We are saddened to learn that musical icon Tony Bennett has passed away. Bennett leaves behind a legacy of songs like “I Left My Heart in San Francisco”, as well as notable collaborations with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Lady Gaga.
Bennett also leaves behind a slew of collaborations with the Muppets. As argued in a recent episode of our Great Muppet Fandom Panel podcast, Tony Bennett was easily one of the best friends to the Muppets over the years. In honor of this legend, let’s go through some of his Muppet moments.
His first appearance on Sesame Street was filmed in 1995, singing “Little Things”. Despite no Muppets appearing in the segment, it wouldn’t be long before he’d be rubbing elbows (and flippers) with the entire gang.
In 1996, Tony Bennett guest starred in an episode of Muppets Tonight. In the episode, he sang a duet with Kermit (“Firefly”, seen above), and bonded with fellow crooner Johnny Fiama.
Perhaps his greatest Muppet moment, Bennett returned to Sesame Street in 1997 to help kick off the season-long storyline of Slimey going to the moon. Memorably, Bennett spoofed the standard “Fly Me to the Moon” with “Slimey to the Moon”, which seems to be the way the song should’ve always been written.
In 2014, Bennett was welcomed back by the Muppet troupe with an appearance in Muppets Most Wanted in “We’re Doing a Sequel”, alongside his frequent collaborator Lady Gaga. Working at the crafts services table, the duo joke (in song) about appearing as one-line cameos.
As many of us know, Miss Piggy actually saved Bennett’s life once. Back in 2016, they appeared together in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. As you can clearly see in the video above, Bennett seems to slip, but the ever-strong Miss Piggy is able to help keep him from falling on live TV.
Finally, Miss Piggy returned to Bennett’s life with an appearance at his 90th birthday celebration (alongside Regis Philbin and Don Rickles). While the two don’t technically interact, Piggy does get the chance to profess her love for him one more time.
As you can see, Tony Bennett truly was one of the greatest friends to the Muppets over the years. We’re extremely grateful for all the quality work he’s done with them, and we’ll cherish the memories.
Click here to help us remember Tony Bennett on the ToughPigs forum!
by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
