Pepe the King Prawn

Pepé the King Prawn is a Muppet character created for Muppets Tonight and performed by Bill Barretta, originally as part of a vaudeville double act with Seymour the Elephant.

Pepé the King Prawn
The Muppets character
First appearanceMuppets Tonight (1996)[1]
Performed byBill Barretta
In-universe information
AliasPepé Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales
SpeciesMuppet king prawn
GenderMale
OccupationElevator operator, commissary cook
NationalitySpanish

Overview

Pepe is Spanish (his full name is Pepino Rodrigo Serrano González) and speaks with a heavy accent, punctuating his sentences with "Okay?" His character plays on many Latino stereotypes: he has a fiery temper (especially when referred to as a "shrimp"), and thinks of himself as a lothario, often making suggestive remarks.[2]

Pepé is also a schemer, willing to betray or at least take advantage of his friends: he allied with Ms. Bitterman in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and works with Rizzo to trick Gonzo into building a jacuzzi in Muppets from Space. His conscience usually wins out and makes him do what's right in the end.

Role

Pepé has become one of the most popular Muppet characters, providing comedic relief in major supporting roles similar to Rizzo the Rat and appearing in most major Muppet productions since his introduction. He, Big Mean Carl, and Bobo the Bear are the only Muppet characters exclusively created for Muppets Tonight that are still prominent in The Muppets franchise.

Appearances

Pepé appeared in fourteen episodes of Muppets Tonight, proved a hit with audiences and has returned many times since. (His partner Seymour has never been seen again.) He has major roles in Muppets from Space (1999), It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002), The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) (where he co-stars as Toto), and A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008). He also appears in 2011's The Muppets, though in keeping with that film's focus on the original Muppet Show cast, he has only a brief cameo role as Miss Piggy's dance partner. He appears in the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted. Though he has more screen time than in The Muppets, his dialogue is limited. His most prominent scene in the film features him gambling on the tour train with hip-hop mogul Sean Combs. He is a regular on The Muppets as a comedy writer for the show-within-a-show, Up Late with Miss Piggy with Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat.

As well as frequent appearances in commercials, Muppet short films and videogames, Pepe was also as an occasional correspondent on Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony, and hosts "Pepe's Profiles" featurettes produced by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for the Kermit's 50th Anniversary DVD re-releases of early Muppet movies. In 2002, he was the "spokesprawn" for restaurant chain Long John Silver's. He has also made many television appearances on shows including America's Funniest Home Videos, The Jay Leno Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and Dancing with the Stars. He was also an award presenter at The Game Awards 2018 ceremony, which honored the best video games of that year.[3]

The parody self-help book It's Hard Out Here for a Shrimp is attributed to Pepé and tells his life story.[4] In Muppets Now he stars in Pepe’s Unbelievable Gameshow, a segment in which he hosts a game show and makes up the rules as he goes along, to the annoyance of his co-host, Scooter.

Performers

Bill Barretta has remained Pepé's performer since his 1996 debut on Muppets Tonight. However, Drew Massey performed Pepé in a test pilot for the web series Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony.

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References
  1. Shemin, Craig (2014). Disney's The Muppets Character Encyclopedia. New York: DK Publishing. p. 144. ISBN 9781465417480.
  2. "The Bonnie Hunt Show". December 17, 2008. Missing or empty |series= (help)
  3. Birch, Nathan. "The Game Awards 2018 Presenters Include Avengers Directors, Josef Fares, Ninja, More". wccftech.com. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  4. Pepe the King Prawn (Jim Lewis). It's Hard Out Here for a Shrimp. ISBN 1-4013-2305-7.
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