MuppetFest Memories: Day Two

Day Two: Introduction
Sunday's host: Craig Shemin, Associate Creative Director and Staff Writer for the Jim Henson Company. Craig doesn't have an Emmy like Kirk, so he brings out a bowling trophy instead. He promises lots of excitement for today's event: "We've got some special technical difficulties for you!" He introduces another taped introduction:

Miss Piggy, appearing on tape, welcomes us to the second day of MuppetFest. "Don't you people have a life?" Kermit appears and corrects her: "Piggy! You can't say that about the fans."

"Oh, yeah?" Piggy snaps. "You should see what they say about us on the Internet."

Kermit (and Steve Whitmire) enter as the clip ends, and Kermit greets us: "Good morning, MuppetFesters!... Sounds like some kind of skin disease." He introduces today's first guest.

Jane Henson
Jane Henson enters and sits on a chair. She gives a brief introduction about meeting Jim, and starting Sam and Friends on WRC-TV Washington, D.C. in 1955. They got a terrific time slot, between the news and Steve Allen. "We got the Huntley-Brinkley audience, and the Steve Allen Show audience... and what could be better?"

She introduces some clips from Sam and Friends:

'Sam and Friends opening: Professor Madcliffe and Harry shout about Esskay Meats.

"Poison to Poison": Harry and Chicken Liver star in a skit set to a Stan Freberg comedy record, with Harry as Edward R. Murrow interviewing Chicken Liver as Alfred Hitchcock.

"Punsmoke": Chicken Liver and Kermit appear as Marshall Dilly and Pester in a Henson-scripted parody of Gunsmoke.

"The Westerners": Kermit and Chicken Liver appear in a cowboy sketch set to a Bob and Ray soundtrack, trying desperately to control their horses long enough to talk to each other.

"The Yellow Rose of Texas": Kermit sings "The Yellow Rose of Texas", interrupted by a little out-of-control drummer.

Jane explains that they used commercial comedy records quite a bit on Sam and Friends, including Stan Freberg's. "Punsmoke" was one of the first pieces that Jim actually wrote and recorded. "We'd use a lot of records... if it didn't go well, we wouldn't use it a gain, but if it did go well, we'd save it and use it again. We would do ten shows a week -- about two or three would be Jim's originals, and the rest would be comedy records... The whole business was much more cottage industry -- it wasn't the way it is now."

Jane never used her voice on the show. She only performed the puppets to a pre-recorded soundtrack -- either Jim's voices or a record.

She takes questions from the audience.

Q: How many Wilkins Coffee commercials did they make?


 * Jane: "One hundred and twenty three... No... A hundred plus."

Q: Did she have a personal favorite character?


 * Jane: "I loved Chicken Little, actually... Well, Kermit really was the bst -- but Kermit worked so well with the other characters. Sam was wonderful, Harry was wonderful. I guess I really didn't have a favorite character."

Kermit was very special on the show. Jim was on television for a little while before he made Kermit -- he realized that television could make a puppet face just as important and expressive as a human face, and Kermit was Jim's attempt to make an extremely expressive puppet.

Being on the "news strip" helped them a great deal: "You'd have national news, international news, weather, sports... and Kermit!"

Q: Did they have to clear the rights for the commercial comedy records?


 * Jane: (pretending to tiptoe away) "I think we were working with something that was setting a precedent." They used records the way that they would use them on the radio -- because it was a live broadcast, it fell somewhere in the "fair use" category.

Q: Did the people who created the records get mad, or did they like the show?


 * Jane: "A little of both. They were annoyed, and then they'd look through it, and say, hooray."

Q: Did they have dreams of a network show?


 * Jane: "I never had any plans or goals. Jim always did. He would've gone straight to being a film director if he could -- but then he got intrigued with this puppet thing."

Q: How did Rowlf come about?

Jane says that Rowlf was created for Purina Dog Food commercials, with a sidekick dog, Baskerville. "Baskerville didn't really have a future in front of him, but Rowlf did."

Q: Did Jim ever talk in character voices at home?


 * Jane: "The only time he was a character at home was when he carved the Thanksgiving turkey. The turkey was always carved by Link Hogthrob."

Jane announces that the University of Maryland -- where Jim and Jane went to college, and met in puppetry class -- will be putting up a statue of Jim and Kermit in the next year or so.

Jane leaves to a huge standing ovation.

Henson Clips
Craig introduces a historic clip that has never been shown in public before: The Muppet Show Pitch Reel.

The Tonight Show, 1979: Kermit's opening monologue as the guest host of The Tonight Show, with Fozzie Bear coming out on stage to help him get laughs.

Muppet Q&A
Craig introduces the next panel of performers and characters: Steve Whitmire with Bean Bunny, Dave Goelz with Gonzo, Jerry Nelson with Floyd Pepper, Kevin Clash with Elmo, Bill Barretta with Pepe the King Prawn, and Brian Henson with Sal the Monkey.

Jerry -- "the Laziest Man on Earth" -- is wheeled out by Bill and Brian in a huge barcalounger armchair.

Gonzo talks as Dave puts his hand in: "Excuse me, I'm not ready yet. Whew! Even for me that hurts."


 * Bean: "I love Elmo. I watch him on Sesame Street all the time. Can I have your autograph?"


 * Elmo: "Sure! After the show."


 * Floyd: "You guys gonna have a cute battle backstage?"


 * Elmo: "You're just jealous! You're jealous."


 * Floyd: "No, I ain't cute... but I'm hip to boot."


 * Elmo: "Well, ex-cuse Elmo!"

Elmo turns away from Floyd, to Pepe.


 * Elmo: "What's your name?"


 * Pepe: "It's Pepe, okay."


 * Elmo: "Hello, Pepe Okay!"


 * Pepe: "No -- just Pepe."


 * Elmo: "Hello, Just Pepe Okay!"


 * Sal: "NO! He's just PEPE! OKAY?"


 * Elmo: "O-KAY!"


 * Bean: "That monkey scares me."


 * Sal: "You are such a little wussy.''

Bean turns away.


 * Sal: "Oh, look -- I made him cry!"


 * Elmo: "Bean -- these are more adult characters. We're more daytime characters. We need to stick together."

They take questions from the audience.

Q: What was it like casting Steve as Kermit after Jim's death?