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Cquote1

  For Muppets that showed up after The Muppet Show ended, go here.

Cquote2


Kermit the Frog[]

Cquote1

 Jim Henson (1955–1990; deceased)

Steve Whitmire (1990–2016)

Matt Vogel (2017-present)

Cquote2


File:Kermit 6597.png

Banjo-playing amphibian from the Deep South and eternal Straight Man. Upon being discovered in a swamp by a talent agent, he headed to Hollywood, collecting the other Muppets along the way like so many hangers-on. Regularly depicted as the long-suffering boyfriend of Miss Piggy and the equally long-suffering pal to Fozzie.

  • Author Avatar: Often seen as this for Henson, who was once quoted saying, "He can say things I hold back."
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Usually takes the antics of his co stars with mild frustration at worst, there are rare occasions he completely snaps however. Miss Piggy (whose temper Kermit is usually at constant brunt of) almost lost her job as a result.
  • Butt Monkey: He occasionally is this, often being eaten by monsters (and in one instance, a piano).
  • Chaste Puppets: Has a nephew, but no children. [1]
  • Deadpan Snarker: This was Kermit's original shtick to go along with his Only Sane Man persona. Later on his snarkiness was downplayed to highlight his sweetness but he still gets in on this once in awhile.
    • Reinstated in the 2011 film, however.
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Originally appeared on Sam and Friends (before he was a frog) and Sesame Street as a regular, though he's far more well-known for his Muppet Show role.
  • The Everyman
  • Freudian Trio: The Superego to Gonzo's Id and Fozzie's Ego.
  • The Heart/Team Dad: No Kermit, no Muppets. It's been established again and again, the new movie especially.
  • The Hero: In most Muppet productions.
  • Interspecies Romance: See below.
  • Official Couple: Eventually with Miss Piggy.
  • Only Sane Man and Only Sane Employee: Well, kind of.
Cquote1

 Kermit: Me not crazy? I hired the others.

Cquote2
  • The Other Darrin: After Jim Henson's passing, Steve Whitmire took over the role, with his first spoken dialogue as Kermit coming in the 1990 CBS TV special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. Reportedly, Henson himself was grooming Whitmire to take over, so that he could better handle his producing duties. Steve was a puppeteer all the way back since The Muppet Show when he would perform background characters, and had performed the major characters of Wembley and Sprocket on Fraggle Rock. At the time of Henson's death, Whitmire's two most prominent characters in the Muppet Show universe were Rizzo the Rat and Bean Bunny (introduced in The Tale of the Bunny Picnic, and then joining Kermit and friends starting with The Jim Henson Hour). Eventually, he would also take over performing Henson's other most popular character, Ernie on Sesame Street.
    • Whitmire initially didn't want to have any lines for his puppetry, since he didn't think he was a good actor, but eventually broke out with Rizzo late in the show. When Whitmire was told he would voice Kermit for A Muppet Christmas Carol, he was apprehensive. He said he had a dream where he met up with Henson and Henson stated that he'd do fine. Whitmire then did the voice for Kermit, and the rest was history.
    • At one point, Whitmire was unavailable to make an appearance, so they used a mostly unknown puppeteer (Artie Esposito). The reaction wasn't very positive.
    • Matt Vogel, best known for inheriting Jerry Nelson's characters, assumed the role of Kermit after Whitmire was fired from the Muppets in 2016.
  • Powder Gag: Kermit falls victim to this in the Candice Bergen episode of The Muppet Show, when Fozzie announces, "Flower [flour] for Kermit the Frog!" and then dumps an entire bag of flour over Kermit's head. Kermit gets his revenge by pieing Fozzie during the show's closing.
  • Southern-Fried Genius
  • Species Surname: In the 2011 Movie, it's stated that his last name is "The Frog". [2]
  • Straight Man
  • Supporting Leader: Even if he's not the focus of the story, he'll often be this. Muppets from Space being a good example.
  • Wild Take: With much amusing arm-waving.

Miss Piggy[]

Cquote1

 Frank Oz (1976-2002)

Eric Jacobson (2001-present)

Cquote2


File:MissPiggy 7678.png

The unholy spawn of Barbra Streisand and rack of pork. Hailing from the Midwest, she was living off of Beauty Pageants before meeting Kermit. Has a chronic need for stardom, and will steal the spotlight from anyone, with violence if necessary.

Fozzie Bear[]

Cquote1

 Frank Oz (1976-1999)

Eric Jacobson (2002-present)

Cquote2


File:FozzieBear 828.jpg

Hopelessly corny, porkpie hat-wearing showman, and a magnet for tomatoes. Originally a failed comedian working out of the El Sleazo Cafe, he is the first to join Kermit's troupe. His personality is a send-up of the stereotypical Borscht Belt comic. Wocka wocka.

Gonzo the Great[]

Cquote1

 Dave Goelz (1974-present)

Cquote2


File:GonzoTheGreat 9675.jpg

The ugly, disgusting little one who catches cannonballs. The only non-recognizable animal in Kermit's band (later revealed to be an alien), and the stuntman of the Muppets. He doubles as a Vaudevillian singer.

Scooter[]

Cquote1

 Richard Hunt (1976-1991; deceased)

David Rudman (2008-present)

Cquote2


File:Scooter 6331.jpg

The Muppets' stage manager. Originally portrayed as a Jerkass, he grew to be a dependable assistant of Kermit and co.

  • Adorkable
  • Author Avatar: Richard Hunt reportedly based his performance on how he acted when he was younger.
  • Catch Phrase/Once an Episode: "Fifteen seconds to curtain!"
  • Demoted to Extra: Following Richard Hunt's death, Scooter was used far less often - not appearing in most productions and having minimal screentime in others. The 2011 movie appears likely to reverse this.
    • During the 1990s, Scooter was damn near unpersoned. Other characters without performers, like Rowlf and Dr. Teeth, at least made token unspeaking cameos, but Scooter was nowhere to be seen for just shy of a full decade. When the official Muppets website was launched, minor characters like Julius Strangepork got their own bios, but Scooter was only added after mass e-mails from angered fans. [4] It took until 2008 for him to even have a regular performer (Rudman) again, although he'd been voiced by Adam Hunt (Richard's brother) in Muppets From Space and Matt Vogel in Muppets RaceMania.
  • Half-Identical Twins: With Skeeter in Muppet Babies
  • The Intern: During the first season.
  • Nepotism: His uncle owns the theater and got him his job. Before developing a solid friendship with him, Scooter was quick to remind Kermit of this whenever he wanted something.
  • Nerd Glasses
  • Nice Guy
  • Only Sane Man: All the chaos around him is what makes him funny.
  • Sidekick: To Kermit, sort of.
  • The Smart Guy: Well, he is a nerd. He even did a lecture at 2012's TED conference.

Rowlf[]

Cquote1

 Jim Henson, then Bill Barretta

Cquote2


File:Rowlf 2516.jpg

Originally a mascot for Purina Dog Chow, later rising to prominence as a TV sidekick to Jimmy Dean (yes, that Jimmy Dean). Prior to Sesame Street, which propelled Kermit the Frog into superstardom, Rowlf was arguably the most popular of the Muppets.

The in-universe Rowlf is a bluesy musician whom Kermit discovers in a piano bar. Since The Nineties, it's been a popular gag to pair Rowlf up with famous musicians, leading him to branch out into rock.

  • Author Avatar: A number commented that aside from his piano skills, Rowlf was very much like Jim - arguably even more than Kermit.
  • Back-Alley Doctor: His role of Dr. Bob on Veterinarian's Hospital was "a quack who's gone to the dogs".
  • Cool Old Guy
  • Early-Bird Cameo: Rowlf first appeared in Purina Dog Chow commercials in 1962. A year later, he began making regular appearances on The Jimmy Dean Show and proved to be quite popular. Then came 1969 and Sesame Street, which established Kermit as the Muppets' spokesfrog.
Cquote1

 "I used to be a big star then."

Cquote2
  • Hurricane of Puns: Especially the Veterinarian's Hospital sketches.
  • The Other Darrin: For some reason, Rowlf was voiced by John Kennedy in the Muppets RaceMania video game, even though Bill Barretta had been the character's regular performer for several years (and voiced several other characters in that game, including The Swedish Chef, a role he inherited at the same time as Rowlf). Kennedy also voiced Dr. Teeth, another of Henson's characters which would later be taken over by Barretta.
  • The Piano Player
  • Straight Man: On Muppet Babies.
  • The Voiceless: After Jim Henson's death, Rowlf quickly became this until a new performer (Bill Baretta) was found (which wasn't until 1996). Many people mistakenly thought that his silence was permanent due to him commonly being attributed as the closest to Jim's actual personality.

Sam The Eagle[]

Cquote1

 Frank Oz (1975-1999)

Eric Jacobson (2005-present)

Cquote2


File:SamTheEagle 7520.jpg

True to his name, Sam is an uber-patriotic milquetoast who acts as the Muppets' censor. He strives to crack down on "lowbrow humor" and bring dignity to the proceedings, without much success.

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew[]

Cquote1

 Dave Goelz

Cquote2


File:BunsenHoneydew 6268.jpg

Addled-brained scientist with a head like a melon. Invariably, his experiments result in nearly immolating his assistant Beaker.

Beaker[]

Cquote1

 Richard Hunt, then Steve Whitmire; currently David Rudman

Cquote2


File:Beaker 8680.jpg

Lab assistant to Bunsen Honeydew, whose face sports a perpetual look of shock. Only Honeydew can understand his "meep meeps."

The Swedish Chef[]

Cquote1

 Jim Henson (1976 - 1990)

Bill Barretta (1996 - present)

Cquote2


File:SwedishChef 1625.jpg

A parody of TV chefs. Like to gesticulate with his hands a lot.

Cquote1

  Robin: Uncle Kermit, help!

Cquote2
  • Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"
  • Eyeless Face: He has no visible eyes, only bushy eyebrows where eyes should be.
  • Fauxreigner: Is sometimes acknowledged to not really speak Swedish.
  • Foreign Sounding Gibberish: The language he speaks is explicitly referred to at least once as "mock Swedish"; it was once claimed that his actual native language is "mock Japanese".
  • Funny Foreigner
  • Lethal Chef: The very few times he does actually manage to complete a dish, it usually ends up something the non-suicidal would not want to put in their mouths.
  • Merchandise Driven: Briefly had his own breakfast cereal, Post's Crø̈ønchy Stars, in the late 1980s and early '90s. The cereal itself offered additional, free merchandise (i.e. a Swedish Chef doll) as premiums.
  • Once an Episode: Doing a little song and dance, then throwing some cooking utensils over his shoulder. Frank Oz had a Self-Imposed Challenge to try to knock over every single item on the back wall. He only ever managed it once.
  • Non Standard Character Design: The only Muppet to be designed to use the puppeteer's exposed hands. It takes a lot of dexterity to be that clumsy.
  • Norse by Norsewest
  • Team Chef
  • The Unintelligible

Statler and Waldorf[]

Cquote1

 Richard Hunt (Statler, 1976-1991) and Jim Henson (Waldorf, 1975-1990)

Jerry Nelson (Statler, 1975 and 1992-2003) and Dave Goelz (Waldorf, since 1992)

Steve Whitmire (Statler, 2002-2016)

Cquote2


File:StatlerWaldorf 3872.png

Two-man peanut gallery, and patron saints of Caustic Critics everywhere. They've never sat through a show that they didn't hate.

Cquote1

 Statler: This show is awful.

Waldorf: Terrible!

Statler: Disgusting!

Waldorf: See you next week?

Statler: Of course.

Cquote2

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem[]

File:ElectricMayhem 9013.jpg

A rock band consisting of Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums (which he sometimes eats), Sgt. Floyd Pepper on bass guitar, Janice on guitar, and Zoot on saxophone. Lips later joined the band on trumpet.

File:DrTeeth 6844.jpg

Dr. Teeth (keyboard)[]

Cquote1

 Jim Henson, then Bill Barretta

Cquote2
File:SgtFloydPepper 8558.jpg

Sgt. Floyd Pepper (bass guitar)[]

Cquote1

 Jerry Nelson

Matt Vogel

Cquote2


  • Catching Some Z's: In keeping with his easygoing persona, this is even his special attack in the PlayStation game Muppet RaceMania, putting his opponents to sleep for a few seconds.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Ink-Suit Actor: Not in appearance, but in personality. Jerry Nelson played Floyd as a guy who'd taken a life journey similar to his own: a poetry- and jazz-loving beatnik who'd become a hippie and started playing rock and roll because he needed the money.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He has a softer, kinder side, though he doesn't show it often. It's perhaps more evident in Muppets Mayhem, which also delves into his (and his bandmates') backstory.
  • Kid with the Leash: He's the only one with any sort of control over Animal. In fact, Muppets Mayhem establishes that Floyd has raised him since Animal's infancy (Muppet Babies, in which Floyd never appeared, notwithstanding).
  • New Age Retro Hippie
  • Official Couple: With Janice.
  • Second Love: In the first season, Janice was often seen with Zoot.
  • Shout-Out: Guess what color Floyd is...
  • The Stoner: He even smokes a hookah in the Alice in Wonderland parody episode. A 2023 Muppets Mayhem promo video of Floyd riding Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World even has him remarking that time travel is about the only trip he and his band haven't taken.
  • Sunglasses At Night: First season only.
File:Zoot 7747.jpg

Zoot (saxophone)[]

Cquote1

 Dave Goelz

Cquote2


File:AnimalMuppet 5128.jpg

Animal (drums)[]

Cquote1

 Frank Oz

Eric Jacobson

Cquote2


  • All Drummers Are Animals: Possibly the Trope Namer.
  • Breakout Character: From Muppet Babies onwards, he's a part of the main Muppet cast, gets more merchandise than Kermit, and is the member of the Electric Mayhem seen most often without his bandmates (he's probably the second-biggest example of this next to Miss Piggy). He was even the mascot of the U.S. snowboarding team for the 1998 Winter Olympics!
  • Cartoon Creature: Is he a human? An animal? A whatever? The most plausible explanation is that he's a monster like the ones on Sesame Street.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: He behaves like a complete psycho and tends to destroy things around him (hence his being kept in chains), but seems to be fairly close friends with his bandmates and the other Muppets. He even gets a major Big Damn Heroes moment in The Muppet Movie.
  • Door Step Baby: Established as Animal's back story in Muppets Mayhem: he was abandoned as an infant, and Floyd Pepper is his adopted father.
  • Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: In the recent-ish Muppet rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, he only gets as far as "Mama..." Then he starts rushing around the stage shouting, "Mama," overjoyed at the prospect of seeing his dearest mother. Poor guy never does find her.
    • Muppets Mayhem establishes that Animal was abandoned as an infant and raised by Floyd. Nevertheless, he has apparently met his real mother once, in the early '80s Muppet Show children's storybook The Case of the Missing Mother. Animal's mother turns out not only to be a drummer like her son, but gets to do a solo in that night's show.
  • Extreme Omnivore
  • Fiery Redhead
  • The Unfettered
  • Hulk Speak
File:JaniceMuppets 7050.jpg

Janice (guitar)[]

Cquote1

 Richard Hunt

David Rudman

Cquote2


File:LipsMuppets 3847.jpg

Lips (trumpet)[]

Cquote1

 Steve Whitmire until 2016; now performed by Peter Linz

Cquote2


Rizzo the Rat[]

Cquote1

 Steve Whitmire

Cquote2


File:RizzoTheRat 1228.jpg

Self-interested, sarcastic and snide, Rizzo basically hangs around with the Muppets, making a pest of himself and shoehorning himself into every act he can just for the attention. Even when Muppets Tonight gave him a job, he didn't change much. He likes eating, wooing female rodents, and having laughs at his castmates' expense, although a softer side of him does come out, especially when with his best pal Gonzo.

  • Ascended Extra: Rizzo started out as an anonymous member of a group of rats, but thanks to Steve Whitmire's performance soon emerged as the central rat character, started getting solo appearances and in the final season of the Muppet Show began popping up everywhere, usually as a background character and often in skits he had no place in. He was a pivotal supporting character in The Muppets Take Manhattan. Then, in The Muppet Christmas Carol he made the jump to main star when writer Jerry Juhl discovered just how well the Gonzo/Rizzo team worked, and from then until Whitmire's dismissal from the Muppets in 2016 was either among the main characters or at least had a notable appearance in every major Muppet production (though he's been basically Put on a Bus since). He also got what was pretty much Scooter's role on Muppets Tonight.
  • Big Eater: Despite his small size.
  • Butt Monkey
  • Cartoon Cheese: His special move in Muppets RaceMania turns his opponents into this. Literally.
  • Deadpan Snarker: With a Brooklyn accent, no less.
  • Lovable Coward: Usually played up whenever he's with Gonzo, to better contrast Gonzo's Fearless Fool tendencies.
  • Iron Butt Monkey: Nowhere near as bad as Beaker, but he's suffered a lot, sometimes alongside Gonzo, who isn't fazed in the slightest.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold
  • Those Two Guys: Most often with Gonzo, but sometimes with Pepe.

Crazy Harry[]

Cquote1

 Jerry Nelson

Matt Vogel

Cquote2


File:CrazyHarry 219.jpg

A wacko even by the Muppets' standards, Harry doesn't do much other than detonate random explosion, laughing all the while. Needless to say, he's something of a fan favourite. His personality was based on Muppet builder Don Sahlin, who had a similar fondness for wacky pranks that, yes, involved explosions.

  • Crazy Prepared: Harry's is constantly seen detonating explosives... Explosives that logically would need to be set up ahead of time.
  • Even Psychotic Has Standards: During the song "Comedy Tonight", some monsters are seen chasing and terrorizing a little girl. Harry looks at the scene for a few seconds before blowing the monster up.
  • Laughing Mad: In spades.
  • Mad Bomber
  • Speak of the Devil: Words like boom or dynamite would often prompt him to appear pull his plunger.
  • Trigger Happy

Beauregard[]

Cquote1

 Dave Goelz

Cquote2


File:BeauregardMuppets 6657.jpg

A dopey, hard-toiling fellow, Beauregard is the loyal janitor of the Muppet Theater. He's generally agreeable and obliging, although his bumbling has spelled disaster for more than a few sketches.

Link Hogthrob[]

Cquote1

 Jim Henson

Steve Whitmire

Peter Linz (current)

Cquote2


File:LinkHogthrob 2812.jpg

Imagine William Shatner with double the ego, half the brains, and a pig's snout. Link, star of the Pigs In Space sketches, considers himself a gifted actor, a brave action star, and irresistable to the lady pigs. Needless to say, he falls short in all of those categories.

Lew Zealand[]

Cquote1

 Jerry Nelson

Matt Vogel

Cquote2


File:LewZealand 5434.jpg

A goofy clown who throws fish all over the place. Only on the Muppets would this act be considered boring. His act hasn't changed at all over the decades, but he's still trying relentlessly for the chance to show the world his comedic genius.

  • Ascended Extra: Originally created as a one-shot character, he appeared multiple times on The Muppet Show and in the movies.
  • Catch Phrase: I throw the fish away! And they come BACK to me!
  • Flat Character: 99% of his appearances consist of variants on his boomerang fish act or talking about fish. He's still really funny.
  • I Call It Vera: But with boomerang fish.
  • Simpleton Voice

Annie Sue[]

Cquote1

 Louise Gold

Cquote2


File:AnnieSue 5353.jpg

A child prodigy, Annie Sue was introduced as Miss Piggy's understudy, known as the most hazardous position in the industry. Despite Piggy's scarcely-veiled animosity towards her, Annie Sue remained cheery and never failed to please the crowd. This, of course, only enraged Piggy even more.

  • Ascended Extra: Had turned up as a generic female pig used in various production numbers, but didn't get featured as a named character until season 3.
  • The Cutie: She's cute as a button, much to Piggy's chagrin.
  • Fake American: Louise Gold's British accent would slip through occasionally.
  • The Ingenue: Oh, so very much.
  • Recurring Character: Whenever the writers felt like tweaking Piggy.
  • Sitcom Arch Nemesis: As Miss Piggy's younger, prettier, and very talented understudy, this is how Miss Piggy saw her. It didn't help that Kermit found her to be quite charming and the theater audience adored her.
  • The Character Retired With Her: Ironically this makes her less likely to reappear than the characters whose performers have died.

Robin the Frog[]

Cquote1

 Jerry Nelson

Matt Vogel

Peter Linz (since Steve Whitmire's dismissal, after which Vogel took over the role of Kermit)

Cquote2


File:RobinTheFrog 1484.jpg

Kermit's adorable little nephew, Robin's role on the Muppet Show fit his status as the youngest of the cast members. Sometimes he would cutely win the crowd over, and other times he would ask embarrassing questions, make impolite comments, and pout when he didn't get his way. Robin also seems to be the Muppet character designed to appeal best to small children.

Sweetums[]

Cquote1

 Richard Hunt

John Henson

Matt Vogel

Cquote2


File:SweetumsMuppets 69.jpg

Sweetums first appeared as one of the main villains in Jim Henson's The Frog Prince special, but deep down inside, he's actually quite sweet despite his intimidating looks. He's a large, full-bodied ogre who's often paired with Robin.

  • The Big Guy
  • Butt Monkey: He gets picked on a lot for such a nice guy.
  • Extreme Omnivore
  • Fluffy the Terrible: This was played straight in his first appearance, but nowadays "Sweetums" is a Meaningful Name.
  • Gentle Giant: He looks big and mean, but it's just bluster 90% of the time. Just watch out for that remaining 10%...
    • Except in "The Frog Prince", which was also his first appearance. He repeatedly tried to eat or smash Robin. Speaking of...
  • Huge Ogre Tiny Frog: Often paired with Robin.
  • Larynx Dissonance: His voice is deep, but he sounds more "big-city truck driver" than "man-eating monster".
  • Lightning Bruiser: He is a fantastic dancer.
  • Odd Friendship: With Robin. Really odd considering The Frog Prince story cast them as enemies.
  • The Other Darrin: In addition to the puppeteers listed above, Jerry Nelson voiced Sweetums for the PlayStation game Muppets RaceMania (as a non-playable boss character). Nelson had in fact performed the bodily movements for the character's debut appearance in The Frog Prince, where he was voiced by Canadian actor Carl Banas.

Camilla[]

Cquote1

 Jerry Nelson

Matt Vogel

Cquote2


File:CamillaMuppets 2947.jpg

A chicken, and a non-anthropomorphic one at that. Despite this handicap, Camilla hasn't let that stop her from being a singer and an actress in many acts on the show. It's also won her the love of the Great Gonzo, although her boyfriend's roving eye for all manner of fowl has often put a strain on their relationship.

Pops[]

Cquote1

 Jerry Nelson

Cquote2


The Muppet Theater's crotchety, semi-senile old doorman. In the show's final season, guest stars had to get through him to get on the show - hilarity often ensues.

Uncle Deadly[]

Cquote1

 Jerry Nelson

Matt Vogel

Cquote2


File:UncleDeadlyMuppets 4053.png

The "Phantom of the Muppet Theater", Uncle Deadly is some sort of refined, British dragon-ghost-thing known for performing Shakespeare. He was murdered by the critics and spent his time afterwards scaring the theater's crew just for fun. He became more well-known after The Muppets, where he served as The Dragon to the Corrupt Corporate Executive Big Bad. He's since added fashionista to his resume, serving as Miss Piggy's personal assistant since the 2015 The Muppets TV series.

Dr. Julius Strangepork[]

Cquote1

  Jerry Nelson

Cquote2


Pigs in Space's German-accented science officer, forever the bearer of bad news, and the only crewman on the Swinetrek who takes his job seriously. Outside of this role, Julius' performances are few and far between.

Marvin Suggs[]

Cquote1

 Frank Oz

Eric Jacobson

Cquote2


One of the show's stranger recurring characters, Marvin Suggs is a crazy little blue man with a silly accent who enjoys making music by beating on an instrument made up of sentient furballs (the Muppaphones). Despite his unusually cruel act, he rarely got any sort of comeuppance.

The Newsman[]

Cquote1

  Jim Henson, then Steve Whitmire (Eric Jacobson since Whitmire's dismissal)

Cquote2


A bespectacled, stone-serious journalist, the Newsman never hesitates to break the latest news story... and the subject of the latest story never fails to break him. One of the Muppet's most slapstick characters.

Wayne and Wanda[]

Cquote1

 Richard Hunt

Erin Ozker

Cquote2


A pair of snobby singers who would frequently take the stage to sing tired old ballads - only to abruptly have some strange fate befall them, always foretold by the song's lyrics. None of the Muppets seemed to like them much, except Sam the Eagle, who was forever trumpeting them as the only respectable act on the show. If only they could finish a number...

  • Flat Character: What happened to them was funnier than the characters themselves actually were.
  • Hollywood Tone Deaf: A nice aversion. Richard Hunt and Erin Ozker were both talented singers, and they gave Wayne and Wanda voices like those of modestly talented performers overconfidently pushing their vocals harder than they could handle.
  • The Moral Substitute: "They're also church people."
  • Platonic Life Partners: Given their limited personalities, it was hard to pin down their relationship in their old days; they seemed pretty chaste for a pair known for singing love songs to each other.
  • Public Domain Soundtrack
  • Put on a Bus: While Wanda's disappearance after the first season was unremarked at the time, she and Wayne reunited reappeared a couple years later as part of a This Is Your Life show for Kermit's birthday. They revealed that Kermit had fired them, and they were now scraping by on minimum-wage jobs. Kermit, appalled that he could have done such a thing, re-hired them. When they sang out of joy, Kermit re-fired them. Amusingly, this successfully kept the pair out of the Muppets for the next three decades.
    • The Bus Came Back: The pair finally rejoined the Muppets in the 2011 movie. While their return was a mild surprise in and of itself, nobody expected them to get one of the biggest laughs in the film!
  • Running Gag: The first season of the show had more running gags than character pieces. When the writing staff changed, Wanda was dumped, as running gags were all she had. Wayne, however, sporadically appeared in skits during the second and third seasons, oddly paired now with Uncle Deadly!
  • Small Name, Big Ego: One of the few times they were given any non-musical dialogue, they made rude remarks about Kermit until they realized that he was listening the whole time.
  • Speak of the Devil

Mahna Mahna[]

Cquote1

 Jim Henson
Bill Barretta (since 2005)

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File:MahnaSnouthMuppets 5944.png

A scruffy, hyperactive little guy who joins in musical numbers unannounced and uninvited. He pops all over the place, either yammering in incoherent scat or playing an obnoxiously loud instrument. There's no stopping him, and it's foolish to try.

Hugga Wugga[]

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 Frank Oz

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One of the best-remembered "one-sketch" characters (possibly second to Mahna Mahna), Hugga Wugga is some sort of purple alien who wanders around an alien swamp chanting his name. He gets angry at creatures who try to sing anything else and tries to "assimilate" them, but is ultimately given his just desserts by a happy yellow creature that sings "You Are My Sunshine".

Angus McGonagle[]

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 Jerry Nelson

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The original planned "guest star" for the Star Wars episode, Angus McGonagle is an ugly purple Scotsman whose main (and possibly only) talent is gargling George Gershwin compositions "gorgeously". For some reason, his act is widely hated among the Muppets and their intergalactic guests.

J. P. Grosse[]

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 Jerry Nelson

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Scooter's uncle, the owner of the Muppet Theater, and the man who Kermit has to keep happy at all costs. He was an unseen presence in the early seasons of the show, but finally appeared in person for the final season.

  1. This isn't to say he's never expressed a healthy sex drive, especially with certain guest stars and sometimes with Piggy.
  2. It was something of a running gag back in the old days as well.
  3. This is muddied up once we actually meet his mother Emily Bear. Though we've never seen Fozzie's father...
  4. Some even called Unfortunate Implications at stonewalling away a character whose performer died of AIDS.
  5. actually sing-talking
  6. His last major role was in The Muppets Visit Walt Disney World, a special that's been rarely seen since is initial broadcast due to Jim Henson's death ten days after its premiere. In the special, he's paired with Miss Piggy, tricking her into riding thrill rides instead of shopping and dining.
  7. Frank Oz imagined that they had an even worse private life, at home with Marvin.
  8. Bip Bipadotta wears sunglasses and sings in English; Mahna Mahna doesn't wear sunglasses and speaks only in scat.
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