ToughPigs

Today's article was written by Andrew Leal. Andrew is currently an administrator on the Muppet Wiki. Special thanks to Andrew for all his hard work!

This past week, another seminal figure in Muppet history has left us. Kermit Love, the man, who may or may not have loved Kermit the frog (and certainly did not inspire his name), died at the age of 91. Alongside Don Sahlin and Faz Fazakas, he was a key pioneer in the Muppet Workshop and in shaping how Muppets look and move. For even ardent Muppet fans, his name may register only as that, an interesting handle glimpsed in the closing credits. As a child, my awareness of Kermit Love was limited to his role as Willy the hot dog man, and by the early 1980s, that was limited to a “Hey, it's that bearded guy who for some reason shows up in Sesame Street Treasury cast photos. But Kermit the human had a long and often surprising history, both within and outside the Muppets.

Before he came to Sesame Street, Love had his home on Broadway. After a childhood of puppet building and drawing, he made his stage debut in a small role as a student in the (apparently justly) forgotten 1937 musical Naught Naught '00, a musical full of characters named Spunky and P. De Quincy Devereaux (still, the show managed three revivals through 1946). He soon shifted to costume design, working on such shows as 1943's One Touch of Venus, the brainchild of humorsists Ogden Nash and S. J. Perelman, with music by Kurt “Threepenny Opera” Weill. For the latter, Love shared praise for “real genius” in the inventive costumes worn by ingenue Pauline Laurence (one featured “a front with no discernible relationship to its back.”)

Love continued in this vein, and was one of an odd assortment of craftsmen (costumers, puppetmakers, set designers, even actors) recruited to build the stop-motion figures used in Michael Myerberg's obscure 1954 animated feature Hansel and Gretel. Love worked with future Muppet designer Don Sahlin on the project, but soon returned to the stage. In the 1960s, he began working with famed choreographer George Balanchine, and created large-scale costumes and puppet figures, such as a giant for Balanchine's 1965 “Don Quixote.” Around this time, Love and Jim Henson crossed paths. Not surprisingly, he worked, at first anyway, mostly on full-bodied Muppets, working out both mechanics and aesthetics for the La Choy Dragon and the full-bodied beasties in The Great Santa Claus Switch and The Frog Prince, among others. His biggest impact was on Sesame Street, however, constructing Big Bird, a beloved character built like a tutu, Caroll Spinney, in The Wisdom of Big Bird, remembered Love as simultaneously “the most frustrating man i knew...” but also a “perfectionist and brilliant craftsman.” He went on to work on Mr. Snuffleupagus and for many years was the head of the Sesame Workshop, guiding and shaping the aesthetic of the street Muppets which was both familiarly similar and yet distinct from the Muppet Show gang. He did the same thing for many of the international shows, notably redesigning Samson and Tiffy for Sesamstrasse.

Love slowed down and eventually left Sesame Street after the 1980s (during which time he also worked on The Great Space Coaster and mentored the likes of Kevin Clash and Jim Martin), but abandoned neither puppetry nor costuming. Love was the man responisible for cuddly fabric softener spokescharacter Snuggle Bear, and in the 1990s, he launched a PBS series called Whirlygig, starring himself and various Love puppets. Through recent years, he worked with the Joffrey Ballet on their annual presentation of Balanchine's Nutcracker, creating mice and an enormous Mother Ginger puppet.

So Love leaves another void for the Muppet historian, another link to the past gone. But living to the age of 91 is quite antihistimine (not to be sneezed at), and Love left behind a very diverse legacy for future children, puppeteers, designers, and obsessive Muppet bloggers. And on a personal note, Love's life partner for an impressive fifty years was one Christopher Lyall. Lyall assisted Love on various projects, and in the Muppet realm, he chreographed Thog's charming dance with Mia Farrow in The Muppet Valentine Show. It's comforting to confirm that the grandfatherly, bearded father of Big Bird, this cheerful looking man called Love, was indeed loved himself.

Click here to help us remember Kermit Love on the ToughPigs forum.

Labels: death, guest bloggers

For many weeks, the Muppet fan community has been buzzing over the announcement that actor Jason Segel, who costars on How I Met Your Mother and who wrote and starred in Forgetting Sarah Marshall has been signed to write the next new Muppet movie. This announcement has given us all a reason to go on living, but it's also raised many questions. Jason Segel has done hundreds of interviews in the past few months, what with promoting Sarah Marshall and talking about his next movie, and most of the interviewers ask him about the Muppet project.

But you don't have time to read hundreds of interviews. You have more important things to do, like shaving your alpaca. Fortunately, Tough Pigs is once again here to save your life, with our Frequently Asked Questions About the New Muppet Movie That That Guy Jason Segel Is Writing, otherwise known by the useful abbreviation FAQATNMMTTGJSIW.

Rest assured: We have all the answers.

Q: When will the new movie start filming?
A: We don't know.

Q: When will the new movie be released?
A: We don't know.

Q: What will the new movie be called?
A: We don't know. But it will absolutely, positively not be called Muppets Underwater.

Q: Why?
A: Jason Segel has made it very clear the he really, really doesn't like the movie Muppets Underwater.

Q: Wait, is that a real thing?
A: No. Presumably, he made it up as an example of the type of gimmicky Muppet movie he doesn't want to make.

Q: Okay. But if it were a real thing, what would the story be?
A: It would be about the government hiring a team of the world's leading scientists (the Muppets) to explore the remains of a 357-year-old shipwreck off the coast of Africa which is rumored to be haunted... but first they have to avoid getting eaten by sharks!

Q: Huh. Okay. So if Muppets Underwater were a real movie, what bonus features would be on the DVD?
A: Commentary by director Michael Bay, Kermit the Frog, and breakout new Muppet character Marty the Rappin' Giant Squid, and a featurette on the making of the incredible "rat synchronized swimming" sequence.

Q: Wow, that sounds really -- wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to be talking about the new script?
A: Oh yeah.

Q: Who will direct the new movie?
A: Nick Stoller, Segel's buddy who directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Q: Is Jason Segel a real Muppet fan?
A: Yes. His script for Forgetting Sarah Marshall included a few Muppet references. And in fact, he got the Muppet gig by pitching his idea to Disney.

Q: By the way, is his last name spelled "Segel" or "Segal"?
A: Yes.

Q: Is there a big Hollywood star that Jason Segel would compare to Kermit the Frog?
A: Yeah... Tom Hanks. Segel has mentioned several times that he sees Kermit's "Everyman" appeal as very similiar to that of Hanks. Can't you just see Kermit starring in Splash or The Man With One Red Shoe?

Q: So what's the plot of the new movie?
A: We don't know a lot yet, but Segel has revealed that it involves Kermit rounding up all the Muppets to put on a big show to save the Muppet Theater from a greedy oil tycoon who wants to get at the oil reserves located under the theater.

Q: Haven't they already done that "put on a show" thing?
A: Yeah, pretty much. But this one will be... different. Somehow. Maybe.

Q: Will my favorite character be in the movie?
A: Segel and Stoller have commited to working in all the major classic Muppet Show characters, right down to Sam the Eagle and Statler and Waldorf. But if your favorite character is a more obscure, latter-day creation, you might be out of luck. Sorry, Spamela Hamderson fans.

Q: Statler and Waldorf? Who are they?
A: The old guys.

Q: Has Jason Segel written a cameo for Charles Grodin?
A: Why, yes, he has. Though that doesn't necessarily mean Grodin will agree to do it. There were 12 years between his last two movie roles.

Q: Will there be any other cameos?
A: Yes. Segel wants to capture the feel of the first three theatrical Muppet films, and celebrity cameos will be a part of that. He has mentioned that his pals Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, and Mila Kunis all want to be in the movie.

Q: I want to be in the movie.
A: Me too!

Q: Will Jason Segel appear in the film?
A: Most likely. Nick Stoller has mentioned that there's a part for Segel as a ventriloquist whose dummy dreams of being a Muppet.

Q: I saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Will Jason Segel be naked in the Muppet movie?
A: No. But Kermit will.

Q: Will there be lots and lots of CGI effects in the movie?
A: Gosh, we hope not.

Q: Will the movie be good?
A: Gosh, we hope so.


Extra special thanks to Tough Pigs' own Joe Hennes for creating the pictures for this article.

Click here to discuss this article on the Tough Pigs forum! Especially if you are Jason Segel.

Labels: celebrities, in development, Muppet movies

Much like a bad pun or a rampaging Cookie Monster when a box of Thin Mints is nearby, death is unavoidable. Even more unavoidable is my own inability to keep up with current events. We at ToughPigs never claimed to be a news source, but I like to pay homage where homage is due when it comes to the untimely demise of people who were near and dear to the Muppets.

Looking back, it’s been a whopping ten months since I wrote about Merv Griffin's passing. Many a celebrity has passed away since then, and I’d like to share a few of their stories with you. If things get too sorrowful, let me know and I’ll come over to give you a hug.

The celebrity death that I’m most upset about neglecting to write here on ToughPigs is Muppet Show guest star Teresa Brewer, who passed away on October 17, 2007. I’ll be the first to admit that I had no idea who she was before seeing her on my Muppet Show DVDs, and the second to admit that I still kinda don’t know much about her non-Muppet career. Teresa sang “Cotton Fields” on a train, “Music Music Music” on some kind of prehistoric MP3 player, and “Spinning Wheel” in a particularly hilarious skit involving a swing, Sweetums, and no laws of physics. She also got the chance to binge in front of Miss Piggy while showing all of America that she eats an entire cake for lunch.

Bob Cunniff passed away at the age of 81 on January 20. He worked on The Today Show and The Dick Cavett Show in the 1960s, and then he joined the Sesame Street team as a writer and producer in 1972. In his three years with Sesame Street, he was directly involved with skits like “Morty Moot Mope” and “The Ballad of Casey McPhee.” In 1973, he shared an Emmy Award with Jon Stone for “Outstanding Achievement in Children's Programming.”

Anthony Minghella passed away at the age of 54 on March 18. He is best known to Henson fans for his work on The StoryTeller, for which he wrote the final scripts. He also wrote Living With Dinosaurs and he created The StoryTeller: Greek Myths. In 1996, he directed the film The English Patient, for which he called up some of his old buddies at the Jim Henson Company and hired them to create the special effects makeup used on the titular character.

NRA spokesperson Charlton Heston passed away on April 5. Aside from being referenced in passing by Statler and Waldorf in an episode of The Muppet Show, he provided the voice of The Mastiff in the Creature Shop film Cats and Dogs.and was (very loosely) parodied on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. He’s also famous for being Moses and kissing apes.

Del Ankers passed away on May 15 at the incredible age of 92. He was already well-known for photographing Presidents of the United States when he took the job as cinematographer for Jim Henson’s Wilson’s Meats commercials. He even appeared on camera in one of the Wilson’s Meats Meeting Films, which are wonderful slices of early Muppet life.

My all-time favorite Mel Brooks movie is Blazing Saddles, which would not be so great without Harvey Korman, who passed away on May 29 at 81 years old. His work on The Carol Burnett Show is priceless, but he arguably did his best work while hosting an episode in the first season of The Muppet Show. You have to admit, it takes some real acting chops to tame a wild Thog and turn into a giant chicken, all within a half-hour variety show. He re-teamed with the Jim Henson Company to voice the Dictabird in The Flintstones live-action film, as well as its sequel as Col. Slaghoople.

Most recently, early rock musician Bo Diddley passed away at the age of 79 on June 2. He appeared on Sesame Street twice: once in the celebrity version of “Monster in the Mirror,” and again to spoof his role in Bo Jackson’s “Bo Knows” commercials in the early 1990s. Rock and Roll would not be what it is today without Bo Diddley, and neither would my childhood.

So, hopefully there will be no more mourning for Muppet fans from here on, and everyone that has ever worked with the frog will live on with a prosperous life and lots of babies. But on the off chance that there will be more goodbyes on their way, I’ll do my best to make sure they’re immortalized here on ToughPigs.com. Harvey Korman would have wanted it that way.

Click here to remember Teresa, Bob, Anthony, Chuck, Del, Harvey, and Bo on the ToughPigs forum.

Labels: death

As a well-connected Muppet fan, chances are that you have heard the big news. No, not that Thog was appointed as George W. Bush's new press secretary. The Fraggle Rock movie is officially in pre-pre-preproduction! Ok, maybe that’s old news for those of us who read about it two years ago, but it’s always nice to see something new when you do a Google search for “Fraggle”.

Labels: Fraggle Rock, in development, Muppet movies

Season 3 of The Muppet Show comes out on DVD May 20, which is TODAY! Or, depending on when you read this, yesterday. Or two days ago or three days ago or five years ago if you read this in 2013. But the point is, I'm happier than a termite at a ventriloquist's dummy convention about the new DVDs, and I can't wait to hold Fozzie's huge face in my hands.

The season three shows I'm familiar with are full of hilarious/bizarre stuff. Pigs sing in Hawaiian! Gonzo falls in love with Big Bird! Miss Piggy sells her soul to a rock star! All these moments are terrific, but they're not the only reason I'm jazzed. See, I've been looking over the list of episodes over at Muppet Wiki, and I realized that almost half of these are episodes I've never seen before.

The third season was when The Muppet Show got all country & western, so many of the new-to-me episodes are the ones guest-starring country singers, like Kris Kristofferson (whose hits include "Help Me Make It Through the Night"), Roy Clark (whose hits include "Yesterday When I Was Young"), and Jean Stapleton (whose hits include "Boot Scootin' Boogie").

Other never-seen-by-me episodes include the ones guest-starring Cheryl Ladd, who is my third favorite Charlie's Angel, and Elke Sommer, whom I know nothing about. I think she's an actress, unless "Elke" is a man's name, in which case she's probably not an actress.

Maybe one of these episodes will have the funniest Veterinarian's Hosptial sketch ever. Maybe one of them will feature a musical number that will become my new favorite Muppet song. Maybe some of the non-comedian guest stars will surprise and delight me with their ability to share the stage with Muppets. I won't know until I watch the DVDs. Still, I can be certain of one thing: I will like these episodes of The Muppet Show.

I don't have to tell you that these are uncertain times we live in. Prices are up on every single thing that costs money, the airline industry and the housing market are both in dire straits, and nobody knows just what is wrong with Paula Abdul.

So it's incredibly comforting to know that I can purchase season three of The Muppet Show secure in the knowledge that it will be a good investment. I have no idea what gas prices will be tomorrow, but I know that The Muppet Show will make me chuckle and snicker and guffaw and sing along. When I get my DVDs home today, I can forget about plagues, famine and pestilence for a while and just get a kick out of Fozzie's bumbling attempts to write the script for the Harry Belafonte episode.

In these trying times, the Muppets are a sure thing. I, for one, plan on voting for these new DVDs for president in 2008, and I invite you all to do the same. Frog bless America.

Click here to discuss the season 3 DVDs on the Tough Pigs forum!

Labels: DVD, merchandise, the muppet show

If you have access to popular media in just about any form (and you’re reading this article, so that’s a pretty good indicator), you’ve probably heard at least one reference to Jason Segel’s private parts recently. The writer and star of the new Apatow-gang comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall forgoes his inhibitions in the name of his art repeatedly over the course of the film. Which brings only one question to the minds of Tough Pigs everywhere: Will he do the same for the Muppets?

What you may not have seen in the movie trailers, but have read in just about every interview Segel has given on the subject, is his new favorite story. It begins with the Henson Company designing puppets for a scene in Sarah Marshall, continues with Segel asking the Henson folks and then a roomful of Disney representatives what forthcoming projects to expect from the Muppets, then includes a moment of Segel’s anguish at the Muppets’ hackneyed abuse in recent years (“Enough with Muppets in the Old West and Muppets Underwater,” he’ll usually sigh at this point), and culminates with Segel signing on with fanboyish glee to write his very own Muppet movie.

Let Muppet enthusiasts everywhere rejoice! With Segel (and by extension, comedy hitmaker Judd Apatow) backing the project, nothing could possibly stand in the Muppets’ way! Unlike that America’s Next Muppet reality show and that Bert and Ernie travel series and the Fraggle Rock movie, this promise might actually deliver. Or will it? Now that we’ve seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall, how much excitement can we allow ourselves over this curious new prospect?

The nail-biters among us cringe. A novice to this genre, I wasn’t fully prepared for the degree of unabashed vulgarity in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Even though I laughed throughout, part of me wondered whether the same mind that just made a herpes joke could write in the Vaudevillian house style of the Muppets – rotten puns, corny gags and all. What if the "pearl necklace" joke in all the trailers were to be recast on our favorite pearl-wearing swine? Is the world ready for foam rubber full frontal?

Then again, Segel consistently touts his eagerness to return the Muppets to their roots. Reluctant to admit Muppets Tonight-era characters into his plans, Segel comes off as something of a Luddite; he’d rather see his old pals back in the spotlight, acting in their own story rather than in a recycled plot à la Muppet Treasure Island. He’s made abundantly clear that in his movie, the Muppets play only themselves, putting on a show to save their theater and featuring a healthy dose of celebrity cameos.

Let’s see how this sentiment plays out in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. As per Segel's vision, the movie features plenty of familiar faces. These actors, including many of Segel's friends now clamoring for Muppet movie cameos, look familiar in 2008 - but Muppet fans have cause to hold out for larger-than-life stars. (Feel free, incidentally, to join the hubbub over an expected Charles Grodin cameo and then name your top celebrity cameo choice on the Tough Pigs forum.) It’s all very well to see Kenneth from 30 Rock basically playing himself in Sarah Marshall, but will it stand the test of time in the manner of Joan Rivers powdering Piggy’s nose?

While we're on the subject of keeping the material timeless, I'd like to pitch my own plea for Segel to resist the temptation to write overtly topical material (i.e. no Miley Cyrus jokes). The Muppets became famous performing passé old songs; they risked irrelevance when nearly-outdated pop culture references became the easiest way to entertain. As Segel well knows, the Muppets revolve around more than gags; it's the particular wackiness of each character that makes the whole package funny. The Forgetting Sarah Marshall characters mostly fit this bill, ranging from believable (the hero, a self-destructive schmo), to regrettably predictable (the two lead females), to a supporting cast of genuinely amusing, almost Muppety in their singularity, one-note buffoons.

To Segel’s credit, the warm-heartedness and essential good cheer at the center of the more beloved Muppet projects show in the tone of Sarah Marshall. The movie pares the population of the Turtle Bay resort down to a handful of guests and employees, all interacting as though no one else were present, all running into only each other and making neighborly inquiries after each other's shockingly public sex lives. Even the celebrity hotel guests play along and mingle with the commoners. It's like watching a Love Boat episode, only with more reasonable hairstyles. If the Muppets were here, they’d even have their own ready-made Gopher.

All signs indicate Jason Segel’s intentions to be pure. We know for certain that he’s sick of Muppets Underwater (and after the third or fourth time reading an interview that references this fictional folly, so are the rest of us – though I estimate that it would stand a decent chance of rating higher than The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz on the watchability scale). If nothing else, the numerous Muppet references throughout Sarah Marshall, not to mention the Henson Company-heavy Dracula musical at the movie’s conclusion, reveal a deep-seated affection for puppets in Segel. His reported childhood admiration for Kermit touched even my curmudgeonly old heart. After ensuring that no one forgets Sarah Marshall, can Jason Segel be trusted to retrieve the Muppets from oblivion, too?

Click here to make your own cameo on the Tough Pigs forum!

Labels: celebrities, in development, Muppet movies

Season 39 of Sesame Street is coming to PBS this summer, and we're all vibrating fiercely with excitement. As usual, it's going to be a star-studded affair, and we've already seen announcements about several celebrities who will be dropping by the neighborhood to educate, entertain, and maybe grab a milkshake at Hooper's.

Which celebrity appearance do you think will be the coolest? Will it be Canadian rocker Feist, who is reportedly doing a variation on her hit "1234"? Will it be LL Cool J, whose very last name has often been the Letter of the Day?

What about David Beckham, who will be teaching Elmo the meaning of the word "persistence" as only a Spice Girl-marrying soccer star can? Maybe Sandra Oh of Grey's Anatomy will be the highlight of the season, as she portrays the Cookie Fairy. Ah, but Neil Patrick Harris just might top her -- he's playing "the greatest fairy in the world," the Fairy Shoeperson.

I know which one I'm most looking forward to, but which one are YOU anticipating? Let us know by dropping by the Tough Pigs forum to answer the very important question: "Which upcoming celebrity appearance on Sesame Street is gonna be the awesomest?"

Click here to place your vote in this poll on the Tough Pigs forum! (Hey, didn't I just say that?)

ToughPigsRyan@yahoo.com

Labels: poll, reader participation, Sesame Street, sesame workshop

posted by Ryan Roe  # 11:49 AM 0 Comments