Scooter



Scooter serves as a "gofer" backstage on The Muppet Show, and appeared from the first produced episode through the end of the series. Possessing glasses with eyes embedded in the lenses and generally wearing a green track jacket, Scooter is a vaguely humanoid character of unknown heritage (as cited in Of Muppets and Men, when pressed about his family, he explained that his mother was a parrot but he didn't know about his father).

Although occasionally seen in production numbers, his primary role lay in the backstage plots. From the second through the fourth seasons, Scooter appeared in the opening, acting as call boy and delivering a brisk "15 seconds to curtain" to the guest star. (For the final season, Pops handled the guest star introductions.) According to The Muppet Show Style Book, Scooter is about 14 years old.

Scooter's position at The Muppet Theater is as general aide and gofer ("...I'll go fer coffee; I'll go fer sandwiches; I'll go for anything you need...") Although initially hired because his uncle, J. P. Grosse, owns The Muppet Theater, Scooter holds on to his job through both nepotism and efficiency. Scooter had been around since the first (production) episode, but his proper introduction, including his hiring and identification as J. P. Grosse's nephew, occurs in episode 106. Scooter's family connections served as a running gag, especially during the first season.

The Muppet Show
In addition to Scooter's regular job as a gofer, he has also appeared on-stage. He often sang in group numbers or as part of the background chorus, as well as singing some solo numbers, including "Six String Orchestra" and "There's a New Sound".

Scooter also took part in some of the theatrical sketches that were performed on The Muppet Show. In episode 323, in the Muppets production of "Robin Hood", he did double duty, playing the role of Alan A-Dale in addition to working as stage manager. In episode 506, he played the role of the son in the "Jabberwocky" sketch (as part of the larger Alice in Wonderland play).

Additionally, Scooter took over hosting duties in episode 308, when Kermit accidentally got on an in-service train from the railroad station where the show was being performed. One notable episode for Scooter is episode 419, in which Scooter leads the others in a correspondence course, "How to Be a Superhero". On occasion, Scooter has helped Miss Piggy in her attempts to get Kermit to become romantically interested in her. These attempts include telling Kermit that Avery Schreiber and Miss Piggy are a couple, bribing the audience to applaud for Miss Piggy (or, as Scooter said, "go hog wild"), and tricking Kermit into signing a marriage license before performing in Miss Piggy's supposedly "staged" wedding.

In episode 320, Scooter sold backstage passes to some of Sylvester Stallone's female fans. This action angered Kermit, who wanted to have a talk with Scooter. As Kermit introduced Sylvester Stallone, Scooter took the opportunity to get the girls to convince Kermit that they were desperate to see him rather than Stallone; this maneuver is an example of Scooter using his ingenuity rather than his family connections to get out of a tight spot.

While others were often unappreciative of Fozzie Bear's jokes, Scooter usually liked them and the two often did acts together. These included musical duets such as "Simon Smith and His Amazing Dancing Bear" and "On Her Doorstep Last Night", and comedy acts like "The Telephone Pole Bit".

Specials
Scooter has appeared in a number of television specials. In the 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies, he played Porthos in The Three Musketeers, and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.

In The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, he introduced a montage of guest star clips, saying that his favorite Muppet moments are those with the guest stars.

In A Muppet Family Christmas, he found an old film strip of the very first Christmas that the Muppets had ever spent together.

In The Muppets at Walt Disney World, he was paired with Bean Bunny. He got a few opportunities to make some cute jokes about Bean.

Scooter has also appeared in The Muppets Go Hollywood, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together, The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, John Denver and the Muppets: A Rocky Mountain Holiday, and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. He also hosted the 1985 video compilation Children's Songs and Stories and made appearances in Fozzie's Muppet Scrapbook and Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets.

Movie Roles
In The Muppet Movie, Scooter is the road manager for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. In The Great Muppet Caper, he's a resident of the Happiness Hotel. In The Muppets Take Manhattan, he graduates with the other Muppets, and briefly works as a movie theater usher.

In Muppet*Vision 3D, Scooter hosts the preshow film. Due to Richard Hunt's absence at the time, Scooter does not play a significant role in the movie itself; he makes a cameo appearance, riding a bicycle with Janice. Richard Hunt also performed Scooter at Jim Henson's memorial service.

After an eight year absence, Scooter made his first new appearance in Muppets from Space, first during the "Brick House" number, and later, selling Gonzo t-shirts. In It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, it's revealed that if Kermit wasn't born, Scooter would have been a cage dancer. And in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, he plays the assistant to the Wizard.

Scooter recently appeared in the film The Muppets, returning to his role as the resident "gofer". Scooter takes the threat to Muppet Studios to heart. "I'm stage manager of the Muppet Theater," explains Scooter. "I try to help Kermit save the studio, 'cause without a theater and stage, there's really not much for a stage manager to do."

Scooter gets to play a new role in the movie - as host - when, in a pinch, Kermit calls on Scooter to fill in for him on stage. Unfortunately the classic advice Scooter gets to calm his nerves - pretend that the audience is naked - doesn't necessarily work for him.

Scooter also appeared in the sequel Muppets Most Wanted, again filling in as host when Kermit (actually Constantine) faints onstage, as well as performing "Moves Like Jagger" with a group of penguins.

Muppet Babies
Baby Scooter appeared in Piggy's dream sequence in The Muppets Take Manhattan, and he later was a featured member of the Muppet Babies animated series. The Baby Scooter seen on Muppet Babies was redesigned as a brainy, computer-knowledgeable child and he was given a tomboyish twin sister named Skeeter.

Casting History
Primary Performers
 * Richard Hunt: The Muppet Show (1976) - Muppet*Vision 3D (1991)
 * David Rudman: Studio DC: Almost Live (2008) to Present

Other Performers
 * Adam Hunt: Muppets from Space (voice only)
 * Matt Vogel: Muppet RaceMania (voice only)
 * Brian Henson: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and Muppets Party Cruise
 * Rickey Boyd: The Muppets' Wizard of Oz

Book appearances

 * The Comic Muppet Book (1979)
 * Muppets at Sea (1980)
 * Robin Hood (1980)
 * Bo Saves the Show (1982)
 * Jim Henson's Bedtime Stories (1991)
 * Sweet Dreams
 * Far-Out Talent
 * Fozzie's Costume
 * The Phantom of the Muppet Theater (1991)
 * Jim Henson's Big Book of Muppet Stories (1994)
 * If You Were Kermit (1994)
 * The Muppet Show Comic Book (2009)
 * Muppet Robin Hood (2009)
 * Muppet Peter Pan (2009/10)
 * The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson (2009)
 * Muppet Snow White (2010)
 * The Twelve Days of a Muppet Christmas (and a Chicken in a Pine Tree) (2012)
 * The Muppets Character Encyclopedia