Gonzo Through the Years

The Evolution of Gonzo (1970-present)

Image	As seen in	Year	Notes
	The Great Santa Claus Switch	1970	Gonzo starts life as Snarl, the Cigar Box Frackle.
	The Muppet Show Season 1	1976	For The Muppet Show, the hook-nosed Frackle puppet is rechristened as The Great Gonzo and is given a purplish-red tuxedo. His permanently downcast expression gave performer Dave Goelz little to develop with during that first season. When he realized the character worked better in a more energetic form, Goelz built a new Gonzo puppet between the first and second year with mobile eyelids, helping him become a more active character. For the rest of The Muppet Show's run, the original Gonzo puppet became sort of a substitute for the latter puppet if needed. Such rare examples include one of the second season openings, as well as episodes 207 and 407.
	The Muppet Show Season 2	1977-1978	Goelz’s improved Gonzo puppet has yellow-green eyelids that can raise and lower with expression, through a mechanism inside the puppet. His nose is slightly duller and isn’t as blue as before. His mouth has a more defined uvula and pink tongue, similar to other Muppets.
	The Muppet Show Season 3	1978	Although Gonzo still wears his purplish-red tux (usually seen in the opening theme), he also begins to wear a more dazzling brighter velvet tuxedo, with purple lapels/cuffs and a magenta bow tie. He is also modified a bit, with an adjusted eye focus and a more rounded nose.
	The Muppet Movie	1978 - 1979	Gonzo's eyelids are now orange-yellow with dark green rims. Gonzo's nose is now tan with a faint trace of blue. His plumber outfit, consisting of a light blue shirt, a black vest, and a blue visor, is occasionally worn during Season 4 of The Muppet Show, in addition to his tux.
	The Muppet Show Season 4	1979-1981	Gonzo is given a slightly bigger physique than previous puppets, as well as a few subtle adjustments with his eyes. His pupils become larger and are closer towards each other. In addition, his eyelids are a darker, almost brown, color. Gonzo has also lost a great amount of his ostrich-feather hair. Much of these features remain this way for the next couple of decades.
	The Great Muppet Caper	1981	Gonzo has a tan coat and a sweater vest for his role as an ace photographer in The Great Muppet Caper.
File:Gonzo80s.JPG	The Jim Henson Hour	1984-1992	Gonzo retains his sweater vest from The Great Muppet Caper, looking a bit like Bill Cosby in The Cosby Show. Gonzo sports this look in The Muppets Take Manhattan, A Muppet Family Christmas, The Jim Henson Hour, The Muppets at Walt Disney World, Muppet*Vision 3D and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson.
	The Muppet Christmas Carol	1992-1996	Gonzo's eyelids now overlap, giving him a slightly more demented look. His nose is variations of purple, blue, and tan. During the storybook-adaptation era for the Muppets, Gonzo usually appeared in clothing befitting the time period of the story. Gonzo can be seen in this form in The Muppet Christmas Carol and Muppet Treasure Island.
	Muppets Tonight	1996-2001	Continuing a sartorial style first glimpsed in 1990s commercials and Muppet Classic Theater, Gonzo's typical attire now includes a loud jacket, wild tie, and other "hip" and unusual clothing elements, in contrast to his earlier suit or daredevil outfit. In addition to Muppets Tonight, Gonzo appeared in this clothing again in Muppets from Space and at MuppetFest.
	It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie	2002-2009	Gonzo wears a suit, almost as he did during his Muppet Show days, but now sports a necktie instead of a bowtie. Gonzo's nose is now just tan.
	D23 Expo	2009-2010	Gonzo is resculpted entirely, donning a thicker, very blue nose. His eyelids are now orange-yellow again like the late-70's puppet, and his pupil size is reduced considerably. Gonzo is also bigger, most noticeable from his head and hands. This version of the puppet was first seen at the D23 Expo, as well as some of the Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. commercials, which were filmed earlier.
	Muppets, Music & Magic	2010-present	As seen on photos of live appearances and in press shots for the next Muppet Movie, Gonzo returns to sporting his sweater vest from the 1980s. Note: it appears that Gonzo has been adjusted slightly, sporting a lesser blue nose to resemble his more recent incarnations. Other photographs of the same event refute this notion, making it clear that Gonzo's nose's color appearance depends largely on camera lighting.