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Dr. Julius Strangepork

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PERFORMER Jerry Nelson
  →CASTING HISTORY...
DEBUT 1977
Strangepork
Strangepork in orbit
PigsWeddingWiki

Dr. Strangepork (without glasses) seated with Link Hogthrob and a group of pigs in The Muppets Take Manhattan.

StrangeporkChristmasCarol

Strangepork in a speaking role as one of Nephew Fred's party guests in The Muppet Christmas Carol.

StrangeporkTrailer

Dr. Strangepork in 2011's The Muppets.

2009strangepork

Dr. Strangepork in 2009's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Dr. Julius Strangepork is an elderly pig who serves as resident scientist aboard the Swinetrek spaceship in the recurring Muppet Show sketch Pigs in Space. His fellow crew members include Captain Link Hogthrob and First Mate Piggy.

The German-accented "sesquipedalian" Dr. Strangepork performed routine repair work as well as offering diagnostics on planets or approaching spacecrafts. It was revealed in episode 218 that Dr. Strangepork is the only one who knows how all of the Swinetrek works. He is also the inventor of questionably useful devices such as the Dissolvatron (episode 314) and invisibility pills (episode 324).

Along with Link and First Mate Piggy, he also appeared in animated form in segments on the short-lived Little Muppet Monsters, and appeared in illustrated form in three mini-arcs in The Muppets comic strip.

Outside "Pigs in Space"[]

As a performer outside of the "Pigs in Space" sketches, Strangepork was occasionally seen on stage with the other pigs. He appeared in the chorus for "Cigarettes and Whiskey" in episode 219 (as a smoker with a more rural accent), portrayed Fritz, the murdered director, in episode 414, played a doctor in "Wonder Pig" in episode 419 and a butler in the UK Spot "The Bird on Nellie's Hat" in episode 304. He also played the scientist (whose nephew is Fozzie Bear) in the Frankenstein parody, Nephew of Frankenstein in the 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies.

In films, Dr. Strangepork had silent cameo roles, often accompanying Link and other pigs, in The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted and a speaking part in The Muppet Christmas Carol as one of Fred's party guests. In The Muppet Show Comic Book: Muppet Mash story arc, he appears in the "Link Hogthrob, Monster Smasher" segments under the name Dr. Hugo Strangepork.

Beyond on-screen cameos, Strangepork established a voice for himself in the pages of Muppet Magazine. During its six year run, topics related to general science were often associated with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, while the realms of outer space and science fiction fell to Dr. Strangepork. In the Summer 1983 issue, he sent a letter to Kermit about his stay with NASA during summer vacation, he wrote about Halley's Comet in the Mondo Muppet column for Spring 1986, tackled the question of dinosaur extinction in Fall 1986, provided a tutorial on how to use household crafts to build a spaceship in Winter 1987, and reviewed sci-fi series Max Headroom in Summer 1987. Additionally, he interviewed such personalities as author and professor Isaac Asimov, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell, and two celebrities famous for their roles on Star Trek: Spock actor Leonard Nimoy and Wil Wheaton from Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Later appearances included a guest spot as the beach commissioner in a "Bay of Pigswatch" sketch on Muppets Tonight, a silent cameo with the Gonzo followers at Cape Doom in Muppets from Space, a vocal cameo in the video game Muppets Party Cruise, and the online music video for "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Performer[]

Dr. Strangepork was performed by Jerry Nelson from his debut on The Muppet Show to his appearance on Muppets Tonight. Nelson also voiced him in the video game Muppets Party Cruise. In Muppets Studios Presents: You're the Director, Strangepork was performed by David Rudman, and mostly dubbed later by Jerry Nelson (three of his lines remain undubbed). Matt Vogel puppeteered Dr. Strangepork in the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video, and was quoted in an interview with The Muppet Mindset as saying,

“I think he was in the video because they were trying to get as many recognizable characters to the fans in there somewhere but I’m looking forward to doing something with him some day.[1]”

Vogel's first vocal performance as Dr. Strangepork was in the 2016 Pigs in Space online series. Vogel also performed him in The Muppets Take the Bowl and The Muppets Take the O2.

Origins[]

Dr. Nauga, a character bearing a striking resemblance to Dr. Strangepork, appeared in a sketch called "Return to Beneath the Planet of the Pigs" on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence.

The puppet, refurbished with brown hair and eyebrows, was part of the pig ensemble in the first season of The Muppet Show and appeared in various At the Dance and Panel Discussion sketches, among others.

The pig's white hair was restored for the second season, and he was thereafter known as Dr. Strangepork. His name and German dialect are a nod to the title character (played by Peter Sellers) of the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Notes[]

Filmography[]

MuppetBabies-(2018)-PIS

A younger version of Dr. Strangepork shown in a photo on the 2018 Muppet Babies.

Book appearances[]

Other appearances[]

  • Pigs in Space: Space Shuttle Columbia (1981)
  • The Muppets comic strip (1981-1984)
    • "Pigs in Space" arc #1
      • Sunday, December 13, 1981
      • Thursday, December 31, 1981
      • Friday, January 1, 1982
    • "Pigs in Space" arc #2
      • Sunday, June 26, 1983
      • Monday, June 27, 1983
      • Tuesday, June 28, 1983
      • Thursday, June 30, 1983
      • Friday, July 1, 1983
      • Saturday, July 2, 1983
    • "Pigs in Space" arc #3
      • Monday, April 16, 1984
      • Tuesday, April 17, 1984
      • Wednesday, April 18, 1984
      • Thursday, April 19, 1984
      • Friday, April 20, 1984
      • Saturday, April 21, 1984

Sources[]

  1. ↑ The Muppet Mindset "Interview with Muppeteer Matt Vogel, Part 2" (archived) by Ryan Dosier, Mar 28, 2010
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