Dr. Julius Strangepork

PERFORMER	Jerry Nelson
	→CASTING HISTORY...
DEBUT	1977

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

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

Dr. Strangepork in 2011's The Muppets.

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).

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. Along with Link and First Mate Piggy, he also appeared in animated form in segments on the short-lived Little Muppet Monsters. 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.

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 performed 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.”

Vogel also performed Dr. Strangepork in the Pigs in Space online series, 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.

Filmography

A version of Dr. Strangepork in the 2018 Muppet Babies

• The Muppet Show
  • ​Episode 203: Milton Berle (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 205: Judy Collins (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 207: Edgar Bergen (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 209: Madeline Kahn (Pigs in Space, "The Pig Got Up and Slowly Walked Away")
  • Episode 214: Elton John (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 216: Cleo Laine (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 218: Jaye P. Morgan (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 219: Peter Sellers ("Cigarettes and Whiskey")
  • Episode 222: Teresa Brewer (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 224: Cloris Leachman (Pigs in Space, "That's Entertainment")
  • Episode 303: Roy Clark (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 304: Gilda Radner ("The Bird on Nellie's Hat")
  • Episode 305: Pearl Bailey (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 306: Jean Stapleton ("Tico Tico")
  • Episode 307: Alice Cooper (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 314: Harry Belafonte (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 315: Lesley Ann Warren (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 319: Elke Sommer (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 324: Cheryl Ladd (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 402: Crystal Gayle ("Swanee")
  • Episode 407: Dudley Moore (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 409: Beverly Sills ("Pigoletto")
  • Episode 412: Phyllis George (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 414: Liza Minnelli
  • Episode 417: Star Wars (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 419: Lynda Carter ("Wonder Pig")
  • Episode 420: Alan Arkin (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 424: Diana Ross (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 501: Gene Kelly (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 502: Loretta Swit (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 503: Joan Baez (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 509: Debbie Harry (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 512: Melissa Manchester (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 515: Carol Burnett (Pigs in Space)
  • Episode 523: Linda Ronstadt (Pigs in Space)
• The Muppet Movie
• The Muppets Go to the Movies
• Pigs in Space video game
• The Muppets Take Manhattan (Wedding Finale)
• The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
• Muppet Madness
• Muppets Studios Presents: You're the Director
• The Muppet Christmas Carol
• Muppets Tonight
  • ​ Episode 204: Pierce Brosnan (Bay of Pigswatch)
• Muppets from Space
• Bohemian Rhapsody
• The Muppet Show Theme Music Video
• The Muppets
• Muppets Most Wanted
• The Muppets 2015 Presentation Pilot
• Warburtons Commercial
• Kodachrome music video
• Pigs in Space web series
• The Muppets Take the Bowl
• The Muppets Take the O2

Book appearances

• Pigs in Space (1983)
• The Muppet Show Comic Book (2009)
• The Muppets Character Encyclopedia (2014)
• Muppets Meet the Classics: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm (2018)