Trivia for
"The Muppet Show" (1976)

photos

board

trailer

details

• Initially, the producers had such difficulty casting guest stars that they had to call upon all their personal friends in the entertainment industry for help. This changed dramatically after Rudolf Nureyev agreed to appear. The publicity of a renowned ballet dancer appearing on such a bizarre show created such positive publicity that the show became popular and soon celebrities were lining up to appear on the show.
  
  
• The show featured Zero Mostel's last television appearance. His episode was taped just three months before his death and aired three months after.
  
  
• Chris Langham, one of the show's writers, became a guest star as a last-minute replacement. The star he was replacing was Richard Pryor.
  
  

• The episode with Deborah Harry was originally supposed to feature Cher as the guest star.
  
  
• Señor Wences was originally booked as a guest star in the fourth season - he's even mentioned as a guest star in Scooter's "List of Guest Stars" song (tune of "Modern Major General") in the Phyllis George episode, in the middle of the fourth season - yet Señor Wences didn't appear on the show until the following year.
  
  
• Ruth Buzzi recently revealed that she was originally supposed to be the first guest on the show, but scheduling conflicts pushed her back to episode #4. The guest star on the first episode was Juliet Prowse.
  
  
• Of all the musical numbers they cooked up for the show, the one the producers were most proud of was created from Harry Belafonte's request for a meaningful piece, which had the singer singing "Turn the World Around" with puppets made to resemble traditional African tribal masks.
  
  
• One of the most persistent stories over the years is about Spike Milligan's T-shirt with Arabic lettering. Supposedly it was discovered that the Arabic lettering translated to "hashish" only after the show was aired. This was untrue. Milligan's T-shirt actually says "Kuwait", a reference to his own television series "Q5" (1969), which had been renamed in various versions over the years to "Q8" in one of its incarnations. Kuwait = Q8.
  
  
• The two old men in the balcony are Statler and Waldorf, named after two New York City hotels. Statler is the taller, thinner one. Waldorf has a round head and is shorter. Waldorf's wife is named Astoria, after the famous Waldorf - Astoria Hotel.
  
  
• The Swedish Chef has been said to be inspired by the first and only television appearance of Lars Baeckmann. His appearance was a total failure, as he mumbled a strange mixture of English and Swedish while hectically preparing some sort of food. It was thought that the show's producers found it very funny and created the Swedish Chef in Baeckmann's likeness (including the thick mustache). However, show writer Jerry Juhl has refuted this statement and believes Baeckmann invented the rumor himself. Baeckmann, who presently earns his money with a traveling cooking show in Sweden, was paid $80 for the rights to the character. He is considered to be a good cook with a great sense of humor.
  
  
• The "Turn the World Around" number was so beloved by the Muppet performers that Harry Belafonte sang the song at Jim Henson's funeral.
  
  
• Many guest stars would be asked about their favorite Muppet and be given scenes with them. Miss Piggy was reportedly the most requested. Animal was a close second.
  
  
• Miss Piggy's full name is Miss Piggy Lee.
  
  
• Many of the characters were redesigned early in the show's run. Miss Piggy's long hair and nose were replaced with shorter, curly hair and a shorter nose. Gonzo's nose was resized, and Fozzie had his wagging ears and drooping mouth removed because Frank Oz felt they were unnecessary to bring the character to life.
  
  
• The character of Miss Piggy was originally alternately played by Richard Hunt and Frank Oz. As the character grew in popularity, a hesitant Oz took on sole performer status. He once remarked that Piggy was such an intense and over-the-top woman, she could only be played by a man.
  
  
• Although the episode with Rita Moreno was the fifth episode produced, it was the first to air in most markets.
  
  
• The first two episodes (featuring Juliet Prowse and Connie Stevens, respectively) were produced months before regular production began on the first season proper. They served as pilots to sell the series to TV stations.
  
  
• Guest stars were allowed to appear on the show only once and never appeared a second time.
  
  
• Jim Henson wanted the show to end during the peak of its popularity and creativity - and it did. The final year featured the highest Nielsen ratings of its existence.
  
  
• The episodes were taped in London.
  
  
• English television didn't have commercial interruptions during the programs, so many British telecasts feature scenes and musical numbers (mostly British music hall in nature) not seen in the US until Nickelodeon aired the show for a brief time in the spring and summer of 1994. Nickelodeon - a kids' channel - would edit out another sketch (mostly sketches that Nickelodeon thought shouldn't be seen by their audience) in favor of the usually less offensive UK sketches.
  
  
• The one-eyed cat who hangs out backstage is named "Gaffer, the backstage cat."
  
  
• Besides the theme song, very few songs were actually written for the show. They were taken from old comedy albums, vaudeville standards and British music hall routines.
  
  
• The "Mahna-Mahna" number was originally performed on _"Toast of the Town" (1948) (aka "The Ed Sullivan Show").
  
  
• Originally, the producers thought they would only have enough story material for three seasons. However, the characters they developed during the run provided so much creative inspiration that two more seasons were possible.
  
  
• As of February 2003, Disney purchased The Jim Henson Workshop. The deal includes characters such as Fozzie Bear and Gonzo, as well as the Bear in the Big Blue House franchise. Sesame Street characters such as Big Bird and Elmo are not included in the acquisition, as they are owned separately by the Sesame Workshop
  
  
• Sam, the self-proclaimed "all-American eagle" is voiced by Frank Oz, who is actually English, having been born in Hereford.
  
  
• When Peter Sellers was chosen to guest star on an episode, he requested that a skit known as "The Wall" not be done with him. In this skit, Kermit interviews the guest for a short period just as themselves, and Sellers' stated that he couldn't be himself. "I can be Queen Victoria, but I cannot be myself," he said. The writers replaced "The Wall" with a skit where Sellers played Queen Victoria.
  
  
• In the episode with John Cleese, there is a skit in which he plays a pirate, complete with a nagging parrot/possible wife. Shortly before the end of the skit, he asks, "Do you want to be an EX-parrot?" and fires off his gun, missing the parrot. This is a reference to the infamous Parrot Sketch from Cleese's "Monty Python's Flying Circus" (1969). Also during the sketch, Cleese says to Capt. Link Hogthrob, "Of course I'm a pirate! What did you think I was? A management consultant?" In real life, Cleese has his own company that produces management consulting films.
  
  
• Jim Henson modeled the Muppet Dr. Bunsen Honeydew after Lew Grade as a show of gratitude for financing the show. Lord Grade was delighted.
  
  
• John Cleese was a big fan of the show and wrote much of the episode he appeared in, including the pirate sketch, his scene with Gonzo ("the ugly, disgusting one who catches cannonballs") and the finale.
  
  
• The flamboyant costumes and mannerisms of Dr. Teeth were modeled after New Orleans jazz musician, Dr. John.
  
  
• Originally, the producers intended to create Muppet versions of each guest star. These can be seen in the early episodes when the guest star takes his or her bow. The practice was scrapped after the third episode.
  
  
• The Swedish Chef was a favorite of Jim Henson and Frank Oz, as they both got to perform him. Henson was the head and voice, while Oz provided the hands. Frequently, one of the two would ad lib a line or bit of business, forcing the other one to keep up.
  
  
• The episode hosted by Steve Martin featured "auditions" of new acts for the show. It was actually a dumping ground for all of the ideas that hadn't quite formed into coherent scenes. Since there was no "audience", the laugh track wasn't used. Instead, the producers had a few stagehands provide the laughter. Because there is no audience track in this episode, it is thus the only episode in which the closing theme is audible for its entirety; in all other episodes the closing theme is obscured by canned applause and audience laughter.
  
  
• Because they found the character so funny, extraneous members of the crew would often crowd into the studio to watch filming of skits with the Sweedish Chef. Often, the laughter heard in the final sketch is not from a laugh track, but from members of the crew who couldn't contain themselves.
  
  
• The episode featuring Milton Berle as the guest star opens with Sweetums, the Muppet monster, hitting Berle in the face with a giant powder puff, while shouting, "Makeup!" This was an often-repeated gag on Berle's first TV show, "The Milton Berle Show" (1948).
  
  
• Animal, the Muppet drummer, was inspired by Keith Moon of The Who.
  
  
• George Schlatter was at one point to be involved with the show. His involvement is mentioned in the "Muppet Pitch Reel".
  
  

Related Links