The Muppet Show

The Muppet Show Characters

Series Description

The Muppet Show was a 30 minute kids TV series that that aired on ITV in the United Kingdom and then in syndication in the United States. Big name guest stars appeared in skits and song routines with puppets that often pulled jokes on the guests or teased them. It was all in good fun and became one of the foremost series that an entire family could enjoy watching together. The kiddies loved the Muppets. Teens and adults enjoyed seeing their favorite stars in situations that they normally didn't get to see them in and also got to see them more like a regular person than like a star.

The Muppet Show Characters

(Voices)

Note: Some characters were done by more than one person.

Jim Henson .... Kermit the Frog / Rowlf / Link Hogthrob / The Swedish Chef
Jim Henson .... Dr. Teeth / Muppet Newsman / Waldorf

Jerry Nelson .... Camilla / Sergeant Floyd Pepper / Robin the Frog / Crazy Harry
Jerry Nelson .... Uncle Deadly / Dr. Julius Strangepork / Pops / J.P. Grosse / Thog
Jerry Nelson .... Lew Zealand / Fleet Scribbler / Vend-a-Face / Announcer

Dave Goelz .... The Great Gonzo / Dr. Bunsen Honeydew / Zoot / Muppy
Dave Goelz .... Beauregard / Timmy Monster

Frank Oz .... Animal / Fozzie Bear / Miss Piggy / Sam the Eagle / The Swedish Chef
Richard Hunt .... Beaker / Miss Piggy / Janice / Wayne / Scooter / Statler / Sweetums
Louise Gold .... Annie Sue Pig
John Lovelady .... Crazy Harry / Nigel
Eren Ozker .... Janice / Wanda / Hilda
Steve Whitmire .... Foo-Foo (1979-) / Rizzo the Rat / Lips
Kathryn Mullen .... Gaffer the Backstage Cat
Betsy Baytos .... Betsy Bird

Theme Song

Title: "The Muppet Show"

By: "D. W. McKim" & "Phillip Chapman"

It's time to play the music
It's time to light the lights
It's time to meet the Muppets on the Muppet Show tonight.

It's time to put on makeup
It's time to dress up right
It's time to raise the curtain on the Muppet Show tonight.

Why do we always come here
I guess we'll never know
It's like a kind of torture
To have to watch the show

And now let's get things started
Why don't you get things started
It's time to get things started
On the most sensational inspirational celebrational Muppetational
This is what we call the Muppet Show!

The Muppet Show Trivia

Each of the Muppet Show characters had their own personality. Miss Peggy's feelings of superiority are probably the best known. Gonzo was initially known as "The Great Gonzo" or sometimes "Gonzo the Great". He was the show's daredevil performer. Oscar was a Grouch who loved garbage. He often sang the song, "I Love Trash".

In the beginning the producers found it difficult to convince non-comedians to appear on The Muppet Show. Apparently they felt that appearing on a show with puppets wouldn't be good for their image. The show's immense popularity ended that fairly soon, however when it became obvious that fans liked seeing their favorite stars having fun with and taking jibes from the Muppets.

John Cleese ("Monty Python's Flying Circus") was a huge fan of the Muppet Show so in addition to guest-starring he also wrote a major portion of his episode.

The two Muppets that sat in the balcony were named Statler and Waldorf after two of New York City's most prestigious hotels. Waldorf's wife was named Astoria as a reference to the world renowned Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

When Jim Henson passed away, Harry Belafonte sang the song, "Turn the World Around" at his funeral. That song was a huge favorite of the cast and many guest stars. Belafonte had co-written and performed the song when he guest-starred on the show that aired on February 15, 1979. That episode was also the first time that Belafonte performed his hit tune, "Day-O" ("Daylight come and me want to go home") on television.

When guest stars were asked which Muppet they'd prefer to appear in a scene with Miss Piggy was not surprisingly the number one choice. She wasn't preferred by much though after the crazy drummer Muppet named "Animal" who came in at a very close second place!

It was a policy on the Muppet show that guest stars were never allowed to appear twice on the show, dissappointing a few who would have liked to make a second appearance.

The episodes with Juliet Prowse ("Mona McCluskey") and Connie Stevens ("Hawaiian Eye" and "Wendy and Me") were filmed several months before any of the others because they were used as "pilots" to sell the show to TV stations.

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

TV Special

The Muppets Valentine Show (1/30/1974)

TV Pilot Episode

The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (3/19/1975)

Season 1

  1. Jim Nabors (9/27/1976)
  2. Sandy Duncan (10/4/1976)
  3. Rita Moreno (10/9/1976)
  4. Ruth Buzzi (10/11/1976)
  5. Joel Grey (10/18/1976)
  6. Paul Williams (10/25/1976)
  7. Lena Horne (11/1/1976)
  8. Peter Ustinov (11/8/1976)
  9. Florence Henderson (11/15/1976)
  10. Valerie Harper (11/22/1976)
  11. Candice Bergen (11/29/1976)
  12. Bruce Forsyth (12/6/1976)
  13. Harvey Korman (12/13/1976)
  14. Charles Aznavour (1/17/1977)
  15. Ben Vereen (1/24/1977)
  16. Vincent Price (1/31/1977)
  17. Twiggy (2/7/1977)
  18. Phyllis Diller (2/14/1977)
  19. Ethel Merman (2/21/1977)
  20. Connie Stevens (2/28/1977)
  21. Avery Schreiber (4/18/1977)
  22. Juliet Prowse (4/25/1977)
  23. Kaye Ballard (5/2/1977)
  24. Mummenschanz (5/9/1977)
Season 2

Note: We have not been able to verify air dates For Season 2 Of The Muppet Show. We are aware that other sources list air dates but they claim that the episodes did not air on the same day of the week and vary dramatically from week to week. Therefore, we consider them to be incorrect.

  1. Don Knotts
  2. Zero Mostel
  3. Milton Berle
  4. Rich Little
  5. Judy Collins
  6. Nancy Walker
  7. Edgar Bergen
  8. Steve Martin
  9. Madeline Kahn
  10. George Burns
  11. Dom DeLuise
  12. Bernadette Peters
  13. Rudolf Nureyev
  14. Elton John
  15. Lou Rawls
  16. Cleo Laine
  17. Julie Andrews
  18. Jaye P. Morgan
  19. Peter Sellers
  20. Petula Clark
  21. Bob Hope
  22. Teresa Brewer
  23. John Cleese
  24. Cloris Leachman
Season 3
  1. Helen Reddy (9/21/1978)
  2. Roy Clark (9/28/1978)
  3. Jean Stapleton (10/5/1978)
  4. James Coco (10/12/1978)
  5. Liberace (10/19/1978)
  6. Loretta Lynn (10/26/1978)
  7. Alice Cooper (11/2/1978)
  8. Cheryl Ladd (11/9/1978)
  9. Pearl Bailey (11/16/1978)
  10. Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge (11/23/1978)
  11. Raquel Welch (11/30/1978)
  12. Leo Sayer (12/7/1978)
  13. Gilda Radner (12/14/1978)
  14. Marisa Berenson (12/21/1978)
  15. Spike Milligan (1/18/1979)
  16. Elke Sommer (1/25/1979)
  17. Danny Kaye (2/1/1979)
  18. Lesley Ann Warren (2/8/1979)
  19. Harry Belafonte (2/15/1979)
  20. Sylvester Stallone (2/22/1979)
  21. Roger Miller (5/10/1979)
  22. Roy Rogers & Dale Evans (5/17/1979)
  23. Lynn Redgrave (5/24/1979)
  24. Leslie Uggams (7/5/1979)
Season 4
  1. John Denver (9/20/1979)
  2. Linda Lavin (9/27/1979)
  3. Shields & Yarnell (10/4/1979)
  4. Crystal Gayle (10/11/1979)
  5. Kenny Rogers (10/18/1979)
  6. Dudley Moore (10/25/1979)
  7. Victor Borge (11/1/1979)
  8. Beverly Sills (11/8/1979)
  9. Liza Minnelli (11/15/1979)
  10. Lola Falana (11/22/1979)
  11. Phyllis George (11/29/1979)
  12. Arlo Guthrie (12/4/1979)
  13. Dyan Cannon (1/31/1980)
  14. Christopher Reeve (2/7/1980)
  15. Lynda Carter (2/14/1980)
  16. Mark Hamill (2/21/1980)
  17. Dizzy Gillespie (2/28/1980)
  18. Anne Murray (3/6/1980)
  19. Jonathan Winters (3/13/1980)
  20. Andy Williams (3/20/1980)
  21. Doug Henning (5/1/1980)
  22. Carol Channing (5/8/1980)
  23. Diana Ross (5/15/1980)
  24. Alan Arkin (5/22/1980)
Season 5
  1. Carol Burnett (9/20/1980)
  2. Roger Moore (9/27/1980)
  3. Shirley Bassey (10/4/1980)
  4. James Coburn (10/11/1980)
  5. Brooke Shields (10/18/1980)
  6. Tony Randall (10/25/1980)
  7. Linda Ronstadt (11/1/1980)
  8. Glenda Jackson (11/8/1980)
  9. Loretta Swit (11/15/1980)
  10. Mac Davis (11/22/1980)
  11. Joan Baez (12/6/1980)
  12. Jean-Pierre Rampal (1/17/1981)
  13. Chris Langham (1/31/1981)
  14. Hal Linden (2/7/1981)
  15. Johnny Cash (2/14/1981)
  16. Debbie Harry (2/21/1981)
  17. Gene Kelly (2/28/1981)
  18. Paul Simon (4/25/1981)
  19. Gladys Knight (5/2/1981)
  20. Wally Boag (5/9/1981)
  21. Buddy Rich (5/16/1981)
  22. Marty Feldman (5/23/1981)
  23. Senor Wences (5/30/1981)
  24. Melissa Manchester (6/8/1981)
Theatrical Movies

The Muppet Movie (6/22/1979)
The Great Muppet Caper (6/26/1981)
The Muppets Take Manhattan (7/13/1984)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (12/11/1992)
Muppet Treasure Island (3/15/1996)
Muppets From Space (7/14/1999)
The Muppets (11/23/2011)

TV Movie

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (11/29/2002)

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