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[0:01] Fergie L. Philippe: It's Time to Meet The Muppets. So let's turn on the mic for Muppet Show beginners and experts alike. Come on and join the party that's only just begun. Let's smile for a while. It's time to have some fun. We're taking in a show tonight. Play the music, light the lights. Hit the curtain up and then. It's Time to Meet The Muppets all over again. It's Time to Meet The Muppets all over again. So take a break and take a load off. Let's all take a ride in a Muppet-tastic time machine with Fergie as your guide. So no more hesitation. Let's start the episode. We're moving right along. Let's get this show out on the road. Got the show on the road. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Podcast. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, good.

[1:55] Fergie L. Philippe: I'm not gonna worry about it. It's, as I said, podcast. I am. I am. I'm just gonna sit down and talk about it. It's like Voldemort, like it which must not be named, okay? If you don't remember what the Around the Corner set is, or you're too young to know what that is, Around the Corner was this, essentially, added part of the set of Sesame Street but, well, hold on. Around the Corner is so iconic to me because that is my era of Sesame Street. That is when I grew up around Sesame Street and Sesame Street was so prevalent with the Around the Corner set, especially the furry arms and the park. That is so iconic to me. However, a lot of kids were not able to really keep up with all the plotlines and the new characters that were added because a lot of new characters ended up being added to that Around the Corner set, especially in the furry arms.

And so, you know, that entire thing of the Around the Corner set got dropped after a few years, but it lives fondly in my memories. Ruth Buzzi is an incredible comedian who joins a long list of performers who play off the Muppets just brilliantly, but before we get into that, we have a bit of Muppet history.

[3:13] Fergie L. Philippe: Today, I want to talk about Richard Hunt, another one of the original core members of the Muppet performer troupe that of course included, once again, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goltz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire, and of course, I'm talking about the main folks from the Muppet show. Of course, I would never want to forget the iconic people that include Martin Robinson and Fran Brill, Camille Bernara, all of these different people who have worked with the Muppets for quite an era, Aaron Oscar, Jane Henson herself. There are plenty of people, but when I talk about the main core of performers, I talk about those six guys from the Muppet show years. But today, I want to talk about Richard Hunt.

[4:01] Fergie L. Philippe: Richard Hunt, who's famously known for playing characters like Scooter, Janice, Beaker, on Sesame Street, of course, he did Two-Headed Monster, and Placido Flamingo, and Forgetful Jones. But we'll get into all of that. Richard was born in the Bronx, but was actually primarily raised in New Jersey. Richard was actually kind of born into a family of performers, or people who were very artistically inclined, and he grew up himself doing puppet shows for local kids in New Jersey. And he was himself a fan of Jim Henson's creation of Muppets. So, much a fan that after high school, Richard famously cold-called from a payphone, Henson Associates, and got in touch with Jim Henson himself and asked if they were auditioning puppeteers. Funny enough, that very day, they were actually auditioning puppeteers. So, Richard got himself down and auditioned, which at this same audition, apparently Fran Brill was also auditioning.

[5:05] Fergie L. Philippe: And from there, they were both hired to be a part of the holiday special, The Great Santa Claus Switch, where they both played frackles. From there, Richard specifically was hired to perform on numerous television appearances and projects, you know, things like Ed Sullivan's show and things like that. From there, he was hired full-time on Sesame Street, where he mostly right-handed and did background characters and stuff like that. But over the years, obviously, he grew into more of a main character or main feature performer. He went on to perform in other specials and projects that, of course, included Tammanella Grinderfall in The Frog Prince. He only did the puppeteering while Jerry Jewel supplied the voice.

Played Charlie Muskrat in Emmett Otter's Jug Band Christmas, one of the four friends. Wiff in The Land of Gorge, which was the son of King Plubas and his wife, which was that infamous series of sketches on Saturday Night Live. And then he did some background characters and stuff for the pilot presentations of The Muppet Show, which was Sex and Violence, and the Valentine's Day special.

[6:11] Fergie L. Philippe: He eventually joined the cast of performers in London so that they could shoot The Muppet Show, where he ended up performing the characters of Scooter in the first season. Where he ended up performing the characters of Scooter, and in the first season, frequently swapped with Frank Oz in the role of Miss Piggy, as I've talked about a few times. He eventually also took on the roles of Sweetums and Beaker and Janice and Statler as well. With Janice, though, fun fact, Janice wasn't always performed by Richard, which I think I've mentioned. Janice was originally performed by Aaron Oscar, and she had much more of a voice like this. A little bit more, um... I want to say film noir. Something very Casablanca.

And then eventually she went to, like, kind of a here place for Shirley. Uh... Thank you, thank you. I'm here all week. I do impressions non-stop. Richard quickly becomes one of the, you know, company members', like, brightest and most shining personalities. He's known for, you know, his boisterous energy, and also Richard was just pleasant and hilarious company to be around for, you know, guest stars, and also the creative team and the cast and the crew for Henson Associates.

[7:19] Fergie L. Philippe: Richard also kind of went on to take on a lot of leadership roles over the years, moving on to direct, um... several, you know, Sesame Street, like home video specials, and an episode of Fraggle Rock, and Richard was a big mentor to a lot of the performers, including one that we're going to be talking to later today, Noel McNeil. At the end of the episode we'll be putting on a little... Well, it'll either be the end of the episode or it'll be a separate episode, because me and Noel actually ended up talking for quite an amount of time, but Noel was a mentee to Richard Hunt and learned so much from him, and so we get to talk about that a little bit. And he often, you know, looked out for younger puppeteers, especially on the set of Sesame Street, and gave them as much screen time as possible, and other things, and he always generously took them to lunch.

[8:13] Fergie L. Philippe: Richard really quickly became somebody who was a trusted eye and creative target for many of the projects they worked on. On Sesame Street, like I said before, you know, he went on to becoming one of the, like, more prominent players doing roles like, you know, Forgetful Jones, and Gladys the Cow, and Placido Flamingo, like I said. But what's interesting about his work, one of the two-headed monsters with Jerry Nelson, what's interesting about his time on Sesame Street is that, you know, Jim and Frank were often doing all these different things, whether it was Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, you know, Frank was directing Little Shop of Horrors, and all of these other films. Boat Finger, you know, those much later, I'm crazy.

But, you know, they were doing so many busy things. Jerry and Richard, which I found out from Noel, you know, were traveling back and forth between Toronto and New York to do Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock, and so Jerry and Richard really became these kind of uncles or godfathers of big leadership roles to the younger puppeteers over at Sesame Street, and so Richard's impact on the cast of Sesame Street, especially those who are, you know, they're now like Pam Marciaro and David Rudman and Noel and Martin Robinson, you know, there are so many people who really learned under Jerry and Richard because they were kind of the heads of the puppeteers when Jim and Frank were gone.

[9:45] Fergie L. Philippe: And there's just a lot of love and a lot of wonderful memories associated with kind of that time period around the 80s and, you know, early-ish 90s, which is where we get into this. Richard Hunt actually passed away from HIV-AIDS on January 7th in 1992. Richard's characters that included Scooter, Janice, and one of the two-headed monsters were left to David Rudman, who also performs Cookie Monster and Baby Bear. David Rudman was a close friend of Richard's and he worked frequently with him. Richard leaves behind a legacy as well, like Jerry Nelson. You know, Richard's legacy is very much of generosity and passion and it's something that's never talked about enough. I mean, Richard Hunt is truly unbelievably underrated when it comes to the public persona of who the Muppet performers were.

Celebrities and stars who worked with the Muppets, you know, people like Rudolf Nureyev and Mark Hamill have discussed impacts that he's made on them and close friendships that he's made with them. Working with the Muppets, but also kind of in life in general, and anybody who worked with the Muppets around that era probably walked away knowing the most about Richard Hunt. Richard Hunt was just such a bright and big personality that it was impossible to forget him. You know, his talent shines through his performance, but so did his enthusiasm for his work for the Henson Company and his life in general. Richard is fondly remembered by friends as a little shit, but in the best way possible. Rest in paradise, Mr. Hunt. We love you.

[11:35] Fergie L. Philippe: Moving into the actual show. Guys, theme song. Here we go again. Moving into the actual show, y'all. Theme song again. A little change. This one, it's only one word. So again, y'all, I might be overdoing it or overanalyzing it, but just stay with me, okay? To introduce our guest star, that's what it's time to do. Instead of, to introduce our guest star, that's what I'm here to do. What? Why? I don't understand. Maybe it was an accident. Who knows? I don't know. I'm not even really going to make any opinion on it. It just happened, okay? When Kermit comes out, we hear entrance music and sometimes it's like, we'll hear that a few times throughout the show. It's usually not entrance music, I don't think.

Maybe I'm wrong about that. Maybe they do do it a few times. I can't remember, but it hasn't happened yet. So this was a fun one for us. Moving into the opening number, Sunny. Finally, finally I get to talk about Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem in full. So Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, what? Dr. Teeth and the Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. Resident, I guess rock band, but they really play it all. They play jazz, they play funk, they play hip-hop, they play folk, they can play country. They do it all. And a few of them are members in the house band as well for the

[13:18] Fergie L. Philippe: Dr. Teeth is obviously the leader and the keyboard player based on an artist from New Orleans named Dr. John, who actually just passed away not too long ago. The original core members of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are Dr. Teeth on keyboard, Floyd on bass, Janice on guitar, Zoot on saxophone, and Animal on drums, all making up members of the different Muppet performers. Dr. Teeth, played by Jim, Animal played by Frank, Floyd is played by Jerry, Janice is played by Richard, and Zoot is played by Dave Goles. Later on, they add members, or they, the other two members of the Electric Mayhem that are kind of like John Stamos and the Beach Boys, where like they come in every now and then, but like they're members, but they're not really members, are Lips, who's played by Steve Whitmire, and Clifford, Clifford, yeah, played by Kevin Clash.

And the band is really, I would say, like the official band of the Muppets, like in every movie they show up, every, you know, they are some of the most consistent musical acts in, one of the most consistent musical acts in the Muppet world, period. Arguably my favorite band on earth, I love Dr. Teeth in the Electric Mayhem, and they were kind of my first things that I fell in love with in terms of the Muppets, especially Animal. Animal was my favorite when I was growing up, and the Electric Mayhem just represent cool and funk, and just, they are so unbelievably awesome. So we, you know, we get to see them really in their element here, but they, of course, there's always a bit, you know, they start the song, which is "Sunny" by soul R&B artist Sunny Hebb, one of the most recorded songs, or like most covered songs ever, funny enough, but obviously, you know, they're playing the song, and Animal is like, too slow, and they go faster and faster and faster until they all pass out.

Great bit, short bit, good bit. Um, it's really wonderful to see how incredibly defined these characters are. Janice is the only one that, you know, consistently, only because of the performer who was playing them, because it was Aaron Oscar, and then it went on to Richard Hunt, but, but, you know, Floyd, Animal, Zoot, and Dr. Teeth are who they were from the first moment they were introduced. Like, these characters, we know exactly who these characters are. We know that they're these crazy, hippie, definitely high band members. And they're so, and I think that's the awesome thing about Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem is that like, so much of the joke of the Muppets is that the Muppets are trying so hard to be good, but they're not.

They're, they're actually not really successful at the things that they do. But Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem are actually unbelievable. They are an incredible band. They make really good, fun music. It's, it's weird sometimes. It's like, you know, strange music that they make, but, but, you know, can you picture that from the Muppet movie? Or you can't take no for an answer from Muppets Take Manhattan. Even, you know, Livin' My Night Life from Great Muppet Caper. I mean, they make such good music. And it is really awesome that, you know, these characters have never really changed. Like, these characters have stayed the same for the past over, I mean, now 50 years. It's really, really incredible.

Moving out of the opening number, going into the backstage plot of the show. I love Scooter and Kermit's relationship. I think it's the Jim Neighbors episode, which is, is that next? I believe, I believe that's next. The Jim Neighbors episode, I think, is where we finally get like an introduction of who Scooter is and how he ended up in the theater. But the, the funny thing about these two, and it's a running joke throughout the whole series, is that Scooter wants to do something. Kermit originally says no. Scooter always is like, yeah, but my uncle who owns the theater would love this. And then Kermit's like, okay, what do you want? You know, immediately. It's such a great joke and it works every time.

And they don't use it too much, but they use it just enough to always make it consistently funny. The backstage plot involves Scooter. Scooter's uncle, I think, orders a mechanical wind-up host. This is one of the most solid backstage plots of the first season. A mechanical wind-up host, but the host literally just looks like Kermit with a giant, like, toy twisty thing in its back. Like it's just a wind-up tool in its back. And it's so weird. It's so strange and so funny. Jim does such a good job at differentiating, obviously, between the robot and Kermit. But as the show gets, you know, the show continues and, and the wind-up host becomes a little bit more comfortable, you know, the, the line between who's Kermit and who's the robot is blurred and it just becomes really, really great stuff.

We move on into at the dance, which, you know, this is actually one of their most, more solid rounds. They have a lot of coming back, comeback jokes. Comeback jokes are obviously jokes that, that come back around, you know, stand-up comedians will do this all the time. One of my favorites I have to think of is Dave Chappelle's joke about, you know, I met, I met OJ Simpson four different times and he goes through the whole show, ends the show having told three of the stories. And then as an encore, he comes back and tells the fourth time. Great comeback joke. And so there's a great series of comeback jokes with the blue frackle about his dance skills and his feet. And then at the end, he's like, I told you, I have three feet.

He lifts them up and he falls. Hilarious. Right after the dance, there's like a little, a scene with Statler and Waldorf about how Statler needs to stretch his legs. And then animals like, I'll do it. And then like completely pull his leg. It's so funny. And it's such a weird little non-sequitur and, and these kinds of little things become a lot more frequent as the show goes on over the years. Statler and Waldorf play this really interesting function in the show where there are a couple of times when they come on stage and, you know, there's a plot line in season two where, you know, they're, they're in love with one of the guest stars and, you know, want to make sure that they are, they are seen and, and want to try to woo her.

But, but, you know, often, you know, Statler and Waldorf don't leave past their, don't leave past their, what do you want to call it? Oh my gosh. Their balcony. And there's a lot of sequences that happen up there that are really memorable in the show. And it's a really interesting thing that they do because they're not scenes. They're not sketches. There's just, there's, they are just these guys. They are just these little like non-sequitur moments that happen throughout the show. So it's, it's really fascinating. We get out of that and we get into the Kermit and Robot dance scene. This routine is reminiscent and, and a basically a direct callback to that classic scene in the Marx Brothers film Duck Soup where Harpo accidentally breaks the mirror when Groucho comes in.

Harpo kind of tries to mimic his every move and mirror his every move to confuse him. I've provided a link to the scene below because the scene is actually like really brilliant physical comedy. And obviously this is exactly what happens here. What's really amazing about this scene is that the two performers were, you know, I'm guessing it's Jim and maybe Frank or something, but, but the two performers doing the Kermit and Robot dance scene, it is brilliantly mirrored and the technique of like matching up all the different movements is done so well that every time I see it, I always forget that it's the wind-up doll, which obviously I'm guessing is the point, but, but it's really done so well technique-wise.

And if you go back in mind to everything that I said about what Muppet technique is, you know, you're doing it, you're performing over your head, you're looking at a monitor, you have to be aware of your spaces. To be able to get it to be that precise in the way that they did takes a lot of skill and effort. And I'm curious about how many times they shot it, how much practice did they have? Like, I just think all of that stuff is so crazy. I'm so fascinated by how they were able to make it happen. Funny enough, they actually kind of do a kind of callback or a tribute to this in Muppet's Most Wanted with Kermit and Constantine at the end of the movie. Really funny stuff. We then move into Wayne and Wanda.

Something that I noticed pretty immediately is that Sam the Eagle's looks will change quite drastically. And I can't remember quite when it happens. I think it does happen in season two, but they remove his eyebrows and they remove the bags under his eyes. He looks so... He looks so unpleasant to be around in the first season. And then the other builds of Sam just make him look very serious. But this Sam is just... He's so annoying and so stiff. And I even think his color gets a bit brighter on his coat, like the actual color of blue that he is. I think they make him a bit brighter. So that'll be a very interesting change for us to notice. Getting into the actual musical number, Wayne and Wanda are singing "Ro-Ro-Ro," which is from Ziegfeld Follies of 1912, as written by James V. Monaco and William Jerome.

They drown. Hilarious. Funny enough, they do this performance again in the Elkie Summer episode in the third season. And her boat sinks too. In the words of Muppet Wiki, it must be the song. So we get out of Wayne and Wanda and we go into the newsflash. And again, it was about the ocean being held hostage and they want hugs and kisses from their... I don't know. I might not just get it, but I thought it was long. I thought it was weird. I see what is funny about it, but it does not make me laugh. I'm curious about whether or not I'm just a juvenile, immature, five-year-old boy at heart. Do I just want to see the newsman get hurt? Which may be very much the case. It could just be, um, I just want to see him get hurt.

But, you know, there's like two different types of newsflashes. There's like this kind, and then there's some that are like the physical gags that I think they kind of lean more towards, you know, throughout the rest of the season. Not the season, the rest of the show. And maybe I'm wrong about that, but, you know, these kind of longer, more heady jokes when it comes to the newsman, I don't know if these kind of more like wordplay jokes work for him as well as when he gets hurt, straight up. But, you know, it could just not be my style. But again, this whole thing about figuring out what's going to work and what doesn't, and figuring out like how the character functions and how his material is going to be changed.

Because for this, it's not about the newsman character. The newsman character is great, but it's literally about the type of material he's given. When it comes to me figuring out, you know, which newsflashes do I enjoy and which newsflashes do I straight up not. Yeah, so then we get into Ruth Buzzi's first number, which is "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You." I love this number so much. This number is so funny to me for multiple reasons. But "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" is obviously a famous song from Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. The introduction, Kermit's so damn cute. That suit is so damn cute. Every time I see it, I'm always like, haha. But Ruth Buzzi and Sweetums are just such a, I mean, what a fantastic pairing.

But comedians in general always play off the Muppets well, which I mean, makes sense. Comedians are actors as well, essentially. But I think what makes comedians great is that there's always a great willingness to be silly. When I think of like the Steve Martin episode and the Milton Berle episode, you know, and this episode, there's never any kind of hesitancy to be weird, silly, look stupid.

[26:34] Fergie L. Philippe: The Muppet Show is a comedy-themed comedy-themed comedy-themed comedy-themed comedy-themed comedy-themed. It's a big character that really has a lot going on in terms of how to perform the character and in terms of how to accomplish the movement and the lip sync. But Richard is able to give us such a sense of who this character is. And he wasn't the original performer, funny enough. He kind of took it over, but he has such wonderful agility in his performance of Sweetums, and it's really exciting to watch. And I adore watching his Sweetums, and it truly just gets better and better and better and better. And, yeah, yeah, I love watching Richard do... I love watching Richard do anything, honestly.

But his Sweetums, to me, is just such... it's such a brilliant example of how to be a fantastic all-around puppeteer. The actual manipulation is fantastic, and the characterization is so strong. We move out of Can't Take My Eyes Off of You, and we go into another one of Rolf's songs, which is I Never Harmed an Onion, which is a song written by Alan L. Gray, Ginger Joan Gray, and Mo Jaff. It was made popular by singer-comedian Steve Allen, I believe. But when I looked up this song, the most popular version of this is actually Rolf's version from this episode. This song is so funny. It's one of the songs that, as I'm going through the first season, I'm like, oh, I remember this very, very vividly from the first time I watched the first season.

There are such horrible puns in it. So funny. Love a good, terrible pun. Rolf is a fantastic comedian, and he works both as a good straight man and as the comedic relief. He can really do it all. I've said in the past that he's like the bar pianist, which I stand by. I do think that he can really be a good grounding sense for all of us, but I also think he is a fantastic comedian, and this song really proves it. In the sense that it's just him, and he is enough to carry his own in terms of comedy and music. And so, yeah, Rolf is another one of the unsung heroes of the Muppet Troop. We get out of that musical number, and we go into the talk spot, which is between Ruth and Kermit. A lot of talking about diets and such, and about body image and stuff like that.

Just a little fatphobic. Just a little bit. But I guess the only thing that I can think of is that it's astonishing to me how much a part of the culture, and I mean, still is, but I just mean openly, and how little awareness there was back then about how we speak about diet culture, how we speak about our bodies, and just stuff like that. I'm not trying to preach or make any kind of statement, but it's just fascinating to be able to see a lot of these shows from the 70s and 80s and kind of make that statement. It's the whole thing about everybody who was angry about all of the content warnings that were going in front of the Muppet Troop, which like, duh. I love the Muppets, but there are some things on the show that's like, oh, you can't say that.

You cannot do that. That's offensive. And people didn't know better, or what was accepted socially then is not the same thing as what is socially accepted now. And so for me, at least, and it's possible that I'm coming from a place of privilege when I say this, but it's really interesting to be able to see that and go, wow, I wonder what's behind, because there's so much of what happens in this episode about fitness and wellness and health, especially when we get into the panel discussion later on that talks about is the human body obsolete and talking about yoga and how to stay in shape and stuff. It seems like this may be a frequent thing in Ruth Buzzy's comedy, or maybe just what the men who wrote this episode gave to her.

I don't know. But again, this is all just very interesting to observe and see with the show and with this segment specifically. You know, again, you know, she's so good at playing off of the Muppets and her and Kermit are so fun. I mean, it's so obvious why she ends up going on Sesame Street, because she does a really wonderful job on Sesame Street as Ruthie, too. She has this really calming, yet eccentric nature that really fits well with the Muppets. Take the cheese off my chest. I laughed so hard at that. I could not. I was laughing so hard I had to pause. It was so funny. Also something that I hadn't thought about until watching it this time, the laugh track in the show is so well placed.

Whoever the sound editor is, is doing a phenomenal job at setting this laugh track to the point where I forget it's a laugh track. It often feels like, oh, this is a, this feels like a real audience. And maybe it's because, you know, I grew up watching shows like this and watching shows with a lot of laugh tracks, especially on classic sitcoms and stuff. So maybe, you know, maybe it's possible that it, to the modern viewer, it doesn't sound as authentic, but it sounds very authentic to me. And it really feels, it just feels really well edited in. Yeah. Moving on to Fozzie's comedy monologue, you know, poor Fozzie, again, just roasted. Just roasted by Statler and Waldorf. Absolutely. Just completely roasted.

Just poor buddy. Poor Fozzie. That's all I have to say about that. Just poor Fozzie. Moving on, we go to the police sketch, which is, oh my God, Ruth Buzzy is such a genius comedic actress. This is so funny. Great writing. Really good sketch. I want to emphasize how good the writing is in this sketch. So, you know, Ruth Buzzy plays somebody who's been captured by the enemy and they're trying to get her to talk. And then she starts talking and then they're like, okay, great. And then she can't stop talking. So then the people who captured her are like trying to figure out how to get her to shut up. It's just such a great, such a great flip. I'm taking a sketch writing class right now and we're talking about, you know, the different types of sketches or how sketches end and, you know, you either turn, hold on, I actually have to get my notes out so I can make sure I say this correctly.

When it comes to ending sketches, you know, you have a few options in terms of ending the sketch. There are kind of three. One is exhausting the premise. So if the premise is, I'm trying to think of a good sketch in terms of exhausting the premise. Target Lady. So Target Lady is definitely exhausting the premise on Saturday Night Live. The girl that talks like this, I love Target. You just, you know, put her in situations with people until it's just like too much and then, you know, exhaust the premise. Then there's flipping the premise, which is exactly what this sketch is where you have it set up in a certain way where it's like where they're trying to get Ruth Buzzy to talk and then eventually Ruth Buzzy ends up kind of winning by them trying to get her to shut up.

And then you have random endings like, you know, pie blows up or a pie blows up. I was trying to say a pie to the face or you get blown up. But honestly, with the Muppets, a pie blowing up is fair. It's accurate. That checks out. That clears. So yeah. So this is definitely one of those, you know, definitely one of those like flipping the premise sketches as far as the ending goes. And it's really well done. It's really short again. But great turnaround. There's a great character in this and it's just really wonderful. I usually don't go into like all of the backstage stuff, but I want to talk about this one moment because it is so funny and is a testament to Jim Henson's like comedic timing.

Miss Piggy goes into the dressing room after talking to Kermit and runs into the mechanical host. And Jim says, or when Kermit the windup host says, hi, a good looking where you've been my whole life. There is something about Kermit or Jim as Kermit when he is playing kind of the anti-Kermit, you know, something like this or in Muppets Take Manhattan when he's getting into all of these different costumes and pretending to be these different characters, Jim is able to tap into something so authentically funny. And part of it's because he has done such a brilliant job at establishing who Kermit is. Kermit, you know, when Kermit ends up turning into some kind of weird comedic relief, it's because we have really well established who Kermit is outside of that so well.

Kermit is the straight man. Kermit is like the one we look to for sanity. Kermit is kind of the one that we hang on to when it comes to how much reality we're willing to depend on for this world of Muppets. And when it flips, when it turns, whether that's something like this or whether Kermit loses his cool, it becomes so unbelievably funny. And a moment like this is a perfect example of that. Baby Figs, always funny. Baby Figs is brought up again I think in an Andy Williams episode where he's like, we'll hear the pitter-patter of tiny figs, referring to frog-pig hybrid. Also there is an entire page on Muppet Wiki dedicated to the offspring of Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. I found it disturbing.

Maybe you'll enjoy it. I'm not providing a link. I hated it. But, you know, just so that you know it exists. But this is one of those really, really, really great moments. And then eventually Kermit comes back in and, you know, Piggy karate chops. It's a whole funny. It's a great, great bit that happens. There's a lot of great non sequitur backstage moments that happen in this episode that I think over the years they realized that that's where so much of the good stuff is with the Muppets. It's not when they're performing. It's their relationships to each other. Which I feel like I've heard Frank Oz say where, you know, the comedy behind the Muppets or the thing that connects the Muppets are their relationships to each other and how much they love each other slash how much they hate each other.

And this sketch is kind of, you know, or this sequence is kind of where that really proves that. You know, there's another moment I'm thinking of. I think it's the Andy Williams episode where, you know, Piggy is planting a rumor that her and Kermit are getting married and everyone backstage finds out. And there's a really great and pretty famous scene when Floyd's like, Hey, Kermit, me and the band going to play at the wedding and Kermit's like, What wedding? Floyd goes, Well, I just heard the news that you and Miss Fatback was going to tie the knot and raise chitlins. And there's a whole fight, you know, between Kermit and Piggy. But those backstage scenes are so funny and they're so important to the building of the characters.

And I think that that's where a lot of the character development comes from more than any of the performances of the musical numbers or anything like that, which is probably really obvious. But just just to emphasize once more, we get out of that backstage moment and we go into the house sketch, which I don't think we've actually covered. So this.

[40:23] Fergie L. Philippe: The Muppet Show is a production of the Center for Autism and Related Disorders, and hosted by The Center for Autism and Related Disorders, and hosted by The Center for Autism and Related Disorders.

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[53:10] Noel MacNeal: But we'll keep it nice and light. And just like Richard was definitely like Richard and Jerry too. Jerry was wonderful. Jerry and Jan came to my wedding.

[53:23] Noel MacNeal: So, oh, wow, which is great. It's like they RSVP'd and Susan, my wife, Susan Neely McNeil, the author of The Maggie Hope Mystery is available on Amazon. She, by now, she looked and she just squealed like, oh my God, the Count is coming to my wedding. It was also, it was great.

[53:43] Noel MacNeal: Yeah. So this is like, it was great. And, and Fran too. Fran, Fran is also one of like the original Muppet performers of Sesame that I got to know. And she too came to my wedding.

[53:56] Noel MacNeal: Oh, very classy. She was the first one to RSVP, the first one to send a wedding present. And handwritten thank you notes. I mean, like, Fran is old school. Old school classy.

[54:09] Noel MacNeal: Oh yeah. You can see that. Oh yeah, definitely. So it was, it was great. So having worked with her and Richard and Jerry and getting to know Jim and Frank, I was always like, so like thrilled every time Jim and Frank saw me and they remembered my name.

[54:22] Noel MacNeal: They just like, yeah. It's like, hello, Newell's. I was like, I know. I'm just like, cause I, hey guys. And inside I'm just like squealing like a little girl. Oh my God, you remember who I am?

[54:33] Noel MacNeal: Oh my God. Those impressions, those impressions were so perfect.

[54:39] Noel MacNeal: Yeah, exactly. And I got, and Richard was on Follow That Bird. And so that was the summer, we were up in Canada for like three months and Richard did all the Count stuff.

[54:47] Noel MacNeal: So whenever the Count was on, it was Richard doing it. And then Jerry dubbed over it later on.

[55:01] Noel MacNeal: Oh, interesting. So he was doing all that stuff, which was really fun. And then just a side note, Follow That Bird, there was the scene with Ernie and Bert in the biplane.

[55:08] Noel MacNeal: It's the only time that, and it's like, Jim and Frank were together on the movie. And so it was like, and they're doing the song Upside Down.

[55:21] Noel MacNeal: And it's one of those things looking back now, it was just like, why didn't you all use green screen or blue screen? No, let's have the two most prominent puppeteers on earth, like suspended 12 feet in the air and laying on a platform with their arms going through to make these characters actually upside down.

[55:40] Noel MacNeal: It's like, wow, was this the best idea to really do this? Really? Why be practical when you can.

[55:55] Noel MacNeal: Exactly. I don't know, maybe it's a Canadian thing. I don't know. It was like, all right, let's have these guys hanging upside down. But it's like, okay.

[56:14] Noel MacNeal: But yeah, Richard, Jim, Jerry, Frank, Fran, Carol, they were the originals. And it's like, it's amazing. And having learned from them, and it's like, let me tell you kids, you've got these little online courses, and you can just go and you can just do your references on YouTube and Google and all that.

[56:27] Noel MacNeal: It's like, in my day, I had to stand there and watch these guys and actually try it with them. And what would work and what wouldn't.

[56:42] Noel MacNeal: Oh, could you actually tell me, can you tell the story that you told me about when right handing and how Richard kind of taught you the trick of looping around?

[56:51] Noel MacNeal: Oh, yeah. It's like, there's this, you can go to YouTube. And there's the classic song from the Count, the Batty Bat. And I got to right hand for Jerry.

[57:05] Noel MacNeal: And we actually had to like, you know, waltz around, like, you know, the table inside the Count's castle, which is actually a set raised like five feet off the floor, since we were standing up comfortably.

[57:18] Noel MacNeal: And so Richard gave me this tip of taking my thumb and looping it through the back of Jerry's belt loop.

[57:27] Noel MacNeal: And so my right hand is up in the air. And so my left hand is like looped this way, literally just to like, hang on. And so that's what I was doing.

[57:38] Noel MacNeal: So then we did it. So because it's when it's time to do it. We just like very close together. I'm just like hanging on. And we're like, twirling around and twirling around and stopping.

[57:50] Noel MacNeal: It's like, it's great. We did it like, I think we did it like twice. We rehearsed it. And then we did it twice. And like, that was it.

[57:55] Noel MacNeal: Because with Sesame, it was like, it's very quick. It's like, yeah, because of the fact that it was so much to do on the schedule.

[58:01] Noel MacNeal: And also, that was doing what was called the inserts, the Muppet inserts. And so that was separate from the street stuff. And so when I was up, it's like, you had to keep things moving.

[58:12] Noel MacNeal: And so, yeah, it was great. And then I got to right hand for Richard a lot for Forgetful Jones.

[58:18] Noel MacNeal: And okay, classic bit with Forgetful. It's called, it's called Eklahoma. And it's on again, I was just talking about this sketch in one of my writing classes.

[58:32] Noel MacNeal: Yes. And it's I use a sketch as a reference for when I'm teaching monitor puppetry, for so many references for like the fact that, you know, you're in this bit, and you're not the star of the bit, but you're a puppet in this bit, and you have to stay up.

[58:45] Noel MacNeal: So the cows and the horses have to stay up. They can't just like drop out because they're tired. Like, no, you have to stay up, you have to keep it alive.

[58:56] Noel MacNeal: And there's this little choreography. And then there's like the pacing of the bit. And it's like, it's not rushed, like, just taking your time.

[59:09] Noel MacNeal: Yeah, just like really enjoying it. And then also, the pacing and also the emotional buildup of Kermit, which was Jim.

[59:15] Noel MacNeal: And just how Kermit, very gradually just gets angrier and angrier, more frustrated, not angry, just frustrated, forgetful, forgetting it.

[59:27] Noel MacNeal: He starts with a Oklahoma. It's like, no, no, no, it's Oklahoma. It's like, it's like, no, no, it's oh. And finally, and forgetful does like, I, Oklahoma.

[59:44] Noel MacNeal: And that's when Kermit comes in and just completely loses it. And it's just like, he didn't do this in the very beginning. It's a build.

[59:50] Noel MacNeal: And then the way Jim does lose it with Kermit, it's very controlled. I mean, Kermit is just absolutely losing it, but it's very controlled.

[59:56] Noel MacNeal: It's not flailing the puppet around. It's very controlled and very focused and very precise. And it's, and it's great.

[1:00:08] Noel MacNeal: And we did the bit twice. And like, that was it. And there's like, and there's like, four, six, seven, eight, nine, like 10. I think there's like 10 of us, like doing this.

[1:00:15] Noel MacNeal: And then it was great. It's like Jerry is, is he's the haystack in the back because that's the gag at the end.

[1:00:22] Noel MacNeal: He's sitting there with his little time's crossword puzzle because Jerry would do the time's crossword. But then he was all, he's also the voice when, when Kermit goes like, and I was like, and roll sound.

[1:00:38] Noel MacNeal: And you hear spade. And that's Jerry. Every time it is great. Until finally at the end, when it's like his big moment, the haystack turns around the horse says like, hope they're not having like, you know, hay for lunch.

[1:00:55] Noel MacNeal: And the haystack turns around and says, you're not having hay, like waddles off. And like, that's the gag. Like, that's it.

[1:01:06] Noel MacNeal: So it's great. So it was like one of those bits, one of the many bits I got to be in with Jim and Jerry and, and, uh, and Richard.

[1:01:13] Fergie L. Philippe: And it's so interesting how you're, you're discussing, you know, and it's so true what you're saying, like how now in this golden age of social media and the internet, you know, we have hundreds and hundreds of hours of references.

[1:01:21] Fergie L. Philippe: I watched Sesame Street every night and just being like, I have access to all of this footage. And, you know, when you were coming up, it was really just a matter of watching and being thrown into the fire.

[1:01:31] Fergie L. Philippe: And, you know, I think now, because they're on a bit of a shorter schedule, they have a little bit more Liberty and freedom to shoot maybe more than just twice before they have to move on to something.

[1:01:40] Fergie L. Philippe: But, but when you were there, you know, you really had twice to get it right or twice to get it right enough. And then, you know, move on to the next thing.

[1:01:46] Fergie L. Philippe: And so that's so, uh, that's such a different way of learning that has obviously its own benefits considering what you've done, but like, you know, I can only imagine the mental game that you have to do with yourself to not only have to like get it right, but it's also like, I'm working with Jim and Frank and Richard and Jerry, I'm not trying to mess this up.

[1:02:10] Noel MacNeal: Oh yeah, exactly. So it's like, you, you, you have to like, you know, be on your game, be professional and just like come prepared.

[1:02:21] Noel MacNeal: And like, if you're assisting them or if you're a background character, just to like, you know, make sure like you don't screw up because their time, especially at that point, like Jim, cause Jim was just like doing so many things.

[1:02:31] Noel MacNeal: So when he came in to do his stuff, it's like, it really like, there was like, sometimes it would just be like one day when Jim was available and like, that's it. You have to film all of his stuff.

[1:02:46] Fergie L. Philippe: Right. Like the Ernie and Berts or like the Ernie stuff or Kermit or yeah. So it's just like all that stuff had to be done.

[1:02:52] Noel MacNeal: And then Jim was, there's the book. Jim Henson is like the biography written by Brian Jones. And I've read it. It's a great book. If any of you haven't read it, you know, read it.

[1:03:06] Noel MacNeal: And for me, it was interesting because to read Jim's life, like the early years and all that. And then from like 1982 on, that's when I was part of Sesame Street and that's when I got to know Jim.

[1:03:20] Noel MacNeal: And so it was really interesting, like seeing that and realizing like how short of an amount of time was left.

[1:03:26] Fergie L. Philippe: I think about that all the time.

[1:03:33] Noel MacNeal: Yeah. And not knowing it and just reading like all the stuff that he was involved in and doing and all this stuff.

[1:03:39] Noel MacNeal: And, and so for me, it was just like, wow, it's like that time was really like precious. And so I really treasure looking back now, like those, those times, those moments, I actually got to like work with Jim and talk with Jim.

[1:03:50] Noel MacNeal: I was actually right-handing for him for Ernie for a bit. And they had to like adjust the light. And so the Wrangler came over and said, you know, going to take Ernie.

[1:03:59] Noel MacNeal: And she was like, no, I was like, we're good. And I was like, thinking we are. Oh, okay. I'm still got my hand inside Ernie.

[1:04:06] Noel MacNeal: So we just did the two apple boxes, the wooden boxes. And we just like, like Jim started to sit down. So of course I have to sit down too.

[1:04:18] Noel MacNeal: And in the millisecond, this is happening. I'm thinking just like, oh my God, I'm sitting next to Jim Henson. I should say something, say something, like start something.

[1:04:25] Noel MacNeal: It's like conversations, like anyone would give their right arm to be here. So if you give your right arm, you couldn't be a right hand focus.

[1:04:29] Noel MacNeal: No focus, focus, say something. And then I remember what my mom said, because I think it was like, I can't, it's like asking about puppetry and care.

[1:04:40] Noel MacNeal: It's like, it would be so like, how many times does this, do you have to answer these questions? So then my mom, I remember she said, if you ever want somebody to talk about like something to talk about with them, ask them about their kids.

[1:04:51] Noel MacNeal: And Jim had five kids. So I asked Jim, so hey, Jim, how are the kids? And he's like, oh, thanks for asking.

[1:05:03] Noel MacNeal: And he just like started telling me like what Brian was doing, what Cheryl was doing, what Heather was doing, what John was doing.

[1:05:12] Noel MacNeal: And so it was just like, just asking what Lisa was doing, like asking the kids. It was great. And then that filled the time and then we started to do the bid again.

[1:05:17] Fergie L. Philippe: So it was like, yeah, it was great.

[1:05:24] Fergie L. Philippe: Um, departing from the actual performers themselves, but getting into the performances, we talked, we've already talked a lot about, you know, Richard's generous spirit, but I think that also transferred to his performance as well.

[1:05:34] Fergie L. Philippe: He really obviously had a very jovial, big, bright, you know, personality when it came to his performance. And I talk about it in the episode, but Sweetums specifically, you know, if we're going to talk about underrated performances, I think his performance of Sweetums is really something that is a marvel.

[1:05:49] Fergie L. Philippe: And I think about all the time. I just think it's such a well articulated performance. But before we get into the specifics of that, can you actually explain the Big Bird rig of the full body puppet?

[1:06:04] Noel MacNeal: And that was the same rig for Bear as well, right?

[1:06:11] Noel MacNeal: Yeah, Bear and Big Bird had the similar rig, which is different from Sweetums. Sweetums is not done that way. But for Big Bird and Bear is basically I and Carol, we would have monitors strapped to our chests and there would be a microphone like right up on top. So this way you're looking down at the

[1:06:28] Noel MacNeal: And your right arm is up through the character's neck into the character's head. And Bird and Bear had these little triggers. We just like, for me, I would have my little trigger on for my index finger. Carol would have it for his pinky. And then our left arms would be in the character's left arm or wing. And there'd be this tiny little piece of string going from the left arm up through a little ring under the chin and then down to the right arm. And it would be stuff. So this way, no matter what the left arm did, the right one would move up and down. So it was like counter-levered. So yeah. The advantage of Bear is that with Bear, he was kind of like, you know, a bear that's kind of standing up.

So he always had this kind of hunched over kind of look. So there was more room to play with going up and down. With Big Bird, you got to keep your arm up straight the whole time. So it's a little bit harder for to be Bird. But you get used to it. It's like, yeah, it's like Carol taught me this trick of like, you know, when he would get tired sometimes, I mean, he would do appearances like on stage, you know, Big Bird would notice something on the floor and like look down between his legs, which is really funny. But it's also a way of getting the blood back to your hand. Back to your hand. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Then he would notice something way up high and like have Big Bird look way up. And so just to get the arm moving again.

Right. And so I've done that with Bear, too. So Bear would have this range of motion where he would like look up and look down also, like with the dancing and all. But with Sweetums, Sweetums is different. Sweetums, basically you wear his clothes, his body. It's like it just like hangs on you. And then the head is attached to this, has like this helmet inside, like literally like a football helmet that you just chinstrap to you. And there's this handle and it's the original handle. They just refurbished the original head. There's a spare head, but there's like the original head. And there's this handle that's literally a dresser drawer handle that you just hold on to and you just pump up and down, like really, really exaggerated.

And it's then you can let go. And then it's the trick that Richard did so well of like you could put your then right arm into Sweetums' right arm and have both arms going and then like grab the hand and then pull out so that you can go back in and then do the head. Or if it's like for the Hollywood Bowl or the O2, I would like it like running out in front, just like just jerk the head around to look like he's saying something so that you can have both hands while you're running. It just looked better. Because we were doing the Bohemian Rhapsody and there's a part where Sweetums was supposed to chase Bobby Monaghan across the stage. And I suggested, what if we went out into the audience and ran across the audience?

And they were like, are you sure? Because of course, Noel suggested this while LA is going through a massive heat wave. So it's like during rehearsal, it's like, you know, 100 degrees outside in the sunshine. And then that night, it cooled off to a balmy 85. So but yeah, yeah, let's do this. No brilliant idea. So but it worked. It was great. So and I remember those like, tricks that I heard that Richard did. So and it was great. It's great. Like, the fact that I've, I've been Sweetums. John Henson's been Sweetums now, Matt does Sweetums. So we're like this part of this legacy that Richard started. And, but Richard wasn't the original Sweetums because there's a special, the Frog Prince. And he wasn't the original Sweetums.

So it's very interesting. It's like, yeah, the original Sweetums was I can't remember his name offhand. And that was also back when Sweetums his eyes would actually glow. And he was like a villain. He was like a monster. But then yeah, a true ogre. Yeah. But then for the Muppet show, he kind of like, he was like rough around the edges. And this is great. I forget which show it is, but it's with Richard and Robin. So it's Jerry and, and Richard. And it's with Sweetums and Robin. And it's called Two Lost Souls from the show Damn Yankees. Yeah, it's so cute. With this throne chair, and Robin's on the back of the throne chair, and Sweetums is sitting in front, and they're singing it together. And it's like one of the cutest bits between this huge hulking monster and this cute little frog.

Right. He's just adorable. Gotta love Robin. Robin was so cute. Robin was the cutest. Robin is the best. Love Robin. Oh my gosh. So with Sweetums, so with Sweetums, as you were just saying, you know, because the rig is set up differently, there's not a monitor inside of Sweetums. So when it comes to being able to see out, how do you see out? You see out the mouth because the mouth is, is, is hanging on these elastics. So this way, when you pull down, they can snap back up. But when you let go, it's still kind of like open slightly. So it's kind of like, it's kind of like this kind of gaping, kind of like, kind of like, so you have enough so that you can see out of, but then you have to, you know, adjust.

So because the fact that the eyes are actually, you know, a foot above your head. So if Sweetums was looking down at somebody, so like for the O2, and then for the, and for the Hollywood Bowl, when Sweetums has this moment with Kermit, I have to go, and then I have to like, make it look like Sweetums is looking at Kermit. And so tilting the head, so that and the eyes are also remote control, so that tilting the head so that the eyes shift down at an angle, so it looks like they're looking at Kermit. So instead of looking at Kermit, through the mouth, I have to kind of like look at like, Matt's foot. But then it looks like Sweetums is actually looking at Kermit. And so Kermit, right. And then same thing with the ending, just like having it slightly like looking slightly down so that this way, it looks like he's looking straight out into the audience, but then he can look up and look down.

And yeah, so it was like, very, very broad. Yeah, very broad. And especially because you were you, as far as I know, you've only done Sweetums for the stage shows. You didn't get you didn't do even perform them on film, have you?

[1:13:16] Noel MacNeal: Oh, I have. I did. I did. I got to do his voice for Muppets. Letters to Santa in Brooklyn. And with Jane Krakowski. And I forget the guy from Law and Order. But oh, Jesse Martin. Yes, Jesse Martin. Yes. And so yeah, so I got to be actually do Sweetums voice for the for that song, the Letters to Santa. And then when the Muppets come in to the apartment at the end, so got to do his voice. So yeah. Oh my gosh. Great. So then is there was there a giant difference in terms of performing him for the Letters to Santa special versus doing it on stage in terms of like exaggerated movements or things like that? Or was it really roughly the same?

[1:14:02] Noel MacNeal: No, it was really the same, except now I had to like, I had an earpiece, because I had to listen to Matt's playback, because he does the voice now. And so I had to listen to the playback and then lip sync to it. So oh, that's right. Yeah. That's right. Listen back. So yeah, yeah. So it was like, it's just like the timing of it and whatnot. So and that happens so often that you guys often whether it's, you know, when Matt was doing it for Jerry in his last years, or when somebody's on the same scene with another performer, having to catch the other performers vocal track, what are some of the things that you kind of have to keep in mind with that?

[1:14:43] Noel MacNeal: Like the, the timing of the voice, it's kind of like, you listen to the track enough times that you know, there's like a rhythm to the line. And so that's when you can like really like, anticipate like how it's going to, to be, it's harder if it's live. So you have to like, kind of like enough rehearsal, you kind of get the essence of like what the rhythm is. So it's not some so pre recording, it's more consistent. But even if it's still live, there's still like a certain consistency, because it's in character. So you can't guess like, what it will sound like, and then how to, to finesse it. And so so you have to like, also anticipate like, when to open the mouth. And when to stop.

[1:15:39] Noel MacNeal: Right, right. So there are ways of like cheating it a little bit. So. So it looks flawless. So that you don't know. Yes, you don't know at home. You don't know.

[1:15:50] Fergie L. Philippe: Yeah, yeah. Well, that's great. Well, no, thank you so much for kind of coming by and just talking a little bit about your experience with Sweetums and your experience with the guys. And just in general, it's always a pleasure to talk to you. Before we go, I'd love for you to promote Knowles Book Nook. Just talk to us a little bit about that.

[1:16:06] Noel MacNeal: Sure. My podcast is called Knowles Book Nook. It's available on Google and Apple and Spotify and Anchor. And it's basically me reading chapters and sometimes stories from like Beatrix Potter and Robert Louis Stevenson, and Lewis Carroll. And it's, I started it last year, because, you know, I was home. Right. And I was like, What should I do today? And I thought I would just like try a podcast where I'm just like, reading stories. And when I do read, I do have a certain tone of my voice that's reminiscent of a certain Bruin who owned a home. So it's kind of comforting for some people to hear this. So yeah, and I'm going to be doing a new season this year. So I'm going to start recording, and I'll be coming out later this summer, with the help of my friend, Nate Beagle, at Beagle Geek Studios.

So if you have any audio, or editing, or if you want to get into voiceovers, go to natebeagle.com. Because Nate is the man. Nate is the man. Right. And he also is the voice of, and the puppeteer for Crow, for Mystery Science Theater. Yes, he is. That's right. Just are going to be having a brand new season of shows. So. Oh, fantastic. So yeah, make sure you guys look out for that. And make sure you look out for Noel's Book Nook. Noel, thank you so much again for stopping by. It was a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you. Stay safe, everybody.

[1:17:39] Fergie L. Philippe: And there you have it. A fantastic conversation with Noel McNeil, who I love talking to all the time. That comes to the end of our episode. Thank you so much for listening to this week's episode. If you like the show, can you do me a solid and subscribe slash follow the podcast at Apple Podcasts or Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Please also follow us on Instagram at meetthemuppetspod, which is at M-E-E-T-T-H-E-M-U-P-P-E-T-S-P-O-D. And of course, you can follow my personal account on Insta, Twitter, and TikTok at Burgsters95. That's at F-E-R-G-S-T-E-R-S-9-5. If you're looking for some more Muppetational fun, please head over to Muppet Wiki, Tough Pigs, or the Muppet History Twitter account, which also now has its own podcast.

Please listen to the Muppet History podcast. It's really wonderful. More podcasts about puppetry themselves, specifically the Jim Henson style of puppetry. Head over to Below the Frame by Matt Vogel, Under the Puppet by Grant Pachocco, Getting Felt Up by Nate Beagle and Dan Eli Becker, and of course, Puppeteers, which I just appeared on not too long ago, about a couple weeks ago. Check out my episode and check out Puppeteers in general, which is by Cam Garrity and Adam Kruisinger. Are you looking for more pop culture, Disney theme park links and stuff like that? Make sure you're listening to the DJ Bob Show, Defunct Land, Yesterworld, Theme Park History, and Disney Dan from Getting Felt Up, all on YouTube.

For more info on the podcast itself, please head to bpn.fm slash Muppets if you want to know more about me. And just to know about the podcasts that are featured on Broadway Podcast Network, which we are a proud member of, just head to bpn.fm. This has been It's Time to Meet the Muppets. I am your host, Fergie L. Philippe. I will see you all next time. Bye!