American Icons: The Muppets
American Icons: The Muppets
Jim Henson started making television programs starring his distinctive googly-eyed creations — part puppet, part marionette — in the 1950s. And they were hits.
Early versions of Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and Cookie Monster made the rounds as guest stars on variety shows. But Henson’s Muppets were typecast. Although fuzzy and feather-covered, they were, at first, considered entertainment for adults. They even appeared on “Saturday Night Live” in the show’s early days, when John Belushi called them “the mucking fuppets.” But with the success of “Sesame Street” they became known as entertainers for children.
It took Henson years to redefine his creations. It wasn’t until 1976 that the Muppets got a show of their own — one for all ages. But no American network had been willing to take a chance on a half hour show of puppets, so “The Muppet Show” was produced in England.
The last season aired in 1981 and Jim Henson died suddenly in 1990. But the Muppets and many of their human performers are still with us. Still, while they’ve hit the screen many times since — both television and movie — no one’s yet managed to crack the code and find the success the Muppets once had.
WATCH: Studio 360 visits the studio of Michael Frith of Jim Henson Productions.
oembed://https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dc02fVNEUo0c%26feature%3Dem-uploademail
American Icons is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!