The Jimmy Dean Show

The Jimmy Dean Show was an hour-long variety show hosted by country singer Jimmy Dean which aired on ABC from September 1963 until April 1, 1966. Rowlf the Dog was a regular guest on the show, billed as Jimmy's "ol' buddy." Between 7-15 minutes of each show were devoted to Rowlf. Many of the sketches ended with Rowlf and Jimmy singing a duet.

According to Dean's autobiography, somebody who worked on the show thought that the show needed a special character to interact with Jimmy Dean, and Rowlf was hired. Rowlf apparantly became so popular that he got more fan mail than Dean did. His stint on the series was referenced in the first Wilson's Meats Meeting Film, as an example of the Muppets' TV exposure.

Craig Shemin explained at a 2003 Museum of Television and Radio event that all the segments were shot live, meaning the puppeteers had to perform non-stop with their arms in the air for over seven minutes. It was also revealed that the Jim Henson bought all of the Rowlf segments while Jimmy Dean retained ownership of the remaining footage from the show. 

Jim Henson puppeteered Rowlf with the assistance of Frank Oz as the right hand in the early days (Jerry Nelson took the assisting role over in the later part over the show). Jerry Juhl wrote the Rowlf and Jimmy sketches and Don Sahlin built the puppets and special puppet sets.

After The Jimmy Dean Show went off the air, Jim Henson and Jerry Nelson took Rowlf on the road with Jimmy Dean in 1966. As part of the live stage show, Rowlf and Jimmy would do an act similar to the ones from the television show. Jerry Nelson commented on the logistics of the live show in a 2000 interview stating "We went to quite a few cities, and most of the appearances were in arena stages, Jerry Juhl, Don Sahlin, and myself had built a puppet stage that we could carry and hang all the props in. Something that we could carry down these long aisles and get set up in the dark, so Rowlf would be there when the lights came up, and Jimmy would go, "Oh!" and we'd do our little bit, and then the lights would go out and we'd pick up our little stage in the dark and find our way out." 

Schedule
Premiered on Thursday, September 19, 1963
 * 1963-1964 season: Thursdays, 9:00-10:00pm on ABC
 * 1964-1965 season: Thursdays, 10:00-11:00pm on ABC
 * 1965-1966 season: Fridays, 9:00-10:00pm on ABC

Credits

 * Jimmy Dean: Host
 * Jim Henson: Rowlf
 * Frank Oz: Rowlf (assistant)
 * Jerry Nelson: Rowlf (assistant)
 * Jerry Juhl: Sketch writer
 * Joel Herron: Music director
 * Don Sahlin: Puppet builder
 * Don Sebesky: Additional orchestration
 * Diana Birkenfield: Assistant to the producer
 * Larry Grossman: Music coordinator