Smoking Muppets

"No Smoking" notice on stage at The Muppet Theatre.

The Muppet universe is anything but a smoke-free environment, as Muppet characters are sometimes seen smoking as part of a role they are playing, for celebratory purposes, or other reasons. In many cases, the smokers in Muppet productions are stock characters with whom the habit has often been associated, such as cigar-chomping tycoons or gangsters, while at other times it's associated with a specific milieu (smoky bars or a poker game). Here is a list of characters — both human and Muppet — who have been seen smoking in Muppet and Henson productions.

When released on Disney+, the parental guidance ratings included a note that the content "contains tobacco depictions" on The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, along with select episodes of The Muppet Show and Dinosaurs which featured cigarettes and cigars. Bobby Benson's brief appearance as a street choir conductor in The Muppet Christmas Carol was altered to digitally remove his cigarette to avoid the warning.

Muppets

Pierre the French Rat smokes a cigarette at the end of a long cigarette holder.

Wontkins smokes a cigarette while playing cards in a Wilkins Coffee commercial.

Harry the Hipster perpetually has a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

On The Ed Sullivan Show, a little monster asks his dad if he'd teach him how to breach fire, but he's "too young to smoke".

Rowlf the Dog smokes a cigar in a 1966 IBM industrial film.

Wisss smokes craters like a bong in The Land of Gortch.

King Goshposh is almost always seen smoking. The display puppet in exhibits omits the cigar, showing the cigar hole in his mouth.

Grump smokes a cigarette in the Sesame Street Pitch Reel.

Taminella Grinderfall as the French artist in Tales of the Tinkerdee

Big Bird's Daddy is pictured with a pipe in Episode 0030.

A Muppet woman uses a cigarette, giving the Flower-Eating Monster a stick of dynamite instead, in The Julie Andrews Hour.

Big Bird puffs a bubble pipe in Episode 0919

Bobby Benson smoked in most of his appearances on The Muppet Show.

J. P. Grosse is almost always seen smoking a cigar.

Flower-Eating Monster asks his dancing partner, "Mind if I smoke?" in episode 101 of The Muppet Show.

Statler's cigar explodes in his face in episode 101 of The Muppet Show.

Burlington Bertie smokes in the UK spot from episode 201.

Dr. Julius Strangepork smokes in "Cigarettes and Whiskey" from episode 219.

Black Rooster in The Muppet Show episode 220; he has a coughing fit and spits out the cigarette shortly after entering

When the Electric Nose Warmer begins to smoke from overheating, Bunsen warns Beaker that smoking is bad for your health.

Kermit is given an unlit cigar by Fozzie in episode 303 of The Muppet Show.

William Shakespeare holds a cigar in episode 323.

The Gambler in episode 410 of The Muppet Show.

In episode 412 of The Muppet Show, Billy the Bear stuffs a cigar into Fozzie's mouth that promptly explodes in his face.

An Arabian Whatnot smokes a hookah in The Muppet Show episode 413.

Some dogs ask to "Pass That Peace Pipe" in The Muppet Show episode 414.

A parrot smokes exiting the stage after "I Go to Rio" in The Muppet Show episode 424.

Assorted Whatnot Muppets during the "Roaring 20s" sketch in The Muppet Show episode 505.

Floyd Pepper smoked a hookah as the Caterpillar in The Muppet Show episode 506.

In "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" Gonzo sings, "a man of my ability should be smokin' on a big cigar."

Rizzo smokes a pipe playing the role of the burgermeister in the "Pied Piper" story from episode 510.

Fozzie Bear shares an unlit cigar with Lew Grade at the Variety Club of Great Britain Show Business Awards luncheon on February 7, 1978.

Ernie as Old King Cole calls for his pipe in a sketch, but it turns out to be for blowing bubbles.

An Old King Cole Anything Muppet calls for his pipe in a Sesame Street News Flash. He quickly puts it away when he starts coughing, concluding that smoking is not healthy.

Alistair Cookie holds a pipe in some early Monsterpiece Theater sketches, but he generally eats it instead of smoking it.

Mr. Chatterly smoked a pipe in the Alphabet Chat segments.

Oscar the Grouch uses a pipe as a part of a photoshoot in Episode 1591.

The Green Frackle smokes a cigarette in the Better World Society "The War Room" PSA.

Uncle Traveling Matt smokes a pipe on Fraggle Rock's German co-production, during a postcard for episode 11. An edited version of the segment was later released as a Second Season DVD bonus, cutting the smoking bit.

Bugsy Them smokes a cigar in Dog City.

One of the dogs in the Dog City opening song possesses a cigarette.

A frackle in episode 103 of The Jim Henson Hour.

Jacques Roach in episode 112 of The Jim Henson Hour.

Sam smokes a cigarette during a commercial for a phone order collection of songs about food in The Jim Henson Hour episode 112.

Chairman Blodgett has a cigar in the Muppet Meeting Film, "Think Bigger."

The Furry Arms Hotel has both smoking and non-smoking stalls (mentioned in episode 3156).

Mr. Bitte smokes a cigarette during "Cabin Fever" in Muppet Treasure Island.

Paintings of a cat and dog smoke a filtered cigarette and a pipe in Muppets Tonight episode 107

Moby smokes a pipe (underwater) in Muppets Tonight episode 110.

Seymour attempts to whip a cigar out of Pepe's mouth in Muppets Tonight episode 202

Statler and Waldorf smoke cigars in Muppets Tonight episode 212.

In "Don't Forget to Watch the Movie," Benny Rabbit says that smoking in the theater is illegal and ejects a smoking dragon from the theater.

Pepe the King Prawn takes a puff of Craig Ferguson's pipe during a December 2005 appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

Humans

Jerry Juhl smokes a pipe in the 2nd Wilson's Meats meeting film.

Juhl as John Magnetico smokes a cigar in a Bell Data Communications Seminar film.

Juhl as Charlie Magnetico again smokes a pipe in a Bell Data Communications Seminar film.

Balloon salesman in Sesame Street Episode 0059

Cosmo Scam is handed a cigar by Snarl the "cigar box Frackle".

Elliott Gould in Out to Lunch.

Phyllis Diller in a deleted scene from The Muppet Show episode 118

Rich Little in The Muppet Show episode 204 while impersonating Humphrey Bogart.

George Burns smokes in every scene of his episode of The Muppet Show.

Liza Minnelli at the beginning of "Copacabana" in episode 414 of The Muppet Show.

James Coburn smokes in multiple scenes from The Muppet Show episode 505.

Señor Wences in The Muppet Show episode 508.

Marty Feldman in The Muppet Show episode 518.

Wally Boag says he smokes in bed in The Muppet Show episode 520, but doesn't specify what he smokes.

Wally Boag rolls a cigarette (and eats it) while Annie Sue sings "while that cyclone bucked and flitted, Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it" in episode 520.

El Sleezo Cafe patrons...

...Mad Man Mooney, and...

...Lew Lord smoke cigars in The Muppet Movie.

Peter Falk's character holds a lit cigar in The Great Muppet Caper.

Tony Clifton smokes a cigarette in The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show.

George Hamilton chomps a cigar in The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show.

Uncle Traveling Matt writes a postcard about "mouth-burners" in the Fraggle Rock episode "The Challenge"

Silly Creatures frequent a Tabaco Shop in the Fraggle Rock episode "The Battle of Leaking Roof"

Two patrons of The Comedy Store smoke in Miss Piggy's Hollywood.

Martin Price smokes a cigarette as he cons the Muppets in The Muppets Take Manhattan.

A patron of Pete's Luncheonette smokes a cigar in The Muppets Take Manhattan.

An invisible Pepe tells a C.O.V.N.E.T. Guard that "Smoking is very bad for you, okay" in Muppets from Space.

Martin chomps on a cigar in Muppets from Space. Backstage, a sign reads "positively no smoking."

Animation and Illustrations

An Anything Muppet smokes a peace pipe in The Sesame Street 1976 Calendar.

In an animated Sesame Street segment about the alphabet, the letter O is presented as smoke rings from someone's cigar. (First: Episode 1113)

Bert smokes a cigar, in character as Yanez from the Sandokan stories, on the cover of a Spanish Sesame Street comic book and in the interior comic story "El Pequeño Sandokan" (published between 1976 and 1979).

Bunsen assures Beaker that smoking is unhealthy as he blows bubbles from his pipe in "The Muppet Broadcasting Company."

Marijuana manifests as "Smoke" in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue inducing a coughing fit in Baby Gonzo, Baby Kermit and Baby Piggy.

A tourist smokes a cigar on the cover of Muppet Babies #23.

Ernie smokes a bubble pipe in a Norman Rockwell spoof.

TheTruth.com commercial

Truth Muppet

TheTruth.com commercial

In 2007, a television commercial for the anti-cigarette "truth" campaign aired, using a Muppet-like body costume as commentary in response to a 1979 document they suggest was meant to advertise smoking to pre-school children. The PSA was produced by the American Legacy Foundation and discussed details behind how Philip Morris, a major tobacco company, paid to have its products appear in The Muppet Movie (particularly the cigars used by the El Sleezo waiter, Mad Man Mooney, and Lew Lord) ten years after an executive from that same company stated that they would never attempt to market cigarettes to children. To comment on the apparent hypocrisy between these two actions, the commercial then showed a man in a Muppet-like costume wandering the streets, confusing adults and delighting children.

The commercial ignored the fact that the Muppets were not a children-only audience at the time the film was released, and thus implied that the placement of cigars in The Muppet Movie would have only been done to target children. The commercial also implied through its visuals that Muppets were smoking in the movie. This is not true. The only characters who smoked in the movie were humans; no Muppets smoked in The Muppet Movie. (Only peripherally related: following completion of filming his cameo for The Muppet Movie, Orson Welles sent Jim Henson a drawing of Kermit smoking a cigar with the caption, "For Jim. With thanks and fond regards.")

A cigar-smoking Earl Sinclair on Dinosaurs.

See also

• Muppets imbibing alcohol
• Drug use

Sources

Notes