Sam (Sam and Friends)

Sam is the title character of Sam and Friends, the only non-abstract human character on the show. He almost never spoke, but would lip-sync to popular music and comedy records of the time. He was built in October 1954The Sunday Star, page 5, March 29, 1959, pictured at Jim's Red Book - 1/27/1975 -'Go to Washington put 1st Bert and Ernie in Smithsonian - dinner with Joe Irwin' using papier-mâché materials.
The only surviving Sam and Friends episode in which he appears, involves a routine in which he lip-syncs to "Old Black Magic" with an early Kermit. According to that skit, Sam's wardrobe is courtesy of Hialeah Racetrack.
Sam notably was given spoken dialogue during a week of shows in September 1960 during his campaign for President of the United States (under the "Republicratic" ticket). His dialogue, however, was the same recorded line spoken over and over.Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show pages 465-466
Sam was one of the few characters with a rigid face. Most of the other characters had flexible features that were more conducive to the close-up medium of television.
In addition to Sam and Friends, Sam has made appearances on Mac McGarry's In Our Town, Footlight Theater,Imagination Illustrated Page 17 and Today. Sam made a comeback appearance, along with Yorick and Harry the Hipster, in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years.
File:BlackMagic2.jpg|Sam lip synching to "Old Black Magic."
File:henson sam car point.jpg|A young Jim Henson with his title character
File:DieGroßeMuppet-Party-08.jpg|Sam with Harry the Hipster in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
==Book appearances==
* The Muppets Character Encyclopedia
* The Muppet Christmas Carol: The Illustrated Holiday Classic
==See also==
*Sam (disambiguation)
==Sources==
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Category:Muppet Characters
Category:Sam and Friends Characters