The United States Information Agency (USIA) was an agency devoted to public diplomacy in the U.S. from 1953 to 1999.
Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl performed in a "Green Week"[1] exhibit for USIA in Berlin, Germany from January 29 to February 12, 1962. For three hours each day, they presented sketches in association with the agricultural initiative AGRARAMA. Much of the content was recycled from their presentation at the Hamburg Food Fair for the United States Department of Agriculture in 1961.[2] One addition made to the program was a perfected version of the mechanical "Drill Team" routine which lampooned "the average European impression of the average American tourist." In his biography of Henson, Brian Jay Jones explains that the "puppets were based on the stereotype of the ugly American, featuring a cigar-chomping loudmouth in a Hawaiian shirt who demands he be sold one of the Alps so he can build a hotel, and an abrasive, gum-smacking woman who patronizingly advises audiences to always learn a few words in a foreign language to make the natives feel more at home."[1] The Jim Henson Collection at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences houses this content under the title "The Ugly Tourist".[3]
Later that year, the USIA commissioned nine 60-second public service announcements to promote democracy in the Dominican Republic. Henson and Juhl's scripts were culled from USIA brochures called "You and Your Political Party", "Your Rights as a Human Being", and "Your Government and Free Economy". The segments were performed in English and later dubbed into Spanish.[2] One short, posted on the Henson Company's YouTube channel, features Scoop rallying Moldy Hay and two other Muppets to vote. (YouTube)
For the USIA television special The Wonderful Night of Hercules Brown (broadcast overseas), Henson performed the "Beautiful Day" and "Glow-Worm."[2] USIA records give a 1968 date for the special.[4]
In 1978, the USIA's Vision USA went behind-the-scenes and looked at the Muppet Workshop's puppet builders and puppeteers in preparation for Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas.[5]
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- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jim Henson: The Biography Kindle location 1649
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jim Henson's Red Book 2/–/1962 – ‘Show in Berlin for USIA.’
- ↑ oscars.org The Jim Henson Collection (archived)
- ↑ "Back to Work with Puppets - The Wonderful Night of Hercules Brown." National Archives: The Unwritten Record blog. January 12, 2022.
- ↑ National Archives "Unwritten Record" Blog