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The stunts of The Great Gonzo frequently attempted to combine bizarre performance art with high culture on The Muppet Show. They are terrible acts, but Gonzo considers them artistic. Dave Goelz, performer of Gonzo, recalled that Jack Burns, the show's original head writer, who during an early meeting suggested Gonzo perform "these crazy acts like eating a tire to 'Flight of the Bumblebee!'[1]

Sketches[]

The Muppet Show Season 1[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
Flight of the Bumblebee
Gonzo Eats a Rubber Tire
Episode 101: Juliet Prowse
Gonzo eats a rubber tire to the music of "Flight of the Bumblebee," and gets booed off the stage after a few bites.
1812 Overture
Gonzo Grows a Tomato Plant
Episode 102: Connie Stevens
Gonzo grows a tomato plant to the tune of the "1812 Overture." The plant later captures Hilda, Scooter, and himself.
TMS.103.GonzoAct
Gonzo Demolishes an Automobile
Episode 103: Joel Grey
Gonzo demolishes an automobile to the tune of the "Anvil Chorus."
Charlesaznavour04
Gonzo Does a Rock Act
Episode 109: Charles Aznavour
Gonzo does a rock act: hitting a rock with a mallet.
GonzoDrag
Gonzo Impersonates a Female
Episode 109: Charles Aznavour
Gonzo dresses as a little girl.
TMS.111.Balloon
Gonzo Does a Balloon Act
Episode 111: Lena Horne
Gonzo has planned a balloon act, but Animal ruins it.


The Muppet Show Season 2[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
Gonzobrick
Gonzo Wrestles a Brick
Episode 207: Edgar Bergen
Gonzo, blindfolded, wrestles a brick.
210 fiddles
Gonzo Fiddles While George Burns
Episode 210: George Burns
Gonzo fiddles while George burns.
Nachtmusik
Gonzo Plays the Bagpipes Atop a Flagpole
Episode 217: Julie Andrews
Gonzo performs "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik" on the bagpipes while sitting atop a flagpole. A beaver chews the flagpole down, ending Gonzo's act.
GonzoTrumpetSolo
Gonzo Plays a Solo Trumpet to "Flight of the Bumblebee"
Episode 218: Jaye P. Morgan
Backed by Rowlf on the piano, Gonzo plays "Flight of the Bumblebee" on his trumpet while Animal chases the bumblebee.
Peter Sellers
Gonzo Does a Knife-Throwing Act
Episode 219: Peter Sellers
Gonzo throws knives at Peter Sellers in character as Inspector Jacques Clouseau.
Gonzofeatherboa
Gonzo Recites Shakespeare While Hanging by His Nose
Episode 222: Teresa Brewer
Gonzo recites Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice while hanging by his nose from a feather boa nine-feet in the air, but sneezes in the middle of it.
Gonzocannonball2
Gonzo Catches a Cannonball
Episode 223: John Cleese
Gonzo catches a cannonball with his bare hand.

The Muppet Show Season 3[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
TMS.301.GonzoPiano
Gonzo Recites the Seven Times Table
Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge
Gonzo attempts to recite the seven-times tables while standing on a hammock and balancing a piano.
303 pogo stick
Gonzo Yodels While Riding a Motorized Pogo Stick
Episode 303: Roy Clark
Gonzo yodels Rimsky-Korsakov while riding on a motorized pogo-stick. The pogo-stick goes out of control, acting as a jack hammer through the floor.
TMS.315.GonzosMotorcycle2
Gonzo Rides a Motorcycle into Statler and Waldorf's Balcony
Episode 315: Lesley Ann Warren
After a failed attempt, Gonzo rides his motorcycle into Statler and Waldorf's theater box.
Gonzo500lb
Gonzo Hypnotizes Himself
Episode 324: Cheryl Ladd
Gonzo hypnotizes himself into holding up a 5000-pound weight with one arm. He snaps his fingers and becomes crushed by the weight.

The Muppet Show Season 4[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
407-14
Gonzo Recites Poetry While Defusing a Bomb
Episode 407: Dudley Moore
Gonzo recites the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley while defusing a bomb.
TMS.410.Catapult
Gonzo Shoots Himself from a Catapult
Episode 410: Kenny Rogers
Gonzo shoots himself from a catapult to sky-write the "Hallelujah Chorus" but ends up sending Kermit and Miss Piggy flying into Statler and Waldorf's theater box.
Gonzooatmealact
Gonzo Tap Dances in Oatmeal
Episode 411: Lola Falana
Gonzo sings "Top Hat, White Tie and Tails" while tap-dancing in oatmeal.
424-18
Gonzo Does an Indescribable Act
Episode 424: Diana Ross
The curtain opens for Gonzo, onstage with a swinging rubber tire, a flaming torch, and a cow (she replaced the typewriter). The act goes no further and he is pelted with vegetables.

The Muppet Show Season 5[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
Liebestraume
Gonzo conducts Liebesträume and battles a crab
Episode 504: Shirley Bassey
Gonzo conducts Liebesträume and battles Buster the crab and the violinist.
509-23
Gonzo Wrestles a Wild Mountain Gorilla
Episode 509: Debbie Harry
Gonzo planned a wrestling match with Quongo the Wild Mountain Gorilla, but he canceled the match when Quongo got stuck in traffic. Kermit announces the precision drill team from the Okefenokee Pack 12 of the Frog Scouts of America as a replacement. As the scouts go through their drills, Quongo enters expecting to wrestle Gonzo. Instead, the confused gorilla is trampled by the marching frogs.

Muppets Tonight[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
MT102-Stunt
Gonzo's inverted, suborbital, rocket-powered, anti-gravity bungee jump
Episode 102: Garth Brooks
Garth Brooks participate in Gonzo's stunt act of inverted, suborbital, rocket-powered, anti-gravity bungee jump.
MT106-Stunt
Gonzo and his Misguided Missiles of Death
Episode 106: Tony Bennett
Gonzo's rocket stunt sends him all around the Earth until he crashed in a living room of a retirement home where Statler and Waldorf are watching the show on TV.
Band.finecannon
Gonzo Shoots Cannonballs
Episode 206: Paula Abdul
To the music of the "1812 Overture," Gonzo shoots The Refined Young Cannonballs from a cannon. Unfortunately, the act knocked much of the cast and himself.
Gladiators
Gonzo Gets Hammered into a railway tie.
Episode 210: The Gary Cahuenga Episode
Lori Fetrick as the Gladiator Ice and Raye Hollitt as the Gladiator Zap, members of American Gladiators, hammered Gonzo feet first into a railway tie.

Muppets.com[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
Muppets-com70
Dancin' With Danger Gonzo tap-dances on tapioca pudding and thumbtacks.
Muppets-com58
Going Up?
Muppets-com73
Intermural Skydiving Gonzo explains the ins and outs of skydiving only to discover he forgot his parachute.
Muppets-com94
Me and the Alligator Gonzo explains how to butter an alligator.

The Muppets[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
TheMuppets-S01E07-Gonzo
Shot out of a cannon into Niagra Falls
Episode 107: Pig's in a Blackout
Gonzo mentions that he once was a stunt man and was shot out of a cannon straight into Niagara Falls (Although, technically, he was supposed to go over Niagara Falls). Later he tells the documentary crew that the stunt taught him not to be afraid to ask for help (and to learn French in case the wind carries you to the Canadian side.)
Piggy Water 06
The Great Gonzo brought to you by Piggy Water
Episode 109: Going, Going, Gonzo
Gonzo returns to performing stunts and shoots himself out of a cannon in a pool of Piggy Water in a stunt for Up Late with Miss Piggy.

Additional Stunts[]

Picture Theme / Episode Description
MTM-StuntGonzo
Gonzo's aquacade act
The Muppets Take Manhattan
"I will first make a death-defying leap from the looped-de-looped ramp, spinning and hurtling my body though flaming circle of doom and landing comfortably in the imitation-leather easy chair; while my chickens do their impression of Tony Bennett singing "The William Tell Oveture."
Muppetism Gonzo artiste
Rollerblade across the contiguous United States
Muppetisms
Gonzo attempts to rollerblade across the contiguous United States, pulled by a nitro fueled funnycar attached only to his nose, while balancing a teacup filled with nitro glycerin on his head, BACKWARDS!
The Great Gonzo
Head bowling
The Muppets
Gonzo attempts to hit a bowling pin off the head of an unwilling Jack Black, but his arm keeps winding up until the end credits, where it finally hits Tex Richman.
Kermit'sParty-Episode2-GonzoStuntSpectacular!-(2012-03-20)
Gonzo's Stunt Spectacular
Kermit's Party
Gonzo balance a pole with a bucket of a great white shark swimming in finger paint on his head.
GonzoJFL
Cirque du Poulet
Just for Laughs
The Great Gonzo debuts Cirque du Poulet - an act that attempts to make chickens fly (using rocket technology and gun powder); however Crazy Harry gets carried away and blows the chickens up.
MMW-1396021944004-MA-02751CR
Indoor Running-Of-The-Bulls
Muppets Most Wanted
Gonzo and Salma Hayek both wear a leotard with a target on the front as running of the bulls chase them.
Gonzo's Act - The Final Countdown
Magic Act
The Muppets Take the Bowl
Using the power of his mind, Gonzo levitates himself and Kermit. He then tries to travel through physical space and swap places, but only manages to swap their heads.
TakeO2-GonzoChicksne
Time Travel Magic Act
The Muppets Take the O2
Gonzo performs a magic act with his chicken assistants. He intends on sending the entire arena back in time using only the power of his mind. The trick works as the Kermit delivers his opening intro, realizing something is amiss. The Doctor returns and fixes everything. Kermit segues to the next act, which will take the audience back in time in a different way.
MuppetsNow-S01E01-Gonzo
Surviving the Wilderness
Muppets Now
Gonzo tries to survive in the wilderness with only a salad fork.

The Muppet Show Comic Book[]

Gonzo assures a nervous Osbert J. Smedley that his act is risk-free, and offers to let Smedley test out his act, which would involve Smedley getting inside a cannon. A frightened Smedley then claims that there was an error and that the insurance company owes the theater thirty-two cents, and rushes off just before the big finale, which ends up sending Gonzo to the hospital.
Skeeter agrees to help Gonzo with his cannon-shooting act, but when Gonzo trips over an anvil, Skeeter has to go on in his place. She flies form the cannon and lands safely into a vat of tapioca pudding.
Gonzo prepares to dive into a swimming pool full of custard. When a snowstorm cause the custard to become frozen and Gonzo smash his head on the icy dessert.

Stunt gear and attire[]

Sources[]

See also[]

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