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A Short History Of The Muppets

By: Samantha Gilmartin

There are a scant few celebrities who can say they have enjoyed constant fame since the mid-sixties. Even fewer can make this claim and say they have had no negative press in the 40 years they have been on television.

Despite what tabloids would have you believe, there is a group of characters who have constantly appeared on television since the 1960s, never once come close to a scandal, never aged and most surprising of all, are made of felt.

The Muppets are somewhat of a television institution, a part of many of our childhoods. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the excitable, fuzzy little puppets is the fact they continue to entertain us well into adulthood. Films like Muppets Treasure Island were equally popular among children and adults.

Reviews spoke about Miss Piggy and Kermit the frog as if they were real, living actors. USA Today praised the movie, saying; "Leave it to Miss Piggy and Kermit to discover uncharted gold in the shipwrecked-pirate genre". This is the power of Jim Henson's Muppets, they can make us forget that they are made of felt, ping pong balls and rods, but why? Where did the world's most beloved puppets come from and what distinguishes a Muppet from a puppet?

The Muppets took their first tentative steps into the world of television in the mid-50s. Their now legendary creator, Jim Henson, was still studying at the University of Maryland at the time. Although he had made puppets for Saturday morning television in high school, Henson was unaware of the monumental popularity his creations were to enjoy in just a few short years.

The Muppet phenomenon began to take shape in 1955 on the Sam and Friends Show, it was there that Kermit the frog first appeared. He was not yet officially a frog, more of a nondescript lizard-like Muppet. He lacked his distinctive neck frill so the join between body and head was still visible and his voice was not quite that of the polished Kermit of The Muppet Show. He was made from a green coat discarded by Henson's mother, with old ping pong balls for eyes.

Kermit came to be the template for the Muppets, large eyes, a wide mouth and arms controlled by rods rather than strings. Unlike other puppets, usually made of wood, Henson made his Muppets from foam rubber and soft materials, allowing for a greater range of realistic movement and emotion.

As the concept developed it became clear that a Muppet can be almost anything. They have been human, animals, anthropomorphic animals (such as Miss Piggy and Kermit), robots, aliens and anything in-between. This multi-species cast transcended gender, race and religion and clearly showed Henson's values of friendship and cultural harmony.

It is not only the physical design of the Muppets that characterizes them. Henson pioneered the use of the camera frame as a sort of stage. He ensured his "muppeteers" were out of sight by simply holding the Muppets above their heads and filming the suspended Muppets from the "waist" up. Human guests would stand on platforms or muppeteers would work from pits similar to those used by orchestras to ensure the illusion was not broken.

Maintaining the illusion that the Muppets are alive is a massive part of why they became so popular, Henson investigated all relevant new technologies to keep this illusion going. Remote control, partially motorized Muppets and some degree of CGI animation is now used to allow the Muppets to do things impossible for normal puppets such as riding bicycles and dancing with no visible muppeteer.

Despite the popularity of modern Muppets life was not always easy for Henson and his beloved pals. Throughout the 1960s the Muppets mainly appeared as guests on talk shows, doing the occasional skit for variety shows and on adverts. They were made and operated by Henson and his wife, Jane, until the birth of Henson's first child, after which Jane quit muppeteering to look after the new baby.

This was the point when Henson hired Frank Oz, the men developed a close friendship and a distinctive double-act. Their partnership came to shape the Muppets, the characters of Bert and Ernie show the pair's well developed performing partnership at its best.

In 1969 Henson began work on Seasame Street, this was to be one of the Muppet's greatest successes. After a shaky start the show went on to receive 109 Emmy Awards and is currently one of the longest running programs in television history.

The runaway success of Seasame Street gave Henson the credibility to try groundbreaking new formats. He was keen to attempt a weekly television show aimed at the entire family rather than exclusively children. American television rejected the idea, they did not see the Muppets as characters for adults.

Eventually Henson secured financing in the UK. The Muppets creative team was moved to England and filming for The Muppet Show began. The show was family friendly but featured a satirical sense of humor that was designed to appeal to the parents of the children watching, an element which would become common in Henson's work, notably Dinosaurs and Fraggle Rock.

A combination of talented muppeteers, well designed Muppets, non-offensive family friendly scripts and lovable characters created the global phenomenon that is the Muppets. This wild popularity combined with the show's illusion that the Muppets were alive led to them being treated as such.

Kermit the frog interviewed massive stars on The Muppet Show between 1976 and 1981 including: Diana Ross, Christopher Reeve, Johnny Cash, Elton John, John Cleese and Alice Cooper. Slowly The Muppet Show began to be taken seriously, as the show progressed it became the most desirable program for celebrities to appear on. Kermit the frog was the Parkinson of the late 70s.

It was after the international success of The Muppet Show that Kermit and friends began to be treated as individuals rather than characters. Miss Piggy's book went to number one on the New York best-sellers list, Kermit became the first and only frog to address the Oxford Union and the characters became celebrities in their own right. Kermit the frog even has a Hollywood star.

At the height of Muppet-mania disaster struck, soon after the completion of Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3D Henson fell ill. On May 4th he commented he felt under the weather, 12 days later the father of the Muppets was dead. Henson died from toxic shock syndrome brought on by a severe infection similar to pneumonia.

Two memorials were held for Henson, one in the US and one in the UK. Nobody wore black at either service and Big Bird sung Kermit the frog's signature song "Its not easy being green". Everyone waved a Muppet butterfly as the surreal but deeply moving service progressed.

So just why do the Muppets capture our imaginations so? It is perhaps the message of tolerance, love and friendship Henson wove deeply into every character. It could have been his tireless devotion to his art, to maintaining the illusion that the felt and foam characters he created were real. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact Henson's puppets got to interview and were interviewed by the biggest names of the day.

Maybe their enviable film and television careers. Whatever the reason, the Muppets have enjoyed a 40 year media career and they are showing no signs of slowing down.

A new Muppet movie is on the way and The Jim Henson Company (now run by Henson's children) has promised two new films based on Henson's work, Fraggle Rock and The Dark Crystal. These new films will continue Jim Henson's legacy, characters that bring families together and extol the virtues of love and friendship, two things the world can never have too much of.

Article Source: http://bytepowered.org/articles

Samantha is an expert Research and Theatre consultant. She is currently writing for Show and Stay and is very excited about the upcoming West End revival of Oliver!

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