PERFORMER | Frank Oz |
DEBUT | 1975 |
DESIGN | Michael K. Frith, Jim Henson designers |
Janet Lerman face sculptor |
The Mighty Favog is a living statue who serves as the deity of The Land of Gortch. He appeared in most of the Land of Gortch sketches on the first season of Saturday Night Live in 1975 and 1976, offering sage wisdom to King Ploobis and the planet's other residents in exchange for sacrifices.
Favog supposedly knew the Beatles, claiming he was, in fact, the Walrus from the group's song "I Am the Walrus." As a last ditch effort to keep the Land of Gortch sketches on Saturday Night Live, he promised producer Lorne Michaels that the Beatles would appear on the show if he didn't cancel the Muppets. The Gortch Muppets were permanently resigned to filing cabinets, however, and the Beatles, coincidentally or not, never appeared as a group on the show.
In the original scripts, the word "Favog" was spelled as "Fuvog."[1]
The character's name comes from a nickname given by the Muppet performers to the clock in the green room on a show they made appearances on. The Muppeteers would playfully pray to the clock that they would not be bumped if the show ran long.[1]