Good Morning America is a breakfast television news and talk show broadcast on the ABC television network; the show has been airing five days a week since November 3, 1975. Show hosts have included Lara Spencer, Diane Sawyer, Robin Roberts and Christopher Cuomo. Longtime anchor Charles Gibson left the program in 2006 to become the lead anchor of ABC World News until retiring in 2009, with Diane Sawyer taking over Gibson's spot. Weekend anchors include Kate Snow. Sam Champion is the show's longtime weather anchor.
The Muppets have appeared on the show many times. They are a particular favorite of Gibson's, and Kermit the Frog appeared on Gibson's final broadcast in 2006 to say goodbye.
In 1992, the Muppets appeared in a series of ten weekly sketches produced for Good Morning America (referred to as "Muppet Moments")[1] spoofing current events of the day -- the presidential election, the Winter Olympics and tax day. These sketches were written by Jim Lewis, Craig Shemin, and Louise Gikow, under the supervision of Jerry Juhl.[2][3] See below for details and video clips.
Appearances
| Picture | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Summer, 1976 | Kermit the Frog promotes The Muppet Show. (transcript) |
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| September 1977 | on the set of The Muppet Show episode 221[4] |
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| June 23, 1981 | via satellite[5] |
| July 12, 1984 | Joel Siegel reviews The Muppets Take Manhattan. Miss Piggy speaks with David Hartman, dodging questions about her relationship with Kermit. |
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| February 13, 1987 | Kermit and Piggy talk about Valentine's Day.[6] |
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| February 1988 | Kermit and Piggy celebrate Valentine's Day. (transcript) |
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| May 1988 | The Swedish Chef appears in a segment filmed in Sweden involving meatballs being tossed in the air.[7] |
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| August 1989 | Jim Henson and Michael Eisner, to discuss the prospective Henson/Disney deal. Henson wore a Mickey tie; Eisner wore a Kermit tie. |
| May 1991 | A behind the scenes feature about Muppet*Vision 3D. Joel Siegel interviews Frank Oz, Michael K. Frith, Rizzo the Rat and Miss Piggy.
      MV3D Premiere on GMA |
| February 18 - April 21, 1992 | Series of weekly Muppet sketches; see below |
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| December 11, 1992 | Brian Henson promotes The Muppet Christmas Carol. |
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| February 25, 1993 | H. Ross Parrot appears to respond to H. Ross Perot's comments about his Muppet likeness's Sesame Street debut on a previous episode.[8] |
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| April 15, 1993 | H. Ross Parrot returns to talk about Tax Day.[9] |
| February 7, 1996 | Kermit and Piggy promote Muppet Treasure Island and announce Muppets Tonight. Bad Polly and Clueless Morgan make their TV debut.
   Polly Lobster and Clueless Morgan on Good Morning America |
| December 23, 1997 | Santa Kermit and his frog elves stop by to sing "Jingle Bells." |
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| May 1, 1998 | Kermit the Frog appeared to say farewell to Gibson when he left the first time to give the spot to Kevin Newman. |
 
| December 15, 2004 | "Muppet Day at GMA!" with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Statler and Waldorf, and Penguins |
| May 19, 2005 | Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear and Ashanti, promoting The Muppets' Wizard of Oz |
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| February 2, 2006 | Kermit the Frog, promoting his upcoming commercial for the Ford Escape Hybrid |
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| June 28, 2006 | Kermit the Frog, for Charlie Gibson's last day |
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| December 7, 2006 | Kermit the Frog, promoting Before You Leap and A Green and Red Christmas |
| June 19, 2007 | Elmo promotes the book C is for Cooking |
| December 21, 2007 | Brad Paisley, Grover, and Elmo appear to promote Elmo's Christmas Countdown.
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| May 4, 2008 | Rosita appears to promote Talk, Listen, Connect, with Jeanette Betancourt (Sesame Workshop Vice President for Education, Research and Outreach), and a military family. |
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| July 31, 2008 | Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy appear on ABC News Now via satellite to promote Studio DC Hosted by Dylan and Cole Sprouse. |
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| November 17, 2008 | Pepe the King Prawn appears on Good Morning America's ABC News Now to promote It's Hard Out Here for a Shrimp. |
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| October 5, 2009 | Kermit the Frog appears to promote Give a Day. Get a Disney Day. |
| November 9, 2009 | Oscar, Zoe, Grover, Abby Cadabby, Roscoe Orman, Joan Ganz Cooney, Fran Brill, Caroll Spinney appear to promote Sesame Street’s 40th Anniversary. (YouTube) |
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| September 24, 2010 | Elmo, Super Grover 2.0, and Carol-Lynn Parente appear to promote Sesame Street’s 41st season and discuss the show's controversial Katy Perry video. During the segment, George Stephanopoulos repeatedly asks Elmo for his autograph, to give to his daughter; Elmo tried to defer it until after the segment, given Elmo's rod arms. (YouTube) |
| November 26, 2010 | Elmo and Mariana Chilton of Witnesses to Hunger share healthy eating tips in segment "Elmo's Healthy Message". Pre-taped with Dan Harris. |
| May 20, 2011 | Elmo and Beth Kobliner appear to promote Sesame Street's latest resource video For Me, For You, For Later and explains how saving money helps kids and their parents learn how to manage the saving of the value of money. |
| September 20, 2011 | Elmo, Grover, Rosita, Cookie Monster, Oscar, Slimey, and Carol-Lynn Parente appear to promote Sesame Street's 42nd season.
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| November 17, 2011 | Kermit, Miss Piggy, The Swedish Chef, Gonzo, Rizzo, Animal, Fozzie, Camilla, a Turkey, Pepe, Mahna Mahna, and the Snowths, make appearances. A GMA version of The Muppet Show Theme is sung and "Mah Na Mah Na" is performed. The Muppets, its soundtrack, and the Never-Ending Mahna Mahna Phenomahna are promoted.
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| January 5, 2012 | Elmo and Cookie Monster appear to promote B Is for Baking: 50 Yummy Dishes to Make Together and explain how to make "Elmo's Red Velvet Cupcakes". |
| March 13, 2012 | Kermit, Miss Piggy, and Walter make appearances to promote The Muppets video release. Kermit is featured early on wearing his reporter outfit. Later, the three of them lead a sing-along of "Rainbow Connection."
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| September 19, 2012 | Elmo, Big Bird, Grover, Bert, Abby Cadabby, Rosita, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster and Murray Monster appear to promote the 43rd season of Sesame Street. (YouTube) |
| November 27, 2012 | "The Muppets Take Good Morning America". Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Fozzie Bear, The Swedish Chef, Rizzo, and Pepe appear. They perform "All I Need is Love" with Lo-Co and the Snowths. (YouTube) Kermit and Dolly Parton sing "Islands in the Stream" with a gaggle of chickens.
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| May 10, 2013 | Rosita, Oscar, Telly, and Ismael Crúz Cordova appear to promote Cordova's new role in Season 44. |
| September 13, 2013 | Elmo, Grover, The Count, Abby Cadabby, Rosita, Cookie Monster, Murray Monster, and Big Bird appear to promote the 44th season of Sesame Street. A behind-the-scenes feature on the celebrity Word of the Day segments is shown. |
 
| January 28, 2014 | Kermit makes some brief appearances throughout the show, at one point reading a newspaper advertising Muppets Most Wanted. Later, he presents a clip of the Muppets' Toyota Highlander commercial. The "Pop News" portion of the show features a story on Dr. Ruster's role in the Sesame mini-series Monstruos Supersanos. |
 
| March 14, 2014 | The Muppets appear in promotion with Muppets Most Wanted. Constantine poses as Kermit, while the real Kermit is locked out. Later, the Swedish Chef cooks with Emeril Lagasse. Other Muppets appearing include Miss Piggy, Gonzo, Walter, Scooter, Pepe, Bobo, Bunsen and Beaker. |
| March 21, 2014 | Miss Piggy, Walter, Ricky Gervais, and Ty Burrell promote Muppets Most Wanted.
  |
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| April 10, 2014 | Pepe and the Swedish Chef participated in the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Disney's "it's a small world" attraction and appeared as part of a montage of singers around the globe singing "It's a Small World". |
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| September 12, 2014 | Cookie Monster, Grover, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Snuffy appear for a "Sesame Street Takeover". Additionally, portions of the show take place on the Sesame Street set, including a musical number featuring James Monroe Iglehart with the Sesame cast, and a live performance of "Rock Star" by the band A Great Big World. |
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| November 10, 2014 | Elmo and Grover appear to promote Sesame Street’s 45th Anniversary. |
| September 16, 2015 | Miss Piggy is interviewed about her break-up with Kermit. |
| September 21, 2015 | A behind-the-scenes feature on ABC's The Muppets with appearances by Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and Pepe.
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| January 15, 2016 | Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Rosita, Telly, Ernie, and Carol-Lynn Parente appear to discuss Sesame Street's 46th season. A pre-recorded segment on the new season features on-set interviews with Big Bird, Abby, and Elmo. |
| February 1, 2016 | Kermit appears to promote the mid-season return of ABC's The Muppets. |
| February 23, 2016 | Lara Spencer goes behind-the-scenes of The Muppets and plays hard-to-get with Pepe. (YouTube) |
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| December 16, 2016 | Cookie Monster appears as a guest-judge for GMA's "Great American Christmas Cookie Search." (YouTube) |
| March 16, 2018 | Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Fran Brill and Bill Barretta are interviewed by Lara Spencer in promotion with Muppet Guys Talking. |
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| December 6, 2018 | Cookie Monster appears in a video message promoting his secret Double Chocolate cookie recipe for GMA 25 Days of Cookies. Michael Strahan promotes Cookie's book The Joy of Cookies. |
| August 24, 2019 | Kermit talks about the Muppets coming to Disney+. |
| May 29, 2020 | Elmo and Cookie Monster talk to Micahel Strahan about The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, and answer questions from kids.
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| July 27, 2020 | Kermit and Miss Piggy appear to promote Muppets Now. |
Add a photo to this galleryRelated appearances
| Picture | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| August 22, 2012 | Good Afternoon America
Grover made an appearance on a short-lived afternoon edition of GMA. He was first called in as a special correspondent on the then-upcoming documentary I Am Big Bird. Later on, Grover helped promote Healthy Teeth, Healthy Me, encouraging a group of children to brush their teeth to the music video "Brushy Brush." |
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| November 5, 2012 | Day of Giving
Grover and Sonia Manzano were among the celebrities who participated in the GMA Telethon as part of ABC's day-long donation for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. |
| May 20, 2020 | GMA Digital
Elmo appears in a web video with GMA chief medical correspondent Jennifer Ashton to talk about caring for each other amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (YouTube) |
Sketches
In 1992, the Muppets appeared in a series of short comedy sketches that appeared on Tuesdays.
| Video | Title / Description |
|---|---|
 GMA Campaign | Muppet Campaign February 18 Miss Piggy and Gonzo face off in a political debate. Gonzo behaves bizarrely, keeps changing the subject, and basically does everything except address the issues. Naturally, he wins the debate. |
 GMA Olympics | The Muppet Games February 25 A report by Louis Kazagger on the Geek Winter Games (a much cheaper alternative to the Winter Olympics), where founding geek Gonzo demonstrates demolition speed skating. |
 GMA Pop Psychology | Pop Psychology March 3 A stressed out monster executive (Behemoth) listening to the radio hears a psychologist suggest that everyone should release their "inner child." Much to the monster's dismay, a child monster (Boo) literally keeps popping out from inside him. |
 GMA Vote | Super Tuesday March 10 Gonzo and Rizzo (two candidates from the 1992 election) try to persuade Muppets to vote for them (leading to a messy tug of war with a whatnot). |
 GMA Baseball | Spring Training March 17 Louis Kazagger reports live from a baseball game, talking to the baseballs themselves. |
 GMA VCR | Setting Your VCR March 24 Two Whatnots demonstrate how to change the blinking 12:00 clock on your VCR (leading to one of the Whatnots going insane and blowing up the VCR.) |
 GMA Piggy Interviews | Miss Piggy's Interview Show March 31 Miss Piggy reviews a book written by a levitating author. |
 GMA Scandal | Gonzo's Scandal April 7 Two news reporters interview campaign front runner Gonzo the Great, but when Gonzo develops a sore elbow, the reporters start hounding him with a series of increasingly tabloid-style questions. |
 GMA Tax | Tax Audit April 14 An IRS auditor questions Fozzie Bear about outrageous deductions for items such as a rubber chicken, banana peels and custard pies. When Fozzie asks what the IRS wants from him, the auditor responds with a new rendition of "Money." |
 GMA Earth Day | Earth Day April 21 In honor of Earth Day, Kermit the Frog presents a live report from Planet Koozebane on their holiday rituals. The two Koozebanians in this sketch were originally used as Brool the Minstrel and Aretha on Fraggle Rock. |
References
- In episode 103 of The Jim Henson Hour, Fozzie Bear accidentally locks Willard Scott in a closet and runs onto the set of The Today Show for help. When Fozzie finds out that he's on camera, he says "Good morning, America!", to which Jane Pauley responds "You watch your language!"
- Many episodes of Dinosaurs feature a fictitious show called Good Morning Pangea.
Sources
- ↑ Tough Pigs "An Interview with Craig Shemin, Part 1: Through the Eyes of a Fan"
- ↑ Lewis, Jim. Muppet Central Forum thread "The Brand New Ask Jim Lewis Thread"
- ↑ Museum of the Moving Image live event: Jim Henson's World: Q&A with Craig Shemin and Friends, June 13, 2020.
- ↑ Jim Henson's Red Book 9/29/1977 – ‘Good Morning America shooting in our shop.’
- ↑ Jim Henson's Red Book 6/23/1981 - Live satellite TV - Good Morning America
- ↑ The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) TV Listings, February 12, 1987
- ↑ Jim Henson's Red Book "In Stockholm – VTR Swedish Chef for Good Morning America w/Rich Hunt and Alex R." 5/17-18/1988
- ↑ The Atlanta Constitution and News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida) TV listings
- ↑ The Times Herald (Port Huron, Michigan) TV listings
