Exposed puppeteers

Occasionally Muppeteers will appearance on an entertainment program along side the puppet being performed. While some feel that such an appearance ruins the illusion of the Muppets, Jim Henson was not shy about appearing on camera with the characters he literally had a hand in.

"A lot of people worry if they see the performer in the same shot as the puppet character. It's been my experiance that the character itself is really what's interesting and if I am sitting here working Kermit - which I've done on the Carson show or stuff like that - people don't pay attention to me. I'm not a ventriliquist, and I don't try to hide the fact that my lips move, but the truth of the matter is that the frog is a great deal more interesting to look at, and who notices what the bearded man is doing. - Jim Henson"

The page lists instances where the puppeteers of the Muppets were publicly shown operating their characters. This list does not include instances in documentaries and behind the scenes specials where puppeteers are shown performing, live events where puppeteers are visible along side their Muppets, or goofs where puppeteers are accidentally exposed.