Robin Leach (1941-2018) was a celebrity journalist who hosted the TV series Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous from 1984 to 1995. The show featured the extravagant lifestyles of wealthy entertainers, athletes, and business moguls, and was a cultural touchstone for the "greed is good" attitude of the 1980s. Leach's signoff for each episode, "This is Robin Leach wishing you champagne wishes and caviar dreams," became an often-imitated catchphrase.
In 1986, Leach appeared in Muppet Magazine issue 14. Most Muppet Magazine guests were "interviewed" by a Muppet -- but in "Lifestyle of the Very, Very, Very Famous Moi!", Leach interviewed Miss Piggy. "Tell me, Miss Piggy," he asked, "what's the hardest part of being very, very, very famous?" Piggy answered, "Bumping into things... Superstars like moi have to wear sunglasses all the time to keep our adoring fans from recognizing us. Did you ever try to walk around inside all the time wearing sunglasses?" In a photo spread, Leach accompanied Miss Piggy and Foo-Foo on an African safari vacation.
Leach provided the voiceover for a commercial advertising Here Come the Muppets at Walt Disney World.
Years later, Leach contributed a "Chicken and Vegetable Pasta Salad" recipe for Miss Piggy's 1996 cookbook, In the Kitchen with Miss Piggy.
References[]
- The November 18, 1985 edition of The Muppets comic strip features the spoof character Robin Bleeche from "Life Styles of the Famous and Rich" who shows up at Miss Piggy's door with a camera crew, but Piggy is all dolled-up and ready for her close-up.
- Leach's show is spoofed in the 1989 Sesame Street book Bert and the Magic Lamp. In one of the book's stories, "Life-Styles of the Large and Furry", an Anything Muppet who resembles Leach visits 456 Snuffle Circle, the home of the Snuffleupagus family.
- Leach was spoofed on Sesame Street as Dicky Tick, host of Lifestyles of the Big and Little and Dicky Tick's On, In and Under.
- Count von Count promotes an episode of Numbers of the Rich and Famous in a radio ad found on the Numbers computer game.
- Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous was spoofed once again in the Dinosaurs episode "Life in the Faust Lane" with the Dinosaur TV series Lifestyle of Those We Envy.
- In the Muppet Babies episode "This Little Piggy Went to Hollywood," Robin Leach voices himself on a spoof of his show, this time titled "Lifestyles of the Pink and Famous," which covers Baby Piggy's estate, "Pigfair."
- Leach was parodied on CityKids with a hot dog named "Robin Beach" (David Rudman) who reports on the "Lifestyles of the Pump and Juicy" from a beach full of hot dogs.