Floyd Pepper





Floyd Pepper is the bass player for the Electric Mayhem band on The Muppet Show. He first appeared in the 1975 pilot The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. One of the more vocal band members, Floyd's hip sarcasm is often directed at other Muppet Show regulars, particularly Miss Piggy. Frequently paired with Janice, Floyd also has a certain influence on Animal, or at least as much as anyone can. In picture books such as The Case of the Missing Mother, or certain installments of the Muppet comic strip, Floyd is practically Animal's keeper, pulling his chain and looking after him.

At a Museum of Television and Radio seminar in 1992, performer Jerry Nelson said: "I always thought of Floyd as a character who had probably been a beatnik first, and then -- just like real life -- probably been a beatnik, and then he was into jazz and poetry, and then he probably went along with the chase into rock and roll, because he needed a job. He drew the line at punk, as I probably did myself, I think. That's why I can relate to Floyd, I guess, because he's all those things."

The Muppet Show
On The Muppet Show, Floyd regularly appeared backstage and interacted with characters outside of The Electric Mayhem. He has also been involved in the plot of a few episodes.

In episode 123, Floyd led the band in quitting because they didn't like the theme song. Floyd later told Kermit that the band would stay if he wrote the theme song. However, Kermit did not like this new theme (Fugue for Frog), and it was never explained on the show how Kermit was able to get the band to stay. They just appeared in the next episode, as if there was never any conflict at all.

In episode 201, Floyd was very active backstage, as the band decided to make Fozzie Bear an honorary hip person because he planned on making "Lullaby of Birdland" the closing number, and he gave Fozzie a pair of shades for being hip. However, after the performance, the band took a vote and decided that Fozzie was no longer hip, and Floyd took Fozzie's shades away.

In episode 305, Floyd was chosen to appear in the Muppets performance of "Camelot", in a role that Floyd wasn't too thrilled to be playing.

In episode 407, when Dudley Moore decided to have a music-making robot, M.A.M.M.A., provide the music for the show, the band was against this, and Floyd did most of the talking for the band.

In episode 506, Floyd portrayed the role of the Catepillar in the Muppets performance of Alice in Wonderland.

Some of Floyd's songs include "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "New York State of Mind".

Floyd's name is a play on two band names; namely Pink Floyd (his name is Floyd and he's pink), and the Beatles (his last name and the jacket he wears are a homage to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band)

Movies and Specials
Floyd was also very active in the Muppet movies and specials. In The Muppet Movie, he introduced each member of the band to Kermit and Fozzie. In one scene in Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets, he and John Denver went fishing, and sang "Gone Fishing" together. Floyd and Janice also introduced a selection of Muppet music clips together in The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years.

Casting history

 * Jerry Nelson - from The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975) to It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
 * John Kennedy - The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005), A Green and Red Christmas (2006)
 * Matt Vogel - Studio DC: Almost Live (2008), A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008)

Appearances

 * The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
 * The Muppet Show (see Muppet Show Episodes That Didn't Feature Main Characters)
 * The Muppet Movie
 * The Muppets Go Hollywood
 * A Christmas Together
 * The Great Muppet Caper
 * The Muppets Go to the Movies
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan
 * The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
 * A Muppet Family Christmas
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World
 * The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
 * The Muppet Christmas Carol
 * Muppet Beach Party
 * Kermit Unpigged
 * Muppet Treasure Island
 * Muppets Tonight
 * Episode 101: Michelle Pfeiffer
 * Episode 102: Garth Brooks


 * Muppetisms
 * Muppets from Space
 * Muppet Race Mania
 * It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie
 * Muppet Party Cruise
 * The Muppets Wizard of Oz
 * A Green and Red Christmas
 * Studio DC: Almost Live!

Live appearances

 * The Muppet Show On Tour
 * The Muppet Show on Tour: 2nd Edition
 * Here Come the Muppets
 * The Days of Swine and Roses
 * The Muppet Show Live

Book appearances

 * The Muppet Show Book
 * The Comic Muppet Book
 * The Case of the Missing Mother
 * Two for the Show
 * Jim Henson's Muppet Show Bill
 * The Muppet Guide to Magnificent Manners
 * Cleopigtra
 * Kermit and the Best Present of All
 * All Work and All Play
 * The Muppets Go Camping (1981)