Rowlf the Dog



Rowlf the Dog is the floppy brown-eared Muppet dog. He was the first Muppet to reach national stardom as a cast member of The Jimmy Dean Show from 1963 to 1966. He later went on to serve as the resident piano player on The Muppet Show, also playing the silly surgeon Dr. Bob on the recurring sketch Veterinarian's Hospital.

Origins
Rowlf fist appeared in 1962 in a series of Purina Dog Chow commercials. He was paired with Baskerville the Hound in a series of ads which aired from 1962 to 1963. Rowlf also appeared in an ad for Esskay Meats during the same time period.

Rowlf was the first Muppet built by Don Sahlin Unlike most of the early Muppets, he was designed as a live-hand Muppet; he was also one of the first non-abstract Muppet characters, built to resemble a dog. According to Henson's original notes, other names considered for the character were Barkley, Woofington, Baskerville, Barkus, Howlington, Waggington and Beowolf.

Rise to Fame
Rowlf rose to stardom as Jimmy Dean's sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show. The show ran from 1963 until 1966. Rowlf the Dog was a regular on the show, appearing in evey episode, and was billed as Jimmy's "ol' buddy." Between seven and ten minutes of every show were devoted to a spot with Rowlf and Dean. Many of the comedy sketches ended with the two singing a duet together. Rowlf's tenure on The Jimmy Dean Show allowed Jim Henson to develop the character over a period of time.

Rowlf continued to star on variety shows, appearing on Our Place and several episodes of The Mike Douglas Show. He also hosted the 1968 special Muppets On Puppets.

Rowlf appeared in the 1965 Wilson's Meats Meeting Film, as an example of the Muppets' exposure ("I'm the Muppets' big loveable shaggy dog Rowlf, from ABC's The Jimmy Dean Show!"). He also appeared in the Sesame Street pitch reel, explaining the concept and production process to a wary Kermit, as both characters were the most familiar Muppet characters of the time  He also appeared in Sesame Street season one, making a cameo appearance in the Baker Film for the number 9|nine.

Rowlf appeared in brief celebrity cameo-esque roles in the two Muppet Show pilots, The Muppets Valentine Show and Sex and Violence.

The Muppet Show
When The Muppet Show debuted, Rowlf was a part of the cast. Rowlf was assigned the role of resident pianist (abandoning his ukulele skills from The Jimmy Dean Show). Rowlf would often performing classical music, and singing solos or duets. Rowlf also performed in the pit orchestra and sometimes sat in with the Electric Mayhem. Despite Rowlf's established fame among American audiences, a majority of Rowlf's musical numbers were not seen in the US, as the sketches and songs staring Rowlf dominated the list of UK Spots.

Apart from displaying his musical talents, Rowlf performed in the aforementioned Veterinarian's Hospital segments playing Dr. Bob, and occasionally took on character roles in on-stage productions - including Sherlock Holmes and a Western bar piano player.

In 1985, Rowlf hosted an hour long video titled Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets. In the special, Rowlf presents a compilation of his best numbers and other silly songs from The Muppet Show.

The Muppet Movie
Rowlf was prominently featured in The Muppet Movie as a piano player at The Terrace Restaurant, where he first meets Kermit. When Kermit is down, Rowlf share is motto in life, a motto even he can't follow - "stay away from women." The two sing "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along". An original draft of the script describes the song as "a sad/funny little duet based on the old 'can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em' theme, designed to allow for some good harmony howling from Rowlf."

Rowlf soon joined Kermit and the rest of the gang on their way to Hollywood. Before joining the Muppets, Rowlf's life was simple - he lived alone, would go to work, come home, read a book, have a couple of beers, take himself for a walk and go to bed. While in the desert, Rowlf played harmonica as Gonzo sang "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" (while Fozzie played ukulele). Rowlf served as the film's cameraman in the finale, as the Muppets prepare to shoot their movie.

Rowlf appeared on the paino in the promotional special The Muppets go Hollywood accompaning Johnny Mathis as he sang "Never Before, Never Again".

More Featured Roles
Rowlf was included in many of the Muppet specials and films.

John Denver and Rowlf sang "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" in A Christmas Together.

In The Great Muppet Caper, Rowlf became a resident of the Happiness Hotel. He played piano during the song "Happiness Hotel" and joined the Muppets on their quest to thwart Nicky's plot to steal the Baseball Diamond. His bilingual ability to speak dog as well as English saved the day when he reasoned with Henderson's guard dogs at the Mallory Gallery (a skill he would use again in A Muppet Family Christmas to communicate with Sprocket).

Rowlf appeared in the special Rocky Mountain Holiday. John Denver takes Rowlf on a wild plane ride, performing one stunt after another, in order to cure Rowlf's hiccups.

In The Muppets Take Manhattan, Rowlf was a principal supporting player, co-starring in Manhattan Melodies. He displayed cinematic range as the conflicted manager of a Delaware kennel, looking after Mr. Skeffington's dog Snookums and other canine tenants.

Baby Rowlf was a part of the regular cast of babies in the animated show Muppet Babies. Baby Rowlf's role was of course that of the nursery's resident musician, often leading the others into on-the-spot songbreaks, with his ever-present baby piano. His voice was performed by Katie Leigh.

Rowlf chased the truck all the way to Emily Bear's house in A Muppet Family Christmas. Once there Rolf made himself at home communicating with Sprocket, playing "Sleigh Ride" on Emily's out-of-tune piano, and joining in the festivities.

On The Jim Henson Hour, Rowlf appeared in a series of sketches where he portrayed a character named Merlin. Rowlf narrarated the film noir special Dog City on the show, and in Secrets of the Muppets he leads a meeting of the O.M.D. (Organization of Muppet Dogs).

Rowlf also appeared in The Muppets at Walt Disney World. In the special, Rowlf was captured by the Walt Disney World pet care center manager, as Rowlf the dog had no owner or tags. While detained, Rowlf performs "live from the detention hall of the Disney World Pet Care Center" with the other dogs.

In 1990, Rowlf was a guest on The Arsenio Hall Show. When Rowlf came out, he immediately pointed to Arsenio and remarked, "Son of a bitch!". After the audience's hysterics died down, Rowlf added, "Coming from a dog, that's a compliment." The show marked Jim Henson's last public performance of Rowlf the Dog.

Post-Henson
After the death of Jim Henson, Rowlf continued to appear in Muppet productions; however, he appeared silently (and usually briefly). A rumor arose that the character would be permanently silent as a sign of respect for Jim Henson. As Brian Henson commented on in the audio commentary for The Muppet Christmas Carol, the character continued to appear as a tribute to the character Henson's legacy. However Rowlf was not going to be recast and kept in the forefront unless a suitable and appropriate performer was attached.

An all Rowlf album, titled Ol' Brown Ears is Back, was released by BMG Records in 1993. The album featured several songs from The Muppet Show, as performed by Rowlf at the piano with an orchestra. Though it wasn't released until after Jim Henson's death, Henson recorded the vocals in 1984.

Rowlf was featured silently in The Muppet Christmas Carol (playing piano at Fozziwig's party), Muppet Treasure Island (as a patron of The Admiral Benbow Inn) and Muppets From Space (as a resident of the Muppet Boarding House).

Bill Barretta has since taken over the character and gradually transitioned into the role. The first word uttered by Rowlf following Henson's death was in Muppets Tonight episode 102; as part of the crowd during the closing number, Rowlf exclaims "Yeah!".

Rowlf had several lines of dialogue in The Muppet Show Live in 2001 and also spoke two lines of dialogue ("Hey, Kermit!" and "Yeah! Heh, heh. Oh!") in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie in 2002. Rowlf had a 190-word monologue in episode 2 of Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony, and Bill Barretta also recorded a song ("The Christmas Party Sing-Along") as Rowlf for the 2006 A Green and Red Christmas album.

Performing Rowlf
Rowlf is a live hand puppet. Jim Henson would usually performed the head (and voice) and left hand, while another Muppeteer (including, at various times, Frank Oz, Jerry Juhl, Jerry Nelson, Louise Gold, and Steve Whitmire) performed his other hand. However, when Rowlf played the piano, Henson would helm the head and the second performer would control both hands on the keys. Steve Whitmire commented on performing Rowlf's piano-playing hands in a 1999 interview: "One of my favorite things to do, ever, in my career has been to do Rowlf’s hands on the piano, which is something that other people had done, but once I started doing it, I kind of have done it... since The Muppet Show days. I love it. It’s the best job in the world for somebody who sort of plays the piano, but would really like to play the piano well. The fact that you can approximate what it’s supposed to be and make it look really good."

Derek Scott, musical consultant for The Muppet Show, supplied Rowlf's pre-recorded piano playing on the program.

Casting History

 * Jim Henson - from the Purina Dog Show commercials (1962) to The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
 * Bill Barretta - from Muppets Tonight (1996) to Present