Last week, we published the latest segment in Whitney Grace’s “The World of Muppet Crap” series, which featured one of the more bizarre Sesame Street toys we’ve seen: A Big Bird eggbeater.
Click here to read it. Go ahead, we’ll wait.
Weird, right?? Well, someone else read the article and found it slightly strange. That someone is Michael Frith, longtime Muppet designer. In addition to designing characters such as Fozzie Bear, Dr. Teeth, and the Fraggles, he also served as art director for many many many Muppet products. One of which (you guessed it!) was the Sesame Street toy kitchen set, including the Big Bird eggbeater.
Michael sent us an email with his memories of designing this particular toy. His message is below.
For, I dunno, 40 years? people have been asking me: Of which among all my Muppet inventions am I most proud? Well, pride IS a sin, but nevertheless my unhesitant answer has always been that there are two: in reverse order — the Doozers and… the Big Bird eggbeater. For EXACTLY the reasons that seem to have left Whitney Grace a little dazed and… disturbed.
Over the years I must have designed hundreds — thousands? — of Muppet/Sesame/Fraggle/Muppet Baby things: toys, dolls, games, television shows, books, posters, puppets, parade floats and balloons, albums, arena shows, electronics, clocks, DVDs, furniture, figurines, gymsets, music boxes, ride-ons, calendars, cookware, chinaware, sleepwear, flatware, hardware, software, wearware… it was always a kick to come in and see what area in which I had absolutely no expertise I’d get to come up with something that day. And make it as good as it could be (OK, within the always present limitations).
So when a Sesame Street cooking set for little kids consisting of, among other things an eggbeater, came up… I started doodling. What would make a good eggbeater? The only thing that seemed the right shape was… The Bird. All the right parts: a beak for the grip! An arm for the handle! Legs for the beaters! How perverse was that? But I couldn’t resist drawing it — and it made me laugh (which is why I was there in the first place). Surely someone along the way would say “WHAAT??” And that would be that. But no one did.
Until… just… now! Amazing.
Thank you, Ms Grace, for, before I die, giving me some measure of corroboration.
And by amusing coincidence, only a few weeks ago Bonnie Erickson at the Henson Legacy asked me for a list of my favorite toys from among all those we’d worked on. Brain death! Too many for me to even begin to sort out, I replied. Except for one…
All my best to all the Pigs!
-Michael
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by Joe Hennes and Michael Frith
