The Muppets

***The Muppets*** are an ensemble cast of puppet characters known for their self-aware, burlesque, and meta-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson and his wife Jane Henson in 1955, they are the namesake for the Disney media franchise that encompasses feature films, television series, music recordings, theme park attractions, print publications, merchandising, and other media works associated with the characters.

The Muppets debuted on the television program Sam and Friends, which aired from 1955 to 1961. After appearing on skits in several late night talk shows and advertising commercials during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on Sesame Street in 1969. The Muppets attained celebrity status and international recognition through their breakout roles in The Muppet Show (1976–1981), a primetime television series that garnered four Primetime Emmy Award wins and twenty-one nominations during its five-year run. In the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the Muppets diversified into theatrical feature films, including The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). The Walt Disney Company began involvement with the Muppets in the late 1980s, seeking to acquire the characters from the Jim Henson Company. The Muppets continued their presence in television and film in the 1990s with The Jim Henson Hour (1989), Muppets Tonight (1996–98)—a series continuation of The Muppet Show—and three films, The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), Muppet Treasure Island (1996), and Muppets from Space (1999).

Disney acquired the rights to the Muppets franchise in 2004, allowing the characters to gain broader public exposure than in previous years. Under Disney's control, the Muppets enjoyed revitalised success, starring in two films—The Muppets (2011) and Muppets Most Wanted (2014)—as well as a short-lived primetime television series on ABC.

Throughout their six decades of existence, the Muppets have been regarded as a staple of the entertainment industry and popular culture in the United States, receiving recognition from various cultural institutions and organizations, such as the American Film Institute, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Library of Congress, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

### Sam and Friends (1955-61)

* May 9, 1955, to December 15, 1961

***Sam and Friends*** is an early live-action/puppet television show created by puppeteer Jim Henson and his eventual wife Jane Nebel. It was taped and aired twice daily as a local series in Washington, D.C., on WRC-TV in black and white, and later colour. Most of the original episodes were wiped after airing on TV. A few surviving episodes can be viewed at the Paley Center for Media but many can also be found on popular video sites like YouTube, such as those digitally archived by The Jim Henson Company, while some have been documented by either the Henson Archives or some published newspaper articles while the show was still on the air.

Sam was a bald-headed human puppet with wide eyes, large ears, and a big nose. His friends included Yorick, Harry the Hipster, Professor Madcliffe, Chicken Liver, and a lizard-like character named Kermit (who later evolved into Kermit the Frog).

A popular early sketch that would be used often in subsequent Henson productions was "Inchworm", in which a character, often Kermit, would nibble on what looked like a worm, but would ultimately turn out to be the tongue or nose of the monster Big V, who would devour him.

While Bob Payne, Jerry Juhl, and Jane Henson all puppeteered in the series alongside Jim Henson, Jim provided all of the voices himself (unless the voices were taken from a record).

### Sesame Street (1969-present)

* November 10, 1969

***Sesame Street*** is an American educational children's television series that combines live action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. The program is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's Muppets, and includes short films, with humour and cultural references. The series premiered to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership; it has aired on the U.S.'s national public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to premium channel HBO in 2016.

The show has undergone significant changes throughout its history. The format of Sesame Street consists of a combination of commercial television production elements and techniques which have evolved to reflect the changes in American culture and the audience's viewing habits. With the creation of Sesame Street, producers and writers of a children's television show used, for the first time, educational goals and a curriculum to shape its content. It was also the first time a show's educational effects were formally studied.

Shortly after creating Sesame Street, its producers developed what came to be called the "CTW model" (after the production company's previous name), a system of television show planning, production, and evaluation based on collaborations between producers, writers, educators, and researchers. The show was initially funded by government and private foundations but has become somewhat self-supporting due to revenues from licensing arrangements, international sales, and other media. By 2006, there were independently produced versions, or "co-productions", of Sesame Street broadcast in twenty countries. In 2001 there were over 120 million viewers of various international versions of Sesame Street, and by the show's 40th anniversary in 2009, it was broadcast in more than 140 countries.

#### Muppets

The first Muppet to appear on the show was **Big Bird**, an 8-foot-tall yellow bird believed by writer Shalom M. Fisch and Dr. Lewis Bernstein to be a canary, who resides in a large nest alongside the "123 Sesame Street" building and represents the 6-year-old child with his tendency to question everything. Also living outside of the building is **Oscar the Grouch**, a trash can-dwelling creature belonging to his own unique species, who is portrayed as a habitual pessimist and was designed to give children "permission to feel grouchy—and to demonstrate differing opinions".

Big Bird's best friend is **Aloysius Snuffleupagus** (better known as "Snuffy"), who was portrayed as the bird's imaginary friend until revealed to the human cast in 1985. For his part, Oscar has several friends of his own despite his pessimism; these include the Grouch's pet worm, Slimey, and his girlfriend Grundgetta. Two other Muppets who have appeared on the show since its beginning are **Ernie** and **Bert**, a pair of best friends with contrasting personalities; Ernie is portrayed as a free-spirited trickster who loves his rubber duck, while Bert is the world-weary foil to his friend's naïve trouble-making, and shows himself to be obsessed with things like pigeons and paper clips.

In addition to Ernie and Bert, recognisable humanoid Muppets appearing on the show also include **Count von Count**, a number-obsessed vampire based on Bela Lugosi's interpretation of Count Dracula.

Also appearing on the show are an unidentified species of furry characters referred to as "monsters". Among these are **Cookie Monster**, a blue monster who is addicted to the baked goods for which he is named but ironically also likes healthy foods.

One Muppet monster who became a household name in the show's recent history is **Elmo**, a red monster representing the three- to four-year-old child. Elmo's popularity ultimately grew to the point where he became what writer Michael Davis called "the embodiment" of Sesame Street. In 1998, the Muppet got his own segment occupying the last 15 minutes of the show, "Elmo's World", in which he explored child-centred topics from two worlds of live action and computer animation, which looked like "a child's squiggly crayon drawing come to life".

Many other Muppets that have appeared on Sesame Street over the years including Kermit the Frog, the flagship character of The Muppets.

#### Humans

The original cast, chosen by original producer Jon Stone, consisted of four human actors. Unlike most children's television programs at the time, the producers of Sesame Street decided against using a single host and cast a group of ethnically diverse, primarily African American actors/presenters.

* **Gordon Robinson** is a science teacher who owns the brownstone "123 Sesame Street" building with his wife Susan. His was the first character introduced in the show's premiere, when he was played by Garrett Saunders. Between 1969 and 1972 he was played by Matt Robinson, then Hal Miller (1972-74) and Roscoe Orman (1974-2016).
* **Susan Robinson**, at first a homemaker, she evolved into a public health nurse. She is the wife of Gordon, adoptive mother of Miles, and surrogate mother to Big Bird and the neighbourhood kids. She has always been played by Loretta Long.
* **Mr Harold Hooper** was the original proprietor of Hooper's Store, played by Will Lee who described Mr. Hooper as "the gruff grocer with the warm heart". Sesame Street dealt with Lee's 1982 death in what author Michael Davis called "a landmark broadcast" that aired on Thanksgiving Day, 1983.
* **Bob Johnson**, a regular on the show since its premiere, he is Sesame Street's resident music teacher, played by Bob McGrath.

Other human characters included some played by well-known celebrities, such as:

* **Buffy** (1975-81): Aboriginal Canadian folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie appeared in an "understated" scene about breastfeeding with Big Bird and her infant son Cody. Buffy helped introduced Native American culture to Sesame Street's audience.
* **David** (1971-89): Played by Northern Colloway, David worked for Mr. Hooper at Hooper's Store; he later became proprietor of Hooper's Store following Mr. Hooper's death.
* **Edith Ann** and **Ernestine**: Both played by Lily Tomlin, Edith was a comic, childlike character who appeared in five segments of the series and Ernestine was a nasal-voice telephone operator.
* **Larry** and **Phyllis**: Played by real life husband and wife, Alan Arkin and Barbara Dana, they taught co-operation.
* **Luis Rodriguez** (1971-2016): Luis, played by Emilio Delgado, was "a tenderhearted Hispanic man" who married Maria in 1998, and his daughter Gabi was born in 1989.
* **Maria Figueroa-Rodriguez** (1971-2015): Part of Sesame Street since she was a teenager, Maria co-owns the Fix-It Shop with her husband Luis (whom she married later on the show). Played by Sonia Manzano.
* **Rafael**: A Puerto Rican man, played by Raul Julia, who was partnered with Luis in the L & R Fix-It Shop.

### The Muppet Show (1976–81)

* January 29, 1976 (US); September 5, 1976 - March 15, 1981 (UK)

### The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

* December 11, 1992 (US); December 18, 1992 (UK)

***The Muppet Christmas Carol*** is an American musical fantasy comedy-drama film and an adaptation of Charles Dickens's 1843 novel A Christmas Carol. It is the fourth in a series of live-action musical films featuring the Muppets, with Michael Caine starring as Ebenezer Scrooge, and Steven Mackintosh as Fred, Scrooge's nephew. Although it is a comedic film with contemporary songs, The Muppet Christmas Carol otherwise follows Dickens's original story closely. The film was produced and directed by Brian Henson for Jim Henson Productions and released by Walt Disney Pictures.

The film was dedicated to the memory of Muppets creator Jim Henson and fellow puppeteer Richard Hunt, who died during pre-production.