BREAKING NEWS!
ToughPigs has uncovered a HUGE discovery that will redefine the way we look at Jim Henson and his legacy – forever! Apparently, before Jim ever took thread to needle to create the cast of characters for his first television show, Sam & Friends, he took ink to paper and created a much-younger version of the cast than we’ve ever seen before. We can exclusively reveal that Henson’s first attempt to make a name for himself was with this creation – Sam & Friends Babies!
As you may know, Jim Henson grew up fascinated by television and wanted to break into the medium any way he could, and evidently his first pass at breaking in was heavily influenced by a hero of his, Walt Disney. According to animation historian Sousaphone MacGillicuddy, who uncovered these drawings in a can of Wilkins Coffee along with a 6-page pitch document for the proposed show, Henson brought the idea to WRC-TV in 1955, which they loved and wanted to buy on the spot. “The pie-eyed characters were colorful and friendly, and had wild imaginations, which the station loved,” MacGillicuddy says. But there was one problem: WRC-TV didn’t have any paint. The whole studio was devoid of the materials needed to produce an animated show.
Furthermore, they had no budget to buy the needed materials to make the show, due to investing in fabric and thread and ping pong balls for NBC’s production of Peter Pan starring Mary Martin. “They completely overestimated how much fabric they’d need to make the crocodile,” MacGillicuddy told us. “They did try to get some government funds for the public access channel but the White House denied theyir request. Thanks, Eisenhower!”
Never one to miss an opportunity, Henson snuck into the materials closet, built some puppets, and came back the next day saying, “I’m a puppeteer now, will you hire me?” And the rest is history!
But finally, the truth can be revealed! Here are the concept designs for the original show. See Baby Sam! Marvel at Baby Mushmellon! Feast your eyes on Baby Harry the Hipster and Baby Yorick! And take a gander at Baby Kermit the Not-Frog, complete with his favorite stuffed animal, Glowy the Glowworm! All of your favorites from Sam & Friends are here – and they would’ve been there for you every afternoon from 6:40pm to 6:45pm if Henson had his way.
But we got stuck with a bunch of puppets. Oh well!
Thanks to Jon Brangwynne for his mad detective skills!
Click here to do some visual thinking on the ToughPigs forum!
by Matt Wilkie
