Zoot


PERFORMER	Dave Goelz
DEBUT	1975
DESIGN	Bonnie Erickson designer
	Dave Goelz builder

Zoot is the balding, blue-haired saxophone player for the Electric Mayhem. According to his performer and builder Dave Goelz, "Zoot is just a fifty-year-old burnt-out musician."^[1]

Zoot first appeared with his bandmates in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence before securing a regular gig on The Muppet Show, where he played both in the Muppet Orchestra and with the Mayhem. He has also appeared in every Muppet movie, the most recent being Muppets Most Wanted, except Kermit's Swamp Years.

One of Zoot's trademarks is blowing small notes of music at a time. He notably blew the final note of "The Muppet Show Theme" in the closing credits on every episode of The Muppet Show (except episode 123), The Muppets Go Hollywood, and The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years. Although most of his appearances were with the Electric Mayhem, Zoot was more prominently featured as an individual in the early episodes, appearing with Juliet Prowse in a blackout in episode 101, and playing a reluctant duet with Mahna Mahna in "Sax and Violence" in episode 102.

Zoot was considerably more talkative during the show's first season, but he soon started speaking less, often expressing himself purely with music. Dave Goelz explained that "I found that when the writers gave Zoot lines to speak, I would always try to give them away to other characters because I didn't know what to do with him. Maybe that helped to define the character. Perhaps it's best that he's so non-verbal."^[2] Thus, Zoot's proclivity towards speaking more in the earlier episodes may have been due to the fact that Jerry Nelson, who played Zoot's more animated bandmate Floyd, was not available for tapings of The Muppet Show’s first episodes. Zoot became much more talkative on The Muppets, often making candid observations which ultimately came across as humorous.

Personal Life

Lighting a Menorah in *A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa*

Is Zoot Jewish?

It is likely that Zoot is Jewish. Hints at this possibility are in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, where Zoot wishes Kermit a happy Hanukkah when he and the rest of the Electric Mayhem arrive at the Christmas party, and in the extended DVD release, where Zoot lights a Menorah.

Is Zoot Homeless?

Several Muppet Show episodes mention how poor he is. Close to the ending of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" [Kermit's Commentary] video, Kermit finds Zoot in the phone booth. Kermit says he didn't hear him come in. Zoot replies,"Come in? I've been sleeping here for three months." In The Great Muppet Caper, it is revealed that he has only one pair of pants. Zoot also wore the same pair of shades until 2009 (when he started donning more modern shades). The only deviations from his original trademark shades were in Muppet Treasure Island and The Muppet Christmas Carol, where his look was adjusted to fit the time period. That being said, Zoot has only been seen without shades at all once in The Great Muppet Caper, when the Muppets arrive at the Mallory Gallery wearing Groucho Marx glasses, it's shown that he has no visible eyes - which contradicts an earlier scene in the movie where his eyes are visible after Gonzo took a group picture.

Behind the Scenes

Evolution

Throughout the years, the Zoot puppet has been redesigned several times, his skin changing from gray to blue to green, the texture from exposed foam to fleece and back again, and his nose from green to yellow. Zoot's trademark shades (up until 2009), his bald spot, and his long, blue hair have always stayed with him, though. See Zoot Through the Years to track his changes.

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Sax playing

For the run of The Muppet Show, Zoot's musical "voice" was Frank Reedy. For The Muppet Movie, sax player David Garland performed the duties.

Trivia

Zoot was designed by Bonnie Erickson after seeing Argentine saxophonist Gato Barbieri.

Zoot has been around for 45 years and still has been performed by the same person ever since his first appearance on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence in 1975, Dave Goelz. The only time Zoot wasn't performed by Goelz was episode 112 of The Jim Henson Hour, where he was played by Kevin Clash.

In The Muppets (ABC TV series), Zoot is strongly implied to be an alcoholic, as when he is told he's at a (writers) meeting, he stands up and introduces himself the same fashion one does at an AA meeting.

Zoot's saxophone is designed to resemble an alto, however the sound and range is that of a tenor, which is a large and deeper instrument with an extra curve to the neck.

Zoot demonstrates a worshipful love of influential saxophonist Charlie Parker during the "Sax and Violence" sketch of the second episode, pleading for Parker's forgiveness over agreeing to perform the song.