TV SERIES · 1976– · UK
The Muppet Show
69 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (69)
- #001
Jim Henson wanted the series to end at the peak of its popularity and creativity, and it did. The final season had the highest Nielsen ratings of its run.
- #002
Kermit the Frog and Waldorf are the only characters who appeared in all 120 episodes of the series.
- #003
At first, the producers had such difficulty booking guest stars that they had to call on personal friends in the entertainment industry for help. That changed dramatically after Rudolf Nureyev agreed to appear in "Rudolf Nureyev" (1978) (#2.13). A famous ballet dancer appearing on such an odd show generated so much excitement that the series took off, and soon celebrities were lining up to appear.
- #004
Miss Piggy was initially performed alternately by Richard Hunt and Frank Oz. As the character's popularity grew, a reluctant Oz took on sole performer status. He once said that Piggy was such an intense and over-the-top woman that only a man could play her.
- #005
The Swedish Chef was a favorite of Jim Henson and Frank Oz because the two of them performed him together. Henson provided the head and voice, while Oz provided the hands. Often one of them would improvise, forcing the other to keep up.
- #006
In later episodes, Jim Henson had Steve Whitmire control Rowlf's hands during piano performances. This was done because Whitmire was a trained pianist and Henson wanted Rowlf's playing to look more realistic.
- #007
Many guest stars were asked about their favorite Muppet and were given scenes with that character. Miss Piggy was reported to be the most requested. Animal was a close second. The producers, however, appreciated it when guest stars preferred lesser-known Muppets; for example, Jean Stapleton performing with Crazy Harry gave them a chance to use fresher material.
- #008
Floyd Pepper's name combined the name of the rock band Pink Floyd with the title of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Reflecting this, Floyd was pink. His outfit and mustache resembled The Beatles' Lonely Hearts Club Band persona.
- #009
All the members of the Muppet band The Electric Mayhem were inspired by popular music figures or groups of the time: * Dr. Teeth's flamboyant costumes and mannerisms were modeled on New Orleans jazz musician Dr. John. * Floyd's name is a tribute to both The Beatles and Pink Floyd. * Janice was a female caricature of Mick Jagger; her name came from Janis Joplin. * The wild drummer Animal was inspired by The Who's notoriously destructive drummer Keith Moon. * Zoot, who often played intermittent saxophone, was based on Argentine saxophone legend Gato Barbieri. * Lips, a mostly silent trumpet player added in the fifth season, was inspired by Louis Armstrong.
- #010
Because the episodes were recorded in London, England, the series was one of the few American television shows unaffected by the 1980 Screen Actors Strike, which delayed the start of that year's television season.
- #011
The voice of Sam, who declares himself an "all-American eagle," was actually provided by Frank Oz, who is English and was born in Hereford.
- #012
An episode was usually shot in three days.
- #013
Statler and Waldorf took their names from two New York City hotels. Jim Henson based the two old men on professors at the University of Maryland. Waldorf's wife was named Astoria, inspired by the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
- #014
Because episodes aired in different regions in different orders, there is no established broadcast order. For this reason, the DVD releases placed the episodes in production order, and the same order is used here.
- #015
Initially, the producers intended to create Muppet versions of every guest star. These can be seen in the first episodes, in which the guest star receives a greeting. The practice was dropped after the third episode.
- #016
Some of Fozzie's physical appearance and much of his comic personality were modeled on those of the so-called "classic" Jewish and Borscht Belt comedians.
- #017
The Swedish Chef is the only character with real human hands, presumably because of the manual dexterity required.
- #018
Early in the series' run, most of the characters were redesigned. Miss Piggy's long hair and nose were replaced by shorter, curly hair and a shorter nose. Gonzo's nose was resized, and Fozzie's floppy ears and drooping mouth were removed because Frank Oz felt they were unnecessary for bringing the character to life.
- #019
The Muppet drummer Animal was inspired by Keith Moon of The Who.
- #020
In its first season, The Muppet Show struggled to book guest stars, but Joel Grey and Vincent Price were Jim Henson fans and were delighted to be invited.
- #021
Kermit is the only Muppet character to appear regularly on both The Muppet Show and Sesame Street (1969).
- #022
At first, the producers thought they had enough story material for only three seasons. But the characters they developed proved so creatively inspiring that two more seasons became possible.
- #023
Three guest stars lived to be 100: George Burns died on 9 March 1996 at the age of 100, Señor Wences died on 20 April 1999 at the age of 103, and Bob Hope died on 27 July 2003 at the age of 100.
- #024
Throughout the series, Jim Henson wrote a list of his dream guests and urged the writers and puppeteers to do the same. Henson's list included Bil Baird, Shari Lewis, Burr Tillstrom, Stan Freberg, Mae West, Mia Farrow, Princess Anne, Kim Novak and Katharine Hepburn. The Muppet performers and writing staff included Dustin Hoffman, David Bowie, Salvador Dalí, Sir Michael Caine, Robert De Niro, Frank Zappa, Meryl Streep, the entire Monty Python group and The Beatles. Other guest stars who were planned to appear but were cancelled due to scheduling problems included the music group ABBA, Robin Williams, Cher, Richard Pryor and Gina Lollobrigida.
- #025
The Swedish Chef is said to have been inspired by the first and only television appearance of Swedish cook Lars Bäckman. His appearance was a complete failure because he muttered a strange mixture of English and Swedish while frantically preparing some kind of food. The show's producers reportedly found it so funny that they created the Swedish Chef in Bäckman's likeness, thick moustache included. However, series writer Jerry Juhl denied this claim and believes Bäckman invented the rumour himself. Bäckman, who now earns his living in Sweden with a travelling cooking show, was reportedly paid eighty dollars for the rights to use his character on The Muppet Show. He is considered a good cook with a great sense of humour.
- #026
Actress Loretta Swit was an inspiration for the character Miss Piggy. Swit would eventually appear on the series and show that she was in on the joke.
- #027
Born on 20 January 1896, George Burns was the earliest-born guest star on the series. Señor Wences, born on 17 April 1896, was the oldest guest star at the time of his appearance; he was 84 when he appeared as a guest in 1980. At 14, Brooke Shields was the youngest guest star on the series.
- #028
The "Mahna-Mahna" number was first performed on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948).
- #029
Sometimes the close-up shots of Rowlf's hands playing his instrument were performed not by the usual puppeteers but by a real pianist wearing Rowlf-like gloves, playing the actual notes heard quite clearly, at least to any keyboardist.
- #030
The series is set in the Muppet Theatre, an old vaudeville house trying to recover after a long decline.
- #031
The series aired without commercials in the UK. Some additional scenes and musical numbers, mostly British music-hall pieces, were not seen in the US until the Disney Channel broadcast the series between 1992 and 1997. At the time, the Disney Channel was a premium, commercial-free channel. It was discontinued in 1997 when the Disney Channel became a basic cable network.
- #032
Frank Oz is often thought to be the inspiration for Fozzie Bear's name. Most of the puppeteers say Fozzie was actually named after Muppet designer and producer Faz Fazakas.
- #033
Vendaface, a foul-mouthed vending machine that attacks any Muppet foolish enough to feed it money, was designed for only one sketch. It was so expensive that executive producer David Lazer insisted it be used in a series of sketches to get the production company its money's worth.
- #034
In season 1, Miss Piggy had brown hair and no eyelashes.
- #035
One episode was withdrawn entirely because of a notorious guest star. Others are unavailable or shortened due to copyright issues.
- #036
The Jack Parnell Orchestra provided all the musical accompaniment for the big band. Jack Parnell, a respected jazz drummer and bandleader, named the character Animal after playing the drums himself. Note: Some sources claim that Ronnie Verrell, a part-time drummer on the series, performed some of the heavier solo parts, particularly in the epic "drum battle" between Animal and Buddy Rich.
- #037
The Pigs in Space segments included recycled button panels and other set pieces from the Moonbase UFO set (1970).
- #038
On 19 February 2021, it joined the Disney+ streaming service with all five seasons, though not every episode was included.
- #039
In the universe of the series, the Muppet Theatre is owned by J. P. Grosse, who rents the building to the Muppets. Grosse is portrayed as Scooter's uncle.
- #040
Between 1977 and 1981, the series' cast and crew were nominated for 21 Primetime Emmy Awards, but won only 4 of them.
- #041
The entire show was recorded at the ATV/ITC/Central TV Borehamwood/Elstree Studios complex. The site was later bought by the BBC and, since its 1985 premiere, has been the main filming location for the BBC soap opera EastEnders (1985).
- #042
The original Muppet Show was a programme broadcast on television in the late 1950s called Sam and Friends. At that point Kermit was actually a lizard, not a frog.
- #043
The Muppets Valentine Show (1974) and The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence (1975) were produced long before regular production began on the first season. They were made as pilots to be sold to television stations, but although both aired as prime time specials on ABC, neither was ordered as a full series.
- #044
Although the series was filmed in the United Kingdom, its fictional setting is a theatre in New York City.
- #045
In the more than 40 years since the series was produced, the rights holders of most of the songs have merged with larger record companies and music publishing giants. When the DVD versions were first released, many music publishers and record companies were merging and splitting and artists were reclaiming their masters, so it was unclear where which rights had gone. Given the volume of music used, it would be far easier for the 2021 Disney+ streaming release to clear the various rights from a few sources rather than many small independent publishers.
- #046
Three married couples appeared on the show together: Kris Kristofferson and Rita Coolidge, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, and Robert Shields and Lorene Yarnell Jansson. Others, such as Candice Bergen and her father Edgar Bergen, and Loretta Lynn and her younger sister Crystal Gayle, appeared in separate episodes.
- #047
The producers considered an episode paying tribute to Australian culture, with Don Lane and Bert Newton as guest stars. At the time, Lane and Newton were the hosts of The Don Lane Show (1975), the most-watched locally produced programme in Australia. However, the producers decided they were not big enough names for an international audience.
- #048
According to the autobiography of Muppet Show writer Joseph A. Bailey, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew was modelled on Chief Executive Sir Lew Grade, who was also the inspiration for the name of the Muppet character Lew Zealand.
- #049
Three guest stars died before the series ended: Zero Mostel on 8 September 1977, Edgar Bergen on 30 September 1978 and Peter Sellers on 24 July 1980. Mostel in fact died three months before his episode aired in the United States on 12 December 1977.
- #050
Four pairs of guest stars died on the same day as each other: Andres Bossard and Nancy Walker died on 25 March 1992, Dizzy Gillespie and Rudolf Nureyev on 6 January 1993, Milton Berle and Dudley Moore on 27 March 2002, and Mac Davis and Helen Reddy on 29 September 2020.
- #051
The name "Muppet" was coined from a combination of the words "marionette" and "puppet".
- #052
The series received an award of merit from a chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), a patriotic service organisation for women.
- #053
Many musical numbers, including The Beatles' Lennon-McCartney songs, belonged to the music publisher then owned by the original co-production partner ATV, also known as ITC (Associated Television). This is the same music publishing catalogue that would be bought by Michael Jackson, later acquired by Sony Music and later still known in 2021 as Sony-ATV Music Publishing.
- #054
The Muppet Show could arguably be considered a spin-off of Saturday Night Live (1975). The Muppets were a regular fixture on that show during its first year, until they launched their own variety show in 1976 (which also aired on Saturday nights, but at 6:30 p.m.).
- #055
Although Jim Henson was known in the United States as the creator of the iconic American children's series Sesame Street (1969), he tried in vain to sell the concept of this new programme to several US television networks, but none showed interest in pursuing the idea. In desperation, Henson approached the British television and film mogul Sir Lew Grade. Grade liked the idea and agreed to finance a series on the condition that Henson make it in Britain. The series was an instant hit in the United Kingdom and was sold to other countries, where it also drew interest. Ironically, many American viewers were surprised to learn that, despite appearances, it was not an American-made programme.
- #056
The series broke ratings records in the United Kingdom. By late December 1976, each episode was drawing 14 million viewers.
- #057
In real life, Jim Henson owned a green Lotus Éclat with Kermit eyes in its headlights. Some called it "Car-mit."
- #058
The series was co-produced by the British television broadcaster Associated Television (ATV, 1955-1982), which could broadcast its programmes only to the Midlands region of England. In the rest of the United Kingdom, it was broadcast by affiliates of the ITV network, the country's oldest commercial network.
- #059
The production of the television series was approved by British television executive Lew Grade (1906-1998), who was already convinced that programmes featuring puppetry could appeal to an international audience. Grade had previously helped market Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation shows, which made extensive use of electronic puppets.
- #060
Between 1977 and 1980, the series and its production team were nominated for 9 British Academy Television Awards (BAFTA), but won only 3 of them.
- #061
The series premiered in Japan in 1981, but only fifteen episodes were dubbed and broadcast.
- #062
George Schlatter was at one point set to be involved in the series. His involvement is mentioned in The Muppet Show Pitch Reel (1976).
- #063
Although it was produced primarily for British viewers, the series was successfully marketed in many countries. According to a January 1977 article in "The Guardian", television stations in more than 100 countries had either bought the broadcast rights to the series or were in negotiations to do so.
- #064
The series' guest stars included eight previous Oscar winners: Julie Andrews, George Burns, Joel Grey, Glenda Jackson, Cloris Leachman, Liza Minnelli, Rita Moreno and Peter Ustinov, as well as four future Oscar winners: Alan Arkin, James Coburn, Elton John and Paul Williams (who won the Oscar for Best Song a few months after appearing on the series).
- #065
The original star of the puppet show was Nigel, not Kermit.
- #066
Guests who did not sing include Juliet Prowse, Harvey Korman, Peter Ustinov, Phyllis Diller, Mummenschanz, Don Knotts, John Cleese, Jonathan Winters, Doug Henning, Victor Borge, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Tony Randall.
- #067
The series' guest stars consisted of popular actors, pop singers and entertainment veterans of the time.
- #068
Season 1 is the only season that does not include the Pigs in Space sketch.
- #069
Seasons 1 and 2 are the only seasons that do not include the Muppet Sports sketch.
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