Episode 519: Chris Langham

The Muppet Show
Guest	Chris Langham
Production	August 5-8, 1980
Premiere	UK: March 1, 1981 NYC: January 31, 1981
(TRANSCRIPT)

A messenger brings a message from the scheduled guest star -- Benny Brillstein, the Yiddish yodeler. Benny refuses to be on the show, so Kermit asks Chris, the messenger boy, to be the guest. Chris knows a joke, so Kermit introduces him as a comedian.

Chris' bizarre acts include owl impersonation and odd magic tricks -- "Pick a sausage, any sausage." Finally, doing an escape act in his dressing room, Chris locks himself in a wardrobe and can't get out. He has to do his final number, "Hawaiian Cowboy," from within the wardrobe.

Backstage, a magnetic moose attracts various objects.

Songs/Sketches

• "Friendship"
• Muppet News Flash
• UK Spot: "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner"
• "The Gnu"
• "Hawaiian Cowboy"

Episode guide

Picture	Description
	Chris, a messenger, brings a telegram from tonight's guest star who has canceled at the last minute. Kermit immediately hands over the guest star duties to Chris.
	The Muppet Show Theme: Gonzo is blown away in an Autumn storm.
	Kermit, not quite sure how to introduce Chris, brings him onstage to introduce the opening number.
	For the opening number, Kermit and Robin sing "Friendship" while fishing on the ocean. They dive into the water, where they meet a mother whale and her baby, who join in the song with them. They suddenly hear a bang. Above, a gang of pig whalers sail along, singing "We'll Meet Again". They notice Kermit and Robin sitting on what looks like a boulder, but is actually the mother whale.
	After witnessing a fiasco involving Melissa and her Magnetic Moose, Kermit tells a wisecracking Floyd to be nice to Chris, since he's a newcomer.
	Chris, dressed as a Scotsman, does some of his standard prop comedy schtick, which culminates in him getting rained on by peanuts.
	An audience member comes backstage because he wants his watch back. Kermit learns, to his horror, that the magnetic moose is in the canteen. The moose runs away, with pots and pans stuck to it, chased by an angry Swedish Chef.
	Muppet News Flash: Metallic stars fall on the Newsman.
	In the dressing room, Sam the Eagle witnesses Chris doing some "zen skiing". Chris does a card trick for Sam using sausages.
	UK Spot: A pack of dogs ride in a double decker bus and sing "Maybe It's Because I'm a Londoner".
	Chris displays a time travel apparatus, which carries him backwards through his speech.
	A British chap sings about his encounter with "The Gnu" at the zoo.
	Backstage, Chris shows Kermit and Gonzo his imitation of an owl. Statler and Waldorf briefly ponder the brief pauses in the show.
	Gonzo enters Chris's dressing room to worship him. Chris shows him a trick involving a wardrobe closet and the magic word "Hoopla!" which goes awry.
	Still stuck in the wardrobe closet, Chris somehow makes it onstage for the closing number, "Hawaiian Cowboy". It suddenly occurs to Chris that he can turn around and escape the closet from the back, which is completely clear. At the end of the number, it rains peanuts on Chris once again.
	At the closing, Chris demonstrates his new electronic larynx, which begins to malfunction.

Notes

• Chris was the only British writer on The Muppet Show. He was hastily made the guest for this episode after the original guest, Richard Pryor, was unable to make the taping.

• Sam Eagle is the only Muppet performed by Frank Oz in this episode.

• Chris later wrote for and appeared in The Jim Henson Hour.

• The name of the cancelled guest star is a backstage reference; Bernie Brillstein was Jim Henson's agent.

Cast

Muppets:

Kermit the Frog, Scooter, Gonzo, Pops, Gnu, Whales, Pigs, Floyd Pepper, Melissa, Mickey Moose, The Newsman, Sam the Eagle, Wolfhound, Afghan Hound, Muppy, Mutt, Molly and Melville, Robin the Frog, Whatnots, Goldfish, Newsman, The Swedish Chef

Background Muppets:

Deer, Shark, Billy the Bear, Raccoon, Fox, Penguins, Baskerville the Hound, Brown Dog, Lyle the Dog, French Poodle, Dogs

Performers

Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Waldorf, the Newsman and The Swedish chef

Frank Oz as Sam the Eagle

Jerry Nelson as Pops, Robin, Floyd Pepper, Mickey Moose, the Wolfhound and the Gnu

Richard Hunt as Scooter, Statler, Muppy, Pig and British Chap

Dave Goelz as Gonzo, Pig and Whatnot

Louise Gold as Molly and the Mutt

Steve Whitmire as Tommy the Goldfish, Melville and British Chap

Kathryn Mullen as Melissa and the Afghan Hound

External links

• Jim's Red Book - 8/7/1980 - Chris Langham (MS)

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