An advertisement for Afternoon. The Muppets and Inga are on the top left, Willard Scott on the bottom left.
Afternoon is a TV show that featured regular appearances by Jim Henson and Jane Nebel as The Muppets.
Originally titled Afternoon, the show ran from March 7, 1955[1] to May 1956. It was broadcast locally on WRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. and aired live in the afternoons featuring a mix of news and variety show segments.
Willard Scott and Mac McGarry were the original hosts of Afternoon until their departure in late spring 1955. The cast and format for the show were revamped a number of times. On November 7, the name of the show was changed to Afternoon with Inga, spotlighting fashion model and TV host Inga Rundvold, who had been a member of the cast since the show's debut.[2]
Episodes[]
Although no recordings of the show are known to exist, descriptions of broadcasts were sometimes published in local newspapers and other print materials.
- March 7, 1955 — The Muppets appear in the premiere episode, using two bird puppets to lip-sync to Georgia Gibbs' version of "Tweedle Dee."[2][3]
- Week of August 1, 1955 — "Sam, the Muppet, has “Amnesia” — and a contest going on WRC's Afternoon show. This strange malady causes Sam to forget at least one line whenever he sings a song on the program. Viewers must identify the missing line and write them down for a week. The weekly winner gets a “jackpot” of valuable items."[5]
Sources[]
- ↑ Jim's Red Book -- Afternoon starts - 3-7-1955
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Evening Star (Washington DC) "WRC-TV Hums With Activity Setting New Daytime Show" by Harry MacArthur, March 3, 1955
- ↑ Sam and Friends: The Story of Jim Henson's First Television Show page 233
- ↑ Jim Henson Company Facebook post by Karen Falk, May 8, 2024
- ↑ Washington Evening Star TV listings, July 31, 1955