Muppet Fact #1815
According to Scooter’s therapist, his biological father is a pathological narcissist. This is why he skips Scooter’s birthday each year.
Source:
The Muppets. Episode 116, “Because… Love.” February 29, 2016.
Muppet Fact #1811
In 1990, Wilkins Coffee tried to used Wilkins and Wontkins once more in advertising and on merchandise, as Jim Henson had sold the rights for the characters to J.H. Wilkins.
This reboot was promoted with pictures of Jim Henson with the puppets and promotional material stating “Original Muppets Created by Jim Henson.” When Jane Henson saw this display at a convention, she tore up Wilkins Coffee’s promotional materials, pictures of her and her husband, and took the Life Magazine tribute to her husband.
Jim Henson Productions sued both the advertising agency and Wilkins Coffee for copyright and trademark infringement and unfair competition, arguing that the use of Wilkins and Wontkins would make people think the Henson company was connected to Wilkins Coffee.
It was found that Wilkins Coffee and their advertising partner was not entitled to employ and license the use of Wilkins and Wontkins. However, the Henson Company did have to pay $1211.59 in damages.
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Muppet Fact #1810
During the 1981 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Beauregard’s name was spelt “Beauregarde,” with an added E on the end, when written on the side of his taxi.
Source:
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 1981.
Muppet Fact #1806
The Solenostomus snuffleupagus, a newly confirmed species of ghost pipefish was recently observed and collected from Queensland, Australia by Graham Short and David Harasti. Like the name suggests, the ghost pipefish was named after Mr. Snuffleupagus dude to it’s shaggy appearance. Also, much like Snuffy, originally many people did not believe Solenostomus snuffleupagus was real because so few people have seen it and it remained outside of official scientific records.
Marine biologist Harasti first observed the fish in 2003 off Papua New Guinea. The earliest documentation of the species was in 1993 by the Australian Museum and Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
Ichthyologist and taxonomist Short said “It was so easy to say, ‘Yeah, this looks like Snuffleupagus.’ I mean, it’s almost identical. It’s scary,” in regards to the taxonomic name choice. Sesame Workshop was very supportive and pleased about the choice in name.
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Muppet Fact #1804
Kermit, Gonzo, Pepe, Rizzo, Scooter, and Big Mean Carl have a weekly poker game.
Source:
The Muppets. Episode 109, “Going, Going, Gonzo.” November 30, 2015.
Although May has been a pretty busy month for me, I couldn’t let Tough Pigs’ Muppetational May go by without contributing at least one illustration! Today’s prompt is “Any character whose name starts with “Miss,” “Mrs.,” “Mr.,” “Dr.,” or “Professor””, and of course, I’m not gonna turn down an excuse to draw Miss Piggy. I’ve been telling myself for a while now that I wanted to do another Piggy drawing in the style of those classic Barbie illustrations, so this was a real two-birds-one-stone kinda thing. The original Barbie illustration I’m referencing comes from the “Beauty Secrets” Barbie from 1979.
Shout-out to Savannah Alexandra Art, I was very much influenced by her ability to mimic vintage print styles with her illustrations and wanted to try out her method. Savannah has an entire video on her Youtube channel that explains how she gets the vintage look, which I highly recommend watching if ya’ll wanna try out this style yourself.
Muppet Fact #1799
The new audio-animatronic Scooter from Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster had his movements programmed using motion capture data from the actual Muppet.
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Muppet Fact #1796
The same puppet used for Begoony on Fraggle Rock was later reused in Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock as a new character called Bongo.
Source:
Fraggle Rock. Episode 320, “The Incredible Shrinking Mokey.” May 13, 1985.
Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. Episode 112, “Into the Trash.” January 21, 2022.