Muppets on the Walk of Fame
The colourful and lovable characters featured here certainly need no
introduction as they have been keeping both children and adults
entertained for a long, long time. It is hard to believe that these
inanimate characters have succeeded in capturing not only the hearts of
millions of children but also made in roads into the highest portals of
the entertainment industry today. The famed stretch of Hollywood
Boulevard, known as The Walk of Fame, is adorned with stars dedicated to
such legendary, respected entertainers as Bob Hope, Mae West and Charlie
Chaplin. And guess who else has managed to join their ranks? The famous
Muppets of course! The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created
by “The Muppeteer” legend the late Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. As
Lisa Henson, the daughter of their creator Jim Henson says, “Now, the
Muppets have truly arrived with their own star on the Hollywood Walk of
Fame.”
It is true that one of the celebrities among the Muppets, Kermit the
Frog has had a star since 2002—and “Muppets” creator Jim Henson also has
on. However, in March this year the new star was awarded to all
of Henson and Co.’s Muppets, comprising more than 800 characters.
The dedication of the star on the the Walk of Fame’s 2,466th
,coincided with the DVD and Blu-ray combo-pack release of “The Muppets”
feature film, the seventh in the franchise, which also counts two TV
series, numerous books and albums, and a short- lived comic strip and
magazine among its myriad of projects.
Classic Muppets in attendance included Kermit, Miss Piggy, Pepe the
Prawn, Animal, Fozzie Bear and Gonzo. They were joined by Walter, a
Muppet introduced in the new film who was the storyline’s catalyst. The
Muppets bantered over which one would take home the plaque presented to
them before Sweetums emerged to help unveil the star.
The unveiling of the star outside the Disney-owned El Capitan Theatre
drew more than 100 people. The theater appears in the film as the old
Muppets Theatre and was also the location of its world premiere in
November.
The film was a resurrection for the famous puppets who remained quiet
since 1999’s “Muppets in Space,” which flopped at the box office,
failing to recoup its $24-million budget. The recent “Muppets” film,
however, was a success, debuting at No. 2 and grossing more than158
million US dollars.
The Muppet Show was a British-American television programme produced
by puppeteer Jim Henson featuring Muppets. After two pilot episodes were
produced in 1974 and 1975, the show premiered on September 5, 1976 and
five series were produced until March 15, 1981, lasting 120 episodes.
Many of the puppeteers also worked on Sesame Street.
So, most of you must be familiar with the Muppets. Who among these
dynamic characters is your favourite? The dramatic but charming prima
donna with the golden hair, Miss Piggy, Kermit, the skinny- legged green
frog, Fozzy, the big brown with the toothpaste grin or the lovable Rowlf
the Dog. No doubt each of you have your own favourite characters but it
is no secret that they are all so lovable in their own way, even the
ugliest and the tiniest of them all.
The Muppets enjoy a rich history. Having first emerged on “Sam and
Friends” in 1955, Kermit became the show’s break- out star. After
creating puppets for “Sesame Street” in 1969, Henson gave Kermit his own
spin-off in 1976; and “The Muppets” we all know and love was born.
Famous Muppets from The Muppet Show include Kermit the Frog, Miss
Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Rizzo the Rat, Rowlf the Dog and
the band Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem featuring Animal on the
drums. Other well-known Muppets include Sesame Street characters such as
Big Bird and Elmo, and the main characters of Fraggle Rock.
In 1987, Kermit and other Muppet characters co-hosted an ABC News
special which attempted to explain the stock market and the potentially
disquieting events of the Black Monday stock price decline in a manner
that both informed and entertained the audience about the complex
subject.
After earlier unsuccessful attempts, the Walt Disney Company bought
the Muppets in 2004 Exceptions include characters appearing on Sesame
Street (as they were previously sold to Sesame Workshop, although they
have always had creative rights, only reimbursing the Jim Henson Company
to create and provide their Muppet characters for their use) and the
Fraggles of Fraggle Rock (which are still owned by the Jim Henson
Company).
The legal trademark on the term “Muppet” is currently held by The
Muppets Studio, a wholly owned division of the Walt Disney Company,
although Sesame Workshop and the Jim Henson Company continue to
occasionally use the term on their characters with certain permissions
from Disney.
[Kermit the frog]
Kermit the Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson’s most famous Muppet
creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the protagonist of many Muppet
projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show, and has appeared
in various sketches on Sesame Street, in commercials and in public
service announcements over the years. Kermit was performed by Henson
until his death in 1990. Since then, Kermit has been performed by Steve
Whitmire.
The earliest ever trace of Kermit first appeared in 1955 on WRC-TV’s
Sam and Friends. This prototype Kermit was created from a turquoise
woman-size coat that Henson’s mother had thrown into a waste bin, and
two ping pong ball halves for eyes.
Initially, Kermit was as a lizard-like creature. He subsequently made
a number of television appearances before his status as a frog was
established, which was shortly before Sesame Street began. His collar
was added at the time to make him seem more froglike and to conceal the
seam between his head and body. Kermit was one of the original Muppet
characters on Sesame Street. Though he was intended to be removed from
the cast after the first season, he returned as a full-time character in
the third, and remained a regular character for many years. He most
often interacted with Grover and, to a slightly lesser extent, Cookie
Monster.
Following the death of Jim Henson, Kermit was used less frequently on
Sesame Street, but still made new appearances until 2001. Unlike the
rest of the show’s Muppets, he was not created for the exclusive use of
Sesame Workshop, and has rarely been a part of the show’s merchandise.
All Muppet characters originally belonged to the Jim Henson Company, but
when the opportunity came for Sesame Workshop to buy its characters for
$180 million, Kermit was not included in the deal.
The character now belongs to The Muppets Studio, owned and controlled
by the Walt Disney Company. Sesame Workshop does have permission to use
old sketches featuring Kermit, but such sketches are rarely used in new
episodes. Kermit made his first new appearance since 2001 in the show’s
fortieth season premiere on November 10, 2009.
[Miss Piggy]
The prima donna pig who is one one of the central characters on The
Muppet Show loved by all is Miss Piggy. She’s convinced that she’s
destined for stardom, and will not let anything stand in her way.
Anyone who crosses her path is in for a lot of trouble. Whenever she
thinks she’s insulted or thwarted ,she would change from the sweet,
charming Misss Piggy to a violent raging one in an instant. Kermit the
Frog another character who has won the hearts of many has learned this
the hard way; when Miss Piggy isn’t smothering him in kisses, she’s
sending him flying through the air with a karate-chop.
Miss Piggy first broke into show business by winning the Miss Bogen
County beauty contest, a victory which also marked her first meeting
with the frog of her life, Kermit(whom she often calls “Kermie”). The
rest of the story to her stardom, as they say, is history.
In 1976, Miss Piggy started out in the chorus of The Muppet Show.
Fact file:
* Kermit and Miss Piggy got married in The Muppets Take Manhattan --
although subsequent events suggest that it was only their characters in
the movie that married and that their relationship is really the same as
ever. Kermit and Miss Piggy occasionally perform musical numbers
together.
*Kermit is the only Muppet to be featured prominently on both The
Muppet Show and Sesame Street.
* Kermit also served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company, until
the sale of the Muppet characters to the Walt Disney Company.
* A Kermit puppet can be seen at the National Museum of American
History.
*Kermit was awarded an honorary doctorate of Amphibious Letters on
May 19, 1996 at Southampton College, New York, where he also gave a
commencement speech. He is also the only amphibian to have had the
honour of addressing the Oxford Union.A statue of Henson and Kermit was
erected on the campus of Henson’s alma mater, the University of
Maryland, College Park in 2003.
* On November 14, 2002, Kermit the Frog received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.
* On Kermit’s 50th birthday, the United States Postal Service
released a set of new stamps with photos of Kermit and some of his
fellow Muppets on them. The background of the stamp sheet features a
photo of a silhouetted Henson sitting in a window well, with Kermit
sitting in his lap looking at him.
Some characters and their roles...
Kermit the Frog - The theatre director and host of the Muppet Show.
He served as the main protagonist of the series, specials, and films.
Miss Piggy - An arrogant, self-centered, and glamorous diva pig in
dual pursuit of stardom and Kermit.
Fozzie Bear - A dubiously talented but irrepressible stand-up comic
bear and Kermit’s unofficial second in-command.
Scooter- The gofer whose uncle, J. P. Grosse, owns the theatre.
Gonzo - Also known as The Great Gonzo or Gonzo the Great, he is a
stunt performer, performance artist and the Muppet Show’s resident
oddball of unknown species,
Rowlf the Dog - The show’s resident wisecracking pianist dog.
Robin the Frog - Kermit’s small nephew.
Statler and Waldorf - Two old men who occupy the box seat at every
show and heckle the performances
Foo-Foo - Miss Piggy’s dog. J. P. Grosse (performed by Jerry Nelson)
- Scooter’s uncle who owns the Muppet Theatre.
Facts and pix : Internet |