Dr. Julius Strangepork



Dr. Julius Strangepork is an elderly pig who serves as resident scientist aboard the Swinetrek spaceship in the recurring Muppet Show sketch Pigs in Space. His fellow crew members include Captain Link Hogthrob and First Mate Piggy. The German-accented "sesquipedalian" Dr. Strangepork performed routine repair work as well as offering diagnostics on planets or approaching spacecrafts.

Outside of the Pigs in Space sketches, Strangepork was occasionally seen on stage with the other pigs; he also appeared in the chorus for "Cigarettes and Whiskey" in episode 219 (as a smoker with a more rural accent) and portrayed Fritz, the murdered director, in episode 414. He also played the scientist (whose nephew is Fozzie Bear) in the Frankenstein parody, Nephew of Frankenstein in the 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies.

In films, Dr. Strangepork had silent cameo roles, often accompanying Link and other pigs, in The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Muppets, and a speaking part in The Muppet Christmas Carol as one of Fred's party guests. Along with Link and First Mate Piggy, he also appeared in animated form in segments on the short-lived Little Muppet Monsters. In The Muppet Show Comic Book: Muppet Mash storyarc, he appears in the "Link Hogthrob, Monster Smasher" segments under the name Dr. Hugo Strangepork.

Later appearances included a guest spot as the beach commissioner in a "Bay of Pigswatch" sketch on Muppets Tonight, a silent cameo with the Gonzo followers at Cape Doom in Muppets from Space, a vocal cameo in the video game Muppet Party Cruise, and the Virmup video for "Bohemian Rhapsody".

In Muppets Studios Presents: You're the Director, Strangepork was performed by David Rudman, and mostly dubbed later by Jerry Nelson (three of his lines remain undubbed). Matt Vogel performed Dr. Strangepork in the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video, and was quoted in an interview with The Muppet Mindset as saying, "I think he was in the video because they were trying to get as many recognizable characters to the fans in there somewhere but I’m looking forward to doing something with him some day."

Origins
Dr. Nauga, a character bearing a striking resemblance to Dr. Strangepork, appeared in a sketch called "Return to Beneath the Planet of the Pigs" on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence.

The puppet, refurbished with brown hair and eyebrows, was part of the pig ensemble in the first season of The Muppet Show and appeared in various At the Dance and Panel Discussion sketches, among others.

The pig's white hair was restored for the second season, and he was thereafter known as Dr. Strangepork. His name and German dialect is a likely nod to the title character (played by Peter Sellers) of the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Filmography

 * The Muppet Show
 * ​Episode 203: Milton Berle (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 205: Judy Collins (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 207: Edgar Bergen (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 209: Madeline Kahn (Pigs in Space, "The Pig Got Up and Slowly Walked Away ")
 * Episode 214: Elton John (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 216: Cleo Laine (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 218: Jaye P. Morgan (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 219: Peter Sellers ("Cigarettes and Whiskey")
 * Episode 222: Teresa Brewer (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 224: Cloris Leachman (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 303: Roy Clark (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 305: Pearl Bailey (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 306: Jean Stapleton ("Tico Tico")
 * Episode 307: Alice Cooper (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 314: Harry Belafonte (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 315: Lesley Ann Warren (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 319: Elke Sommer (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 324: Cheryl Ladd (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 407: Dudley Moore (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 409: Beverly Sills ("Pigoletto")
 * Episode 412: Phyllis George (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 414: Liza Minnelli
 * Episode 417: Star Wars (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 419: Lynda Carter ("Wonder Pig")
 * Episode 420: Alan Arkin (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 424: Diana Ross (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 501: Gene Kelly (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 502: Loretta Swit (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 503: Joan Baez (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 509: Debbie Harry (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 512: Melissa Manchester (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 515: Carol Burnett (Pigs in Space)
 * Episode 523: Linda Ronstadt (Pigs in Space)
 * The Muppet Movie
 * The Muppets Go to the Movies
 * Pigs in Space video game
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan (wedding finale)
 * The Muppet Christmas Carol
 * Muppets Tonight
 * Muppets from Space
 * Bohemian Rhapsody
 * The Muppet Show Theme Music Video
 * The Muppets

Book appearances

 * Pigs in Space (1983)
 * The Muppet Show Comic Book (2009)