 | |
| PERFORMER | Steve Whitmire |
| DEBUT | 1979 |
| DESIGN | Rollie Krewson |
The puppet Foo-Foo and real dog counterpart.
Miss Piggy with Foo Foo on The Muppet Show.
Miss Piggy, Kermit, and Foo-Foo, in the illustration that accompanied People Magazine's 2011 article revealing the sad news that Foo-Foo needs therapy.
Foo-Foo is Miss Piggy's dog, who first appeared in the fourth season of The Muppet Show. She speaks only in barks and other typical dog vocalizations.
Puppeteer Steve Whitmire recalled how he got the role:
In 2011, during the promotion for The Muppets, Miss Piggy told People Magazine that she has had to "re-home" Foo-Foo. As Piggy explained, "[Foo-Foo] really didn't much care for Kermit, it seems... She seems to be prejudiced against green people. Anything the color green, she would nip at. So in order to have a future with my Kermie, I had to make that sacrifice." Piggy assured People that she is sending Foo-Foo to pet therapy, and she'll be happy to welcome her dog back home when she gets over her aversion to Kermit.[2] She did return, however, in Muppets Most Wanted, hopefully indicating that the therapy was successful.
The Foo-Foo puppet made a few appearances on The Jim Henson Hour in the recurring "Fashion Dolls" sketch, where the dog was called Freddie. She also made a cameo in Kermit's Swamp Years.
According to The Muppets Character Encyclopedia, Foo-Foo has siblings named Oui-Oui, Poo-Poo, Num-Num, Goo-Goo, and Fred.
The original Foo-Foo puppet had been in use since The Muppet Show until 2024, where it was presented as a new acquisition to the Walt Disney Archives collection at the D23 Expo 2024.
Performance[]
On The Muppet Show, Foo-Foo was portrayed both by a puppet and a live dog. A 1979 issue of The Muppet Show Fan Club newsletter (vol. 2, no. 2) provided a behind-the-scenes scoop:
According to Rollie Krewson on the podcast Below the Frame, the owner of the live dog was "our prop lady... she had worked really hard on training it, and then I had to kind of match it, Muppet-style."[3]
Notes[]
- In her first two appearances (and the opening gag of episode 505), the puppet has short ears. To match with a different dog in her remaining appearances, the puppet was reconstructed with new, longer ears.
Filmography[]
- The Muppet Show
- John Denver & the Muppets: A Christmas Together
- The Muppets Go to the Movies
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (Wedding Finale)
- Little Muppet Monsters
- Foo-Foo Phooey (performed by Kathryn Mullen)
- The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
- A Muppet Family Christmas
- The Jim Henson Hour
- The Muppets at Walt Disney World
- Here Come the Muppets
- Muppets Tonight
- Episode 101: Michelle Pfeiffer ("Do-Re-Mi"; as "Sterling" in Swift Wits)
- Kermit's Swamp Years
- The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
- The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora
- Muppets Most Wanted
- America's Got Talent
- Muppet Moments
- The Muppets
- Muppets Now
- Episode 105: The I.T. Factor (performed by Peter Linz)[4]
Book appearances[]
- Two for the Show (1982)
- Kermit's Summer Fun (1982)
- The Muppet Babies' Playtime Book (1985)
- Foo-Foo, Where Are You? (1991)
- The Phantom of the Muppet Theater (1991)
- Miss Piggy Sound Board Book (1995)
- Kermit's Teeny Tiny Farm (1996)
- Muppet Time (1996)
- Muppet Town (1996)
- The Muppets' Mixed-Up Christmas (1999)
- Muppet King Arthur (2010)
- Muppet Snow White (2010)
- The Muppets Character Encyclopedia (2014)
- Muppets Meet the Classics: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm (2018)
Sources[]
- ↑ Plume, Kenneth. "Ratting Out: An Interview with Steve Whitmire", Muppet Central. July 19, 1999.
- ↑ Jones, Oliver and Liz Raftery. "Muppet Mess: Miss Piggy Forced to Choose Between Her Dog and Her Frog", People.com. Nov 11, 2011.
- ↑ "EP#28: Rollie Krewson/Injury Corner (Bruce Lanoil)/NOT Puppets (Louise Gold)", Below the Frame with Matt Vogel, December 22, 2021. (00:31:05-00:31:36)
- ↑ Personal communication with performer by Anthony T.