Faerie Tale Theatre

Shelley Duvall with tall tales characters and Faerie Tale folks Rapunzel and her froggy prince

Faerie Tale Theatre is an anthology series created, produced, and hosted by Shelley Duvall, who occasionally starred. Running intermittently on Showtime from 1982 to 1987, the show adapted classic fairy tales using celebrities in the leads. Installments included "Rumpelstiltskin" (with Duvall herself as the miller's daughter), "Cinderella," "The Emperor's New Clothes," and "The Pied Piper of Hamelin." Later seasons rotated installments with the spinoff Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends.

References

• "A Muppet Fairy Tale," the feature interview with Shelly Duvall in Muppet Magazine Muppet Magazine issue 15, has the Muppets auditioning for roles on Faerie Tale Theatre and Tall Tales and Legends. Miss Piggy plays Rapunzel with Kermit the Frog as her prince, though he'd rather be in "The Tale of the Frog Prince." Rizzo the Rat suggests he and Yolanda could play Hansel and Gretel.

Connections

• Alan Arkin played Bo in "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1985)
• Ned Beatty played the king in "Rumpelstiltskin" (1982)
• Jim Belushi played Mario in "Pinocchio" (1984)
• Tim Burton directed "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" (1986)
• George Buza played a townsperson in "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (1983)
• Art Carney played Morty in "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1985)
• James Coburn played a gypsy in "Pinocchio" (1984)
• Joan Collins played the stepmother and the witch in "Hansel and Gretel" (1983)
• Francis Ford Coppola directed "Rip Van Winkle" (1987)
• Tim Conway played a mayoral candidate in "Rip Van Winkle" (1987)
• Billy Crystal played Larry in "The Three Little Pigs" (1985)
• Paul Dooley played the miller in "Rumpelstiltskin" (1982) and the father in "Hansel and Gretel" (1983)
• Mitchel Young Evans played a barrister fish in "Thumbelina" and a horrible man in "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers" (both 1984)
• Conchata Ferrell played Thumbelina's mother in "Thumbelina" (1984)
• James Frawley directed "Hansel and Gretel" (1983)
• Jeff Goldblum played the wolf in "The Three Little Pigs" (1985)
• Elliott Gould played the giant in "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1983)
• Albert Hague played Nicholas Vedder in "Rip Van Winkle" (1987)
• Tom Harvey played an alderman in "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (1983)
• Gregory Hines played Edgar in "Puss in Boots" (1985)
• Anjelica Huston played Primrose in "The Nightingale" (1983) and Marguerite in "Beauty and the Beast" (1984)
• James Earl Jones played the genie in "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" (1986)
• Carol Kane played the good fairy in "Sleeping Beauty" (1983)
• Sally Kellerman played Queen Natasha and Queen Farrah in "Sleeping Beauty" (1983)
• Maurice LaMarche played Mockingbird Maurice in "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" (1986)
• Richard Libertini played King Murray in "Sleeping Beauty" (1983) and Jacob Grimm in "Grimm Party" (1985)
• Howie Mandel played Waldo in "The Princess Who Had Never Laughed" (1986)
• Edie McClurg played Bertha in "Cinderella" (1985)
• Donna McKechnie played Anemone in "The Little Mermaid" (1987)
• Liza Minnelli played Princess Alecia in "The Princess and the Pea" (1984)
• Helen Mirren played Princess Emilia in "The Little Mermaid" (1987)
• Laraine Newman played Coral in "The Little Mermaid" (1987)
• Leonard Nimoy played the evil magician in "Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp" (1986)
• Bernadette Peters played Princess Debbie in "Sleeping Beauty" (1983)
• Van Dyke Parks played a musician in "The Tale of the Frog Prince" (1982)
• Valerie Perrine played Tina in "The Three Little Pigs" (1985)
• Vincent Price played the magic mirror in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and the narrator in "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers" (both 1984)
• Christopher Reeve played the prince in "Sleeping Beauty" (1983)
• Carl Reiner played Geppetto in "Pinocchio" (1984)
• Paul Reubens played Pinocchio in "Pinocchio" (1984)
• Vanessa Redgrave played the evil queen in "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1984)
• Clive Revill played the prime minister in "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1985)
• Michael Richards played King Geoffrey in "The Tale of the Frog Prince" (1982) and Vince in "Pinocchio" (1984)
• George Riesenberger was lighting director/designer on various episodes
• Doris Roberts played Mother Pig in "The Three Little Pigs" (1985)
• Susan Sarandon played Beauty in "Beauty and the Beast" (1984)
• Avery Schreiber played a boatman in "Pinocchio" (1984)
• Ricky Schroder played Hansel in "Hansel and Gretel" (1983)
• Dick Shawn played the Emperor in "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1985)
• Harry Dean Stanton played Rip Van Winkle in "Rip Van Winkle" (1987)
• Jean Stapleton played the giantess in "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1983) and the fairy godmother in "Cinderella" (1985)
• Mary Steenburgen played Mary in "Little Red Riding Hood" (1983)
• Ben Vereen played Puss in "Puss in Boots" (1985)
• John Vernon played the father in "Little Red Riding Hood" (1983)
• Hervé Villechaize played Rumpelstiltskin in "Rumpelstiltskin" (1982)
• David Warner played the innkeeper in "The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers" (1984)
• Lesley Ann Warren played Jeanetta in "The Dancing Princesses" (1987)
• Fred Willard played Paul in "The Three Little Pigs" (1985)
• Robin Williams played the Frog Prince in "The Tale of the Frog Prince" (1982)
• Alfre Woodard played Princess Lavinia in "Puss in Boots" (1985)