museum of the Moving Image - "Jim Henson's World: Fraggle Rock Rocks On!" livestream (May 23, 2020) and Jordan Lockhart in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock (making his debut in a teaser released in November 2021 ).
==Behind the Scenes==
Michael Frith stated that part of Wembley's character originated with a line from The Great Muppet Caper. In the film, Nicky Holiday tells his sister "no" when she expresses her desire to lock her diamond necklace away in a safe. When he is called on this, he states: "Yes! I meant yes. Why would I say no when I meant yes?" Frith thought the statement would make for an interesting character.Michael Frith Interview, Fraggle Rock: Complete Third Season bonus material, 2007
Wembley was named after Wembley Stadium.Duncan Kenworthy. Fraggle Rock: Complete First Season interviews In the context of the show, his name is derived from the Fragglish word "to wemble," meaning "going to and from between two things without being able to make up your mind." In the language of the ancient Fraggles, "Wembley" means "No scratch nose in public."
Wembley has a unique ability among the Fraggle puppets to roll his eyes, particularly in scenes where he "wembles." This was achieved by swapping out the regular head of the puppet for one with a radio control mechanism inside."Fraggle Rock: A Celebration" at Museum of the Moving Image.
In building Wembley, Rollie Krewson used a ping-pong ball for the shape of his nose; the ball has a hole in it where the puppeteer's finger can be inserted to move the mouth. Krewson also rebuilt Wembley for Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock."EP#28: Rollie Krewson/Injury Corner (Bruce Lanoil)/NOT Puppets (Louise Gold)", Below the Frame with Matt Vogel, December 22, 2021. (01:03:14-01:03:33)
Footage of Jerry Nelson performing Wembley during the audition process can be seen in a bonus feature on the Fraggle Rock: Complete First Season DVD.
==Filmography==
* Fraggle Rock
* Fraggles Look for Jobs
* A Muppet Family Christmas
* The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
* Do It Anyway
* Fraggle Rock: Rock On!
* Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
==See also==
* Wembley Fraggle (animated)
==Sources==
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Fraggle Rock Characters
Category:Muppet Characters