It's been decades since visionary Jim Henson first created the Muppets, yet today his lovable creations are as popular as ever.
But for as much time as the Muppets have spent in the spotlight, there's still a lot you don't know about Henson's clever creations. From the first national Muppet "star" to the materials that created the Kermit prototype, here are 19 things you probably don't know about The Muppets.
1. Jim Henson created The Muppets in 1955, making them nearly 60 years old!
2. Henson coined the term "Muppet," but it is not a combination of the words "marionette" and "puppet" -- a belief that was once supported by Henson himself. Rather, it has been reported that Henson just liked the sound of the word.
3. A key factor for the Muppets success is that Henson's realization that TV would allow him to put the puppets front and center, while still hiding the puppeteers. With...
But for as much time as the Muppets have spent in the spotlight, there's still a lot you don't know about Henson's clever creations. From the first national Muppet "star" to the materials that created the Kermit prototype, here are 19 things you probably don't know about The Muppets.
1. Jim Henson created The Muppets in 1955, making them nearly 60 years old!
2. Henson coined the term "Muppet," but it is not a combination of the words "marionette" and "puppet" -- a belief that was once supported by Henson himself. Rather, it has been reported that Henson just liked the sound of the word.
3. A key factor for the Muppets success is that Henson's realization that TV would allow him to put the puppets front and center, while still hiding the puppeteers. With...
- 3/21/2014
- by Jonny Black
- Moviefone
One of the original Muppet performers, Jerry Nelson has passed away at the age of 78. He reportedly died on Thursday of complications from the various cancers and respiratory diseases that he'd been battling for years.
Back in 1965, Nelson started working with Jim Henson when Frank Oz took a break and a new right-hand performer was needed for Rowlf the Dog on The Jimmy Dean Show. Oz returned to work but Nelson stayed with the troupe, performing various characters for Henson's TV specials.
Nelson joined Sesame Street in its second season and went on to develop numerous characters like Count von Count, Herry Monster, Sherlock Hemlock, The Amazing Mumford, Frazzle, and Grover's long-suffering customer, Mr. Johnson. Nelson served as a mentor to a young Ricard Hunt and the two quickly became a team, performing duos like Sully and Biff and the Two-Headed Monster.
Back in 1965, Nelson started working with Jim Henson when Frank Oz took a break and a new right-hand performer was needed for Rowlf the Dog on The Jimmy Dean Show. Oz returned to work but Nelson stayed with the troupe, performing various characters for Henson's TV specials.
Nelson joined Sesame Street in its second season and went on to develop numerous characters like Count von Count, Herry Monster, Sherlock Hemlock, The Amazing Mumford, Frazzle, and Grover's long-suffering customer, Mr. Johnson. Nelson served as a mentor to a young Ricard Hunt and the two quickly became a team, performing duos like Sully and Biff and the Two-Headed Monster.
- 8/26/2012
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
This is a Muppet News Flash: Puppeteer Jerry Nelson, the man behind Sesame Street muppet Count von Count, died yesterday at age 78. Nelson, a cast member of the show for over 40 years, also brought to life the characters Herry Monster, Fat Blue, Sherlock Hemlock and the Amazing Mumford.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Nelson’s first job with the Muppets was The Jimmy Dean Show in 1965 as Rowlf the Dog’s right hand man, literally. After learning that the Muppets were used on Sesame Street, he rejoined Henson and Oz as a puppeteer, beginning in the second season. He received a number of his major characters early in the show’s run, including the Sherlock Holmes parody Sherlock Hemlock, a hapless magician named The Amazing Mumford, and the overly strong but sensitive Herry Monster (1970–2012). His most famous character is the arithmomaniac vampire Count von Count, which he voiced until his death.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Nelson’s first job with the Muppets was The Jimmy Dean Show in 1965 as Rowlf the Dog’s right hand man, literally. After learning that the Muppets were used on Sesame Street, he rejoined Henson and Oz as a puppeteer, beginning in the second season. He received a number of his major characters early in the show’s run, including the Sherlock Holmes parody Sherlock Hemlock, a hapless magician named The Amazing Mumford, and the overly strong but sensitive Herry Monster (1970–2012). His most famous character is the arithmomaniac vampire Count von Count, which he voiced until his death.
- 8/24/2012
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
It's a sad day for numbers. Jerry Nelson, the puppeteer known for playing the instructional Count von Count on Sesame Street, died Thursday of unspecified causes, according to CBC Radio-Canada. He was 78. Besides the non-threatening vampire, Nelson, a Tulsa native who grew up in Washington, D.C., also performed Gobo Fraggle on Fraggle Rock and The Muppet Show's Sgt. Floyd Pepper of the Electric Mayhem band; "Pigs in Space" stalwart Dr. Julius Strangepork; Kermit the Frog's nephew Robin; and Gonzo's girlfriend Camilla the Chicken, among other roles, says the site. He first trained with American puppeteer Bil Baird,...
- 8/24/2012
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Just before the release of The Muppets movie last November, it was announced that NBC had ordered a script for a brand new television series titled The New Nabors (in homage to late Andy Griffith Show actor Jim Nabors), a single-camera sitcom about a family who are aghast that their new neighbors are Muppets. Not too much seems to be known about the show, but the script is being written by John Hoffman (Good Boy!) and John Riggi (30 Rock). The Muppets made appearances on various programs in their early years, including The Jimmy Dean Show, Saturday Night Live, and obviously Sesame Street, before Incorporated Television Company in the UK gave them a shot with The Muppet Show. Since then there have been feature films, television movies and one brief program, Muppets Tonight, on Disney Channel. But what can one expect from a new Muppet-centric program in this modern age? Here...
- 3/19/2012
- Shadowlocked
A business entrepreneur, singer, and TV show host, Jimmy Dean has passed away of natural causes. He died yesterday in Virginia's Henrico County at the age of 81.
Born in 1928, Dean became a star of country music in the 1950s and '60s and ended up helping the careers of talents like Patsy Cline and Roy Clark. One of his biggest songs, "Big Bad John," was released in 1961 and he won a Grammy for it.
In the early 1960s, Dean guest-hosted The Tonight Show. In 1963, he began hosting his own primetime variety program called The Jimmy Dean Show. The ABC series ran for three seasons. The show is most notable for Dean's regular comedy sketches and songs with Rowlf the Dog, a Muppet performed by Jim Henson. The partnership was beneficial for both sides. The steady income helped a pre-Sesame Street...
Born in 1928, Dean became a star of country music in the 1950s and '60s and ended up helping the careers of talents like Patsy Cline and Roy Clark. One of his biggest songs, "Big Bad John," was released in 1961 and he won a Grammy for it.
In the early 1960s, Dean guest-hosted The Tonight Show. In 1963, he began hosting his own primetime variety program called The Jimmy Dean Show. The ABC series ran for three seasons. The show is most notable for Dean's regular comedy sketches and songs with Rowlf the Dog, a Muppet performed by Jim Henson. The partnership was beneficial for both sides. The steady income helped a pre-Sesame Street...
- 6/14/2010
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Country music and TV star Jimmy Dean, best known to many as the king of all things sausage, is dead at the age of 81. Jimmy Dean died Sunday evening at his home in Varina, Virginia.
Jimmy Dean
Sunday evening, Jimmy Dean reportedly sat down to watch TV and eat dinner with his wife, Donna Meade Dean. After leaving the room for a few minutes, Dean’s wife returned to find him unconscious and unresponsive. According to CNN, Dean reportedly died of natural causes.
In the country music world, Jimmy Dean made it big in 1961 with “Big Bad John,” which reached number one on both the country and pop charts. The song also garnered a Grammy Award. Dean quickly moved to television, launching The Jimmy Dean Show on ABC in 1963. Dean also frequently appeared on NBC’s Daniel Boone as Boone’s friend Josh Clements.
In 1969, Dean founded the Jimmy Dean Meat Company,...
Jimmy Dean
Sunday evening, Jimmy Dean reportedly sat down to watch TV and eat dinner with his wife, Donna Meade Dean. After leaving the room for a few minutes, Dean’s wife returned to find him unconscious and unresponsive. According to CNN, Dean reportedly died of natural causes.
In the country music world, Jimmy Dean made it big in 1961 with “Big Bad John,” which reached number one on both the country and pop charts. The song also garnered a Grammy Award. Dean quickly moved to television, launching The Jimmy Dean Show on ABC in 1963. Dean also frequently appeared on NBC’s Daniel Boone as Boone’s friend Josh Clements.
In 1969, Dean founded the Jimmy Dean Meat Company,...
- 6/14/2010
- by Cameron
- SnarkFood.com
Jimmy Dean, the Country Music Hall of Famer who later in life became equally famous as the purveyor of his own brand of breakfast sausage, passed away Sunday evening at the age of 81. His wife, Donna Meade Dean, told the Associated Press Dean died of natural causes in front of the TV set in their Virginia home while she was out of the room. As a country crooner, Dean scored a number one smash hit in 1961 with "Big Bad John," which paid tribute to a mysterious miner who saves 20 men after a mine accident. The song went on to win a Grammy for Best Country and Western Recording. The entertainer also forged a successful career in television, hosting his own variety program, The Jimmy Dean Show, in the ...
- 6/14/2010
- E! Online
Jimmy Dean, country music singer and sausage king, has died at the age of 81 in his Virginia home. Dean had one smash hit in 1961 with "Big Bad John," a song about a quiet, working-class miner who saves his colleagues in a cave-in but is himself lost. It won Dean a Grammy.
Dean was also on various television programs in the '50s and '60s, including "The Jimmy Dean Show," which started on CBS and then moved to ABC from 1963 to 1966. In 1969, he started the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown, though the company was sold to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984, which famously dropped Dean as its spokesperson in 2003.
Besides wife Donna Meade Dean, Dean is survived by three children and two grandchildren. Arrangements have not be made for the funeral, but it will be a private service, Meade tells the Associated Press.
And just because it's a song...
Dean was also on various television programs in the '50s and '60s, including "The Jimmy Dean Show," which started on CBS and then moved to ABC from 1963 to 1966. In 1969, he started the Jimmy Dean Meat Co. in his hometown, though the company was sold to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984, which famously dropped Dean as its spokesperson in 2003.
Besides wife Donna Meade Dean, Dean is survived by three children and two grandchildren. Arrangements have not be made for the funeral, but it will be a private service, Meade tells the Associated Press.
And just because it's a song...
- 6/14/2010
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
Country Music Hall of Famer was a singer, TV host and actor before launching Jimmy Dean Meat.
By Gil Kaufman
Jimmy Dean
Photo: Steve Helber/ AP Photos
Country singer Jimmy Dean, whose career as a storyteller was equaled later in life by his success as a sausage pitchman, died at his home in Varina, Virginia, on Sunday night at the age of 81. According to CNN, the Country Music Hall of Famer apparently died of natural causes.
Though later in life his name was most familiar for his famous line of smoked sausages, Dean made his mark first in the world of country music, scoring a #1 hit on the pop and country charts in 1961 with the song "Big Bad John," a tune about a mysterious, Paul Bunyan-esque coal miner who saves his fellow workers after a mine collapse. Written with country legend Roy Acuff, the million-selling song won a 1962 Grammy...
By Gil Kaufman
Jimmy Dean
Photo: Steve Helber/ AP Photos
Country singer Jimmy Dean, whose career as a storyteller was equaled later in life by his success as a sausage pitchman, died at his home in Varina, Virginia, on Sunday night at the age of 81. According to CNN, the Country Music Hall of Famer apparently died of natural causes.
Though later in life his name was most familiar for his famous line of smoked sausages, Dean made his mark first in the world of country music, scoring a #1 hit on the pop and country charts in 1961 with the song "Big Bad John," a tune about a mysterious, Paul Bunyan-esque coal miner who saves his fellow workers after a mine collapse. Written with country legend Roy Acuff, the million-selling song won a 1962 Grammy...
- 6/14/2010
- MTV Music News
Country music legend Jimmy Dean has died at the age of 81. The singer passed away suddenly on Sunday, June 13 evening at his home in Varina, Virginia, according to his wife, Donna Meade Dean. Donna has revealed she left her husband eating in front of the television, but when she returned he had lost consciousness.
Dean was pronounced dead later that evening. A spokesman for the Henrico County Police department tells CNN.com Dean's death appears to be the result of natural causes.
Dean made his first foray into showbusiness after leaving the U.S. airforce in the 1940s, hosting a radio show and forming a band called the Texas Wildcats. In the 1950s he hosted a series of TV shows before scoring a number one hit in America with 1961's "Big Bad John" - the song that won Dean a Grammy Award.
Dean scored several more chart hits in the...
Dean was pronounced dead later that evening. A spokesman for the Henrico County Police department tells CNN.com Dean's death appears to be the result of natural causes.
Dean made his first foray into showbusiness after leaving the U.S. airforce in the 1940s, hosting a radio show and forming a band called the Texas Wildcats. In the 1950s he hosted a series of TV shows before scoring a number one hit in America with 1961's "Big Bad John" - the song that won Dean a Grammy Award.
Dean scored several more chart hits in the...
- 6/14/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Filed under: TV News
Jimmy Dean, a country music legend for his smash hit about a workingman hero, 'Big Bad John,' and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand, died on Sunday. He was 81.
His wife, Donna Meade Dean, said her husband died at their Henrico County, Va., home.
She told The Associated Press that he had some health problems but was still functioning well, so his death came as a shock. She said he was eating in front of the television. She left the room for a time and came back and he was unresponsive. She said he was pronounced dead at 7:54 p.m.
"He was amazing," she said. "He had a lot of talents."
Born in 1928, Dean was raised in poverty in Plainview, Texas, and dropped out of high school after the ninth grade. He went on to a successful entertainment career in the 1950s...
Jimmy Dean, a country music legend for his smash hit about a workingman hero, 'Big Bad John,' and an entrepreneur known for his sausage brand, died on Sunday. He was 81.
His wife, Donna Meade Dean, said her husband died at their Henrico County, Va., home.
She told The Associated Press that he had some health problems but was still functioning well, so his death came as a shock. She said he was eating in front of the television. She left the room for a time and came back and he was unresponsive. She said he was pronounced dead at 7:54 p.m.
"He was amazing," she said. "He had a lot of talents."
Born in 1928, Dean was raised in poverty in Plainview, Texas, and dropped out of high school after the ninth grade. He went on to a successful entertainment career in the 1950s...
- 6/14/2010
- by TV Squad Staff
- Aol TV.
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