 | |
| PERFORMER | Dave Goelz Philo |
| Richard Hunt Gunge | |
| DEBUT | 1983 |
| DESIGN | Michael K. Frith designer |
| Jane Gootnick builder | |
Richard Hunt with Gunge.
Dave Goelz with Philo.
Gunge, as seen on The Hub (where he was mislabeled as Junior Gorg).
Gunge repurposed in the Dinosaurs episode "The Howling".
The pair on Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
Philo and Gunge are Marjory the Trash Heap's two rat-like companions on Fraggle Rock. The two live in the garbage pile with Marjory and act as her shills or barkers, announcing her ceremoniously to visiting Fraggles with alternating phrases: "You are in the presence of..." "The all-knowing..." "Trash Heap! Nyaaaah!"
The pair are nearly identical in appearance. However, Gunge is gray and has only one tooth, while Philo is pink and has two teeth. The pair are rarely seen apart, and usually serve minor comic-relief roles; however, they were featured more prominently in a handful of episodes. In "Home Is Where the Trash Is," for example, Philo and Gunge seek their home, and their origins and ties to Marjory are more fully explored. Also, in "Gunge the Great and Glorious," Gunge is accepted by the Doozers as their long-lost king (until a jealous Philo alters the teeth on the ancient portrait). As revealed in "Home Is Where the Trash Is," the two, through means unknown even to themselves, are responsible for Margory's very existence - she was nothing more than a simple pile of compost until their arrival, after which she sprung to life.
The duo's famous "Nyaaaah!" came from Richard Hunt, who made up the famous phrase during one of the auditions. In an early draft of the episode "Let the Water Run," Philo and Gunge were called Blotch and Sossle.[1]
After Fraggle Rock, Philo appeared in the Jim Henson Hour Pitch Reel (where he is "attacked" by Jim Henson when Henson momentarily takes the puppet off Dave Goelz's hand). The Gunge puppet made cameo appearances, with different eyes, in multiple episodes of Dinosaurs, evading consumption by Robbie Sinclair and Roy Hess.
Philo appeared in Mopatop's Shop as Mabel and Magic Teeny and one of the puppets was used in the episode "Rude Dude" as the Toodlepip from Outer Space.
The duo returned in the 2022 series Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, now performed by Dan Garza (as Philo) and John Tartaglia (as Gunge).
Filmography[]
- Fraggle Rock
- Episode 101: Beginnings
- Episode 104: You Can't Do That Without a Hat
- Episode 105: The Thirty-Minute Work Week
- Episode 107: I Want to Be You
- Episode 110: Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk
- Episode 111: Catch the Tail by the Tiger
- Episode 112: The Finger of Light
- Episode 113: We Love You, Wembley
- Episode 115: I Don't Care
- Episode 117: Marooned
- Episode 119: The Great Radish Famine
- Episode 123: The Beast of Blue Rock
- Episode 124: New Trash Heap in Town
- Episode 203: The Trash Heap Doesn't Live Here Anymore
- Episode 206: Boober's Dream
- Episode 218: The Day the Music Died
- Episode 305: Blanket of Snow, Blanket of Woe
- Episode 307: Home Is Where the Trash Is
- Episode 313: Scared Silly
- Episode 322: Gunge the Great and Glorious
- Episode 401: Sprocket's Big Adventure
- Episode 408: A Brush with Jealousy
- Episode 505: The River of Life
- Episode 509: Ring Around the Rock
- Episode 511: The Gorg Who Would Be King
- Episode 512: The Honk of Honks
- Episode 513: Change of Address
- Jim Henson Hour Pitch Reel
- Dinosaurs (Gunge only)
- Mopatop's Shop (Philo only)
- Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock
- Episode 101: Pilot
- Episode 102: Red and the Big Jump
- Episode 104: The Glow
- Episode 105: Four Wembleys and a Birthday
- Episode 112: Into the Trash
- Episode 113: All of Us
- Episode 114: Night of the Lights
- Episode 201: The Great Wind
- Episode 207: This for That
- Episode 210: Fraggle Up
- Episode 211: Lost and Found Fraggles
- Episode 213: Hope and Socks
Notes[]
- For the 1993 book and audio set Inside Fraggle Rock, Dave Goelz voiced both Philo and Gunge for one line.
Sources[]
- ↑ Dennis Lee Papers, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto.