Wayne and Wanda

 Wayne: Richard Hunt • (1976 - 1980)

 Wanda: Eren Ozker • (1976 - 1977) Kathryn Mullen • (1979)



Wayne and Wanda were a singing duo who performed on the Muppet Show. Sam the Eagle usually introduced them, as they sang "wholesome, uplifting, and decent" songs which Sam always felt that the Muppet Show needed more of. Their sketches, which traditionally started out as mellow and classy, always ended in disaster.

As a duo, the characters only lasted for the first season. They were a one-note running gag -- and a sour note at that. Wayne and Wanda were rarely seen backstage, and they didn't develop as characters; when Jerry Juhl became head writer in season two, he changed the focus from running gags to character-based comedy, so the duo was out.

Wayne appeared in occasional "melodrama" sketches in season 3, attempting to save the heroine, Miss Piggy, from Uncle Deadly's dastardly schemes. In Episode 306, he doesn't quite manage to untie Piggy from the railroad track in time.

Wayne and Wanda returned in Episode 406, and gave Kermit such a guilt trip that he rehired them. When they sang, Kermit remembered why he fired them in the first place, and he fired them again.

Sketches

 * Stormy Weather
 * Wayne and Wanda get rained on. (Episode 103: Joel Grey)


 * Row, Row, Row
 * Sam says that they have really rehearsed this segment, and sure enough, they make it past the first verse. They sit on a row boat on water (cardboard water) but they eventually sink. (Episode 104: Ruth Buzzi)


 * Goody Goody
 * Wayne accidentally knocks Wanda down. (Episode 105: Rita Moreno)


 * Indian Love Call
 * Wanda makes the Indian love call. (Episode 106: Jim Nabors)


 * You Do Something To Me
 * Wanda sings while Wayne attempts to saw her in half. (Episode 108: Paul Williams)


 * I Get a Kick Out of You
 * Wanda won't let Wayne get a word in edgewise, so Wayne kicks her. (This is one of the few times that their failure was their own fault.) (Episode 110: Harvey Korman)


 * The Falling Leaves
 * Too many leaves fall on them. (Episode 112: Peter Ustinov)


 * Trees
 * A tree falls on Wayne. (Episode 113: Bruce Forsyth, and heard in The Muppet Show (LP), Muppet Hits (CD), and The Muppet Show 25th Anniversary Collection: Music, Mayhem, and More! (CD))


 * Some Enchanted Evening
 * Gorgon Heap mistakenly thinks that Wayne said he could eat a stranger. (Episode 116: Avery Schreiber, as well as the Playhouse Video: Rowlf's Rhapsodies)


 * When My Love Comes
 * Wayne chases after a girl who walks on-stage (making Wanda jealous). (Episode 117: Ben Vereen)


 * Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered
 * Wanda's head turns into Boppity. (Episode 119: Vincent Price)


 * On a Clear Day
 * Their song gets interrupted by factory smoke. (Episode 120: Valerie Harper)


 * Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
 * Snow falls on the set. (Episode 121: Twiggy)


 * Paper Moon
 * A paper moon on the set falls. (Episode 124: Mummenschanz)