The Muppet Show/Trivia

• The observant (and perhaps not very busy) viewer will notice that the Muppets are all left-handed. This is due to the puppeteers using their dominant, usually right, hands to work the mouth, leaving the left hand for the occasions when the puppet needs to gesture or handle something.
  • Annie Sue Pig is a rare exception. She is a right-handed muppet (at least in her appearances on the TV show) because her original muppeteer, Louise Gold, was a southpaw.
• The only two Muppets to appear in every show are Kermit and Waldorf, both of whom, incidentally, were performed by Jim Henson.
• Sam the "All American Eagle", is voiced by Frank Oz, who was born in England to a Dutch/Polish father and a Flemish mother, and moved to America when he was 4.
• Animal was inspired by Keith Moon of The Who.
  • While this is a popular rumor, with Mick Fleetwood being another popular suggestion and Billy Joel claiming it was Liberty DeVitto, there is not really anything to indicate it as true, and Word of God is silent. However, Zoot is named for Zoot Sims and modeled after Gato Barbieri, Dr. Teeth is based on Dr. John, and Janice is named for Janis Joplin and based on nobody in particular but definitely not Janis Joplin. Floyd isn't based on anyone personally, but his look and full name (Sgt. Floyd Pepper) are a clear Beatles reference, while his first name, combined with his pink skin, are another easy one to spot.
  • In The Muppets, the drummer for Nirvana is the Vegas tribute band version of Animal.
• The origin of Fozzie Bear's name has several contradicting stories. Some claim he was named after his performer, Frank Oz, but Oz himself claims that the bear was named in honor of master puppet builder Faz Fazakas.
• Dave Goelz (Gonzo, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Zoot, etc...) is the only original Muppeteer left on the crew still performing one of the main 5/6 leads. He was also the only Muppeteer to also build and design some of the puppets, since he had a background in architectural design, and had no prior acting experience- he learned that on the job. He built the first Animal puppet despite not performing him.
• Rizzo the Rat is named after "Ratso" Rizzo.
• The first sketch ever on the show was the famous "Mahna Mahna".
• Crazy Harry was originally named Crazy Donald, after a Muppet builder that enjoyed creating (special effects) explosions.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: Most of Seasons 4 and 5 as of 2012; a few episodes from these seasons did appear on the Time-Life best-of compilations at the Turn of the Millennium but are now out of print. In addition, a few Season 1 episodes lost segments in the DVD box set due to music rights issues.

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