Dracula

Dracula in an "At the Dance" sketch on The Muppet Show.

Bram, the sinister voice coach from Dog City.

Espinete disguised as Dracula.

Count Gonzula in "Dental Hyjinks."

Count Fozzicula in "The Teeth Chattering Tale of the Haunted Pancakes."

Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the Transylvanian nobleman Count Dracula, a centuries-old vampire who inhabits a decaying castle in the Carpathian Mountains. Dracula exudes a veneer of aristocratic charm which masks his unfathomable evil. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novel's influence on the popularity of vampires has been responsible for many theatrical and film interpretations throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, including the classic 1931 film adaptation starring Bela Lugosi.

References

There have been many references to Dracula in Muppet and Henson productions.

• Count von Count, a gentle and friendly character on Sesame Street, is a takeoff on the character of Count Dracula, particularly the appearance, voice, and mannerisms of Lugosi.

• In episode 119 of The Muppet Show, Dracula appears in Muppet form "At the Dance." The character is performed by Jerry Nelson.

• Morgan Freeman reprised his The Electric Company role as Dracula in the special Out to Lunch.

• Alice Cooper is dressed as Dracula (albeit without fangs) in "Welcome to My Nightmare" from episode 307 of The Muppet Show, beginning the number by rising from within a coffin.

• Kermit is transformed into Count Frogula in "Little Swamp of Horrors," a comic book story in Muppet Magazine issue 16.

• In the Muppet Babies episode "Remote Control Cornballs," Baby Gonzo watches a Dracula movie (footage of Bela Lugosi from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and the non-Dracula film White Zombie) and imitates his behavior, in the role of Count Gonzula. He had previously played Gonzula in the episode "Dental Hyjinks," in a fantasy sequence that parodies Frankenstein.

• In the Dog City episode "The Bloodhound," Eliot Shag is visited by Bram, a sinister-seeming dog with a cape, sharp teeth and a Transylvanian accent. Eliot fears that Colleen is falling under the spell of a creature of the night, but it turns out that Bram is actually a professional voice coach giving Colleen singing lessons. Bram's name is a reference to Bram Stoker.

• Some of the 113 horror movies Eliot Shag has been watching in the Dog City episode "Comedy of Horrors" include Dogula, Bride of Dogula, and Son of Dogula.

• Espinete disguised himself as Dracula as a way to fight his own fear of monsters in Barrio Sésamo.

• Jim Henson's Creature Shop built a cast of Dracula puppets for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which Henson puppeteers performed.

• Baby Fozzie plays Count Fozzicula — mimicking Lugosi's accent, covering his face with his cowl, bat transformation, and saying "blah!" — in the 2018 Muppet Babies episode "The Teeth Chattering Tale of the Haunted Pancakes".

• In the book What's in Oscar's Trash Can?, Oscar's bookcase contains a copy of Grouchula.

Connections

• Anne Bancroft played Madame Ouspenskaya in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Geoffrey Bayldon played a porter in Horror of Dracula (1958 film)
• Mel Brooks played Professor Van Helsing in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Alan Cumming played Dr. Seward in a 2012 audio-book version
• Tim Curry played Van Helsing in a 2012 audio-book version
• James D'Arcy played Dr. Seward in a Book at Bedtime version (2003, radio)
• Mitchel Young Evans puppeteered shadow sequences in the 1992 film version
• Michael Fassbender played Jonathan Harker in a Book at Bedtime version (2003, radio)
• John Franklyn-Robbins played a minister in Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972 film)
• Lorne Greene played Dracula on Stage 49 (1949, radio)
• James V. Hart wrote the screenplay for the 1992 film version
• Tony Haygarth played Renfield in the 1979 film version
• Tom Hiddleston played Jonathan Harker in a 2006 BBC radio adaptation
• Alice Hill played Mina on Stage 49 (1949, radio)
• I. M. Hobson played Hobbs in the 1992 film
• Klaus Höhne played Herr Hubert in Lady Dracula (1977 film)
• Freddie Jones played Professor Keeley in The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973 film), the Baron Frankenstein in the spoof Son of Dracula (1974 film), and Gilmore in Old Dracula (1974 film)
• Raúl Juliá was a replacement as Dracula on Broadway (1978, 1979)
• Udo Kier played Dracula in Blood for Dracula (1974 film)
• Harvey Korman played Dr. Seward in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Frank Langella played Dracula on Broadway (1977) and in the 1979 film version
• James Murray puppeteered shadow sequences in the 1992 film version
• Leslie Nielsen played Dracula in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Gary Oldman played Dracula in the 1992 film version
• Clive Revill played Sykes in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Adam Sandler voiced in the Hotel Transylvania (2012) film series
• Avery Schreiber played a peasant coach passenger in Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995 film)
• Richard Vernon played Mathews in The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973 film)
• Orson Welles played Dracula and Dr. Seward in the first broadcast of Mercury Theater of the Air (1938, radio)