524 lines
20 KiB
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524 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
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ALT.TV.MUPPETS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS VERSION 3.2
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Assembled and edited in February, 1994, by Bob Pedersen from material supplied
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by many others.
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Mail your comments to me (Bob Pedersen) at robert-c-pedersen@uiowa.edu;
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however, those submitting questions unaccompanied by attempts at answers are
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in danger of becoming an assistant to Dr. Bunson Honeydew. We wouldn't want
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_that_, would we? ;^)
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Note: I do not plan on issuing updates solely to reflect additions to the cast
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lists unless I've forgotten someone on the order of, say, Grover.
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Have fun!
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WHAT'S NEW IN VERSION 3.2?
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There have been several additions to the cast list in this
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edition.
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Two sections have been removed. The performers list have been
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removed because a much better list will soon be available at
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the archive site. The section on when/where the Muppet Show
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can be seen has been dropped for a number of reasons, chiefly
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the difficulty in keeping it up.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Introduction
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Acknowledgments
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Subjects We are Tired of Hearing About
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Q1. Is Ernie (or any other muppet) dying? (Abstract: NO.)
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Q2. What are some favorite episodes of the Muppet News Flash?
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Q3. What is the name of that character on Sesame Street or the
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Muppet Show?
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Q4. Who are the human actors on Sesame Street?
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Q5. What were some of the Monsterpiece Theater episodes?
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INTRODUCTION
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Welcome to alt.tv.muppets, the place where you can take a break from
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your life of insane solemnity and engage in some serious zaniness!
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This frequently asked questions file exists to serve two purposes:
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one, to answer some questions often posed by persons new to the
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group, and two, to give its readership a few minutes of fun.
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This FAQ is archived at cathouse.org. in the directory
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/pub/cathouse/television/muppets. Also at that site
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are William Sherman's wonderful Muppetography (occasionally posted
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to alt.tv.muppets) and a file of song lyrics. Soon, there will
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also be Chris Vaughn's comprehensive list of muppet performers.
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Although it is already recommended in the Muppetography, I want to
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strongly urge you to check your local library for the following
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book:
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Finch, Christopher. Of Muppets and Men: The Making of the Muppet
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Show. c.1981 by Henson Associates, Inc. Alfred A Knopf.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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The following persons, listed in no particular order, are made honorary
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members of the Electric Mayhem for their important contributions to this FAQ.
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May I be sat on by Sweetums if I left anyone out.
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Jerry Alexandros Devjani Mishra Simon Rooney
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Chris Beck Rebecca Alice Metz Steven Newman
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Charles Evans Bryan Van Blaricom Brian J. Stokes
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Nicolle (Born to Recal) Sean P. Donahue Christopher Robin
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Philip N. Whitman Andrew Wolf Jean-o
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Max Ziff P. J. Geraghty Angela I.
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Davina Tung Kriss A. Hougland Steven Newman
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Laura Wasko Lore A. Guilmartin Steve Kaliszewski
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Erika Lindsay Reuven Wiliam Goren Tim Wright
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Benjamin R. Pierce Russell Schulz Scott McGuire
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Todd Liebenow B.J. Hughes Alex Rudd
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Douglass Glen Whitman Marny Helfrich
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Pratap Patnaikuni Stephanie M. Clarkson-Aines
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Laurie Cubbison Fred Weissman Felix Lee
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Robert Schonberg Todd LeBrasseur
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Thanks are also due to William Sherman for arranging for the
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FTP site, and to Rebecca Walpole to posting this document on a
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regular basis.
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SUBJECTS WE ARE TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT
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The chief of these is the question as to whether Bert and Ernie are
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homosexuals. This is a question which has raised very strong feeling on
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both sides. Having recently spoken with the folks at Children's Television
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Workshop, I can pass along their firm view that Ernie and Bert are _not_ in
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fact gay. CTW's statements on other occasions indicate that the Bert and
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Ernie are puppets, not people ("they don't even have legs!" one person was
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told), and do not have sexual aspects at all. Whether or not you agree with
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this, please DO NOT post on this issue: it has been run into the ground
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repeatedly. Rest assured that your views, whatever they may be, have been
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stated by others.
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Q1. IS ERNIE (or any other muppet) DYING? [Abstract: No.]
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Several times a year, this group receives a panic-stricken posting
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from a new reader who has heard the rumor that the beloved Sesame
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Street character Ernie is dying. It is even rumored that Jim
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Henson's will requires that Ernie no longer be used after his death.
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This is not the case: several members of this group have gone so
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far as to contact Henson Productions and Children's Television
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Workshop, and been ABSOLUTELY ASSURED that this is not the case.
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For those of you who need it from a published source, here is a
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quote from "Surely, no one believes the rat in the soda bottle
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story," written by Rachel Jones of Knight-Ridder Newspapers. (Des
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Moines [Iowa] Register, Dec.1, 1992, p.3T. Thanks to Lore
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Guilmartin for sending it along.) The story concerns 'urban
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legends,' stories that spread like wildfire with little or no basis
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in fact.
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...But some rumors are just too bizarre to figure.
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One of the most recent urban myths is one claiming
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that Ernie, Bert's roommate on "Sesame Street", is
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dying of leukemia.
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"Oh no, not again," groaned Ellen Morgenstern,
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spokeswoman for Children's Television Workshop in
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New York, when asked about Ernie's health. "Ernie
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is not dying of AIDS; he's not dying of leukemia.
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Ernie is a puppet." The Ernie stories have
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circulated for the past year, Morgenstern says. But
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the furor is sort of flattering.
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"It's amazing that a rumor like this could send
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shock waves throughout the country," Morgenstern
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says. "It's an indication of how much Ernie is
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loved.
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So, no: ERNIE IS NOT DYING!
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Recently, this urban legend has been sprouting variations as to the manner of
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impending death or the muppet involved. The answer remains the same: Sesame
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Street has no plans to kill off any of the muppets.
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Q2. WHAT ARE SOME FAVORITE EPISODES OF THE "MUPPET NEWS FLASH?"
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(mostly contributed by Max Ziff)
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The Old Lady who Lived in a Shoe
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Kermit sets out to interview her, but first talks to a young lady who
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lives in a glove ("Does this look like a shoe to you?"), who also has
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a rhyme: "There was a young lady who lived in a glove, if you came to
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her door, she'd give you a shove! Now get out of here, frog!"
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Kermit then speaks to an old man who lives in a hat ("He could bark
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like a dog, and meow like a cat"). He eventually meets the old
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lady, who makes him take care of her children.
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Humpty Dumpty
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Kermit begins by interviewing one of the King's horses (played,
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essentially, by Buster), who feeds him a load of puns, which Kermit
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jots down on his notepad: "Well, he's a good egg." "Uh huh, good
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egg." "Not what you'd call hard-boiled." "Uh-huh, not hard-boiled."
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He then interviews Humpty Dumpty, who's safely on top of his wall.
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Eventually, Kermit gives him a hearty congratulatory slap on the
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back,and, of course, he falls off. Sirens go off, horses and men show up,
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and there's a lot of talking and confusion. We hear the voice of the
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horse from earlier talking with a man: "What happened?" "It was the
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frog that did it." "Somebody get the frog out of here!"
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Old MacDonald had a Farm
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Old MacDonald (terrific Scottish accent), has become wealthy and
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famous from his song, and in order to repay the animals who made him
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what he is, has converted the Farm into a health club. I remember two
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aristocratic pigs, "I'll meet you down by the pool, Muffy." They do a
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version of the song with a stretch, stretch here and a jump, jump
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there, and Kermit becomes exhausted (I believe -- can anyone help me
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on this?).
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Peter Piper
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Kermit goes to Piper's pickle patch and meets Papa Piper, Piper Piper, all
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sorts of Pipers except Peter. Eventually Kermit is covered with peppers.
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There's also one from the Muppet Show where he broadcasts from the
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planet Koozbane, with the Koozbanian Foob, the most sought after food on the
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planet. Kermit's asking him how they survive. The answer is
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"evolution", as the Foob turns more and more into a Kermit look-alike,
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and it ends in a fight between who's the real one. (Thanks to Rebecca Alice
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Metz.)
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Cinderella at the Ball
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Kermit asks Cinderella to describe her outfit, and the Prince
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(brilliantly played by Guy Smiley) breaks in with a yuppie accent:
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"I'd be glad to. I'm wearing a sky blue velvet jumpsuit with ruffles
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at the neck and cuffs ... the crown that dad gave me, with jewels and
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sparkly things ..." Meanwhile Cinderella realizes it's almost
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midnight and leaves; after he's through describing his ensemble, the
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Prince finds her slipper ("Heigh ho, what's this? A glass slipper!").
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He ends up dropping and breaking the slipper ("Easy come, easy go"),
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forgeting about "Cindy", and soliciting dances from other ballgoers
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"The prince is free to dance! Who wants to dance with the prince?
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Get your tickets! ... Hey, Frog, you wanna dance? No, I suppose not."
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(Thanks to Steve Kaliszewski)
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George Washington's Father's Cherry Orchard
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Kermit interviews George Washington's father about the famous cherry
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tree incident; meanwhile little George keeps chopping down trees, and
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telling the truth after each one: "I cannot tell a lie, I chopped down
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that cherry tree with my little hatchet". Kermit keeps count of the
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trees ("Let's see, there were 1776 trees, now there are 1775 trees;
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1776 take away 1 is 1775") and George's father regrets giving him the
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hatchet ("I wish we'd gotten him that wagon instead"). He continues
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discussing his son's peculiarities with Kermit ("Chop, chop, chop;
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truth, truth, truth. Chop, chop, chop; truth, truth, truth."),
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finally explaining that there's one thing the boy has to learn: "TO
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STOP CHOPPING DOWN MY CHERRY TREES! C'mere, George! Gimme that
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hatchet!" The 1774th tree falls on Kermit, who returns us to our
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regularly scheduled program with cherries and sticks on his head.
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(Thanks to Steve Kaliaszewski)
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Q3. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THAT CHARACTER ON SESAME STREET OR THE
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MUPPET SHOW?
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The Sesame Street lists included here were compiled by Charles Evans
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out of the responses to a list posted by Bob Pedersen. Many people
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offered suggestions: most of these contributors are listed in the
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introduction to this FAQ.
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These lists are not complete, nor do I intend them to be. Mr. Evans
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IS attempting a complete list -- see the newsgroup. [I, personally,
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would rather take over for Sisyphus, although I suspect Gonzo would
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find that role rather amusing. 8^)] This list is the first
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posted version of Mr. Evans' list, with some minor modifications.
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Please note: Version 3.0 saw a few removals from this list, mostly unnamed
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charaters from Sesame Street, as well as a few additions.
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SESAME STREET CHARACTERS
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---------------------------
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HUMANS
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---------
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Bob : Music teacher
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Buffy : Past; played by Buffy St. Marie
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David : Deceased
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Fanny : Old SS kid, Kermit interview
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Gabriella : Marie and Luis's daughter
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Gina : Teenager
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Gordon : Married to Susan: more than one actor
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Hiroshi : Artist
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John-John : Frequently used child
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Koty : Child of Buffy and Sheldon
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Linda : Deaf; Librarian; owns Barkley
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Luis : Married to Maria
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Maria : Married to Luis
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Miles : Adopted son of Susan and Gordon
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Mr. Mcintosh : Past; owned fruit stand on wheels
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Mr.Hanford : Currently own's Hooper's store
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Mr.Hooper : Deceased; ran grocery store
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Nina the Nice : Oscar's alter ego in a n'hood of
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grouches
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Olivia : Gordon's sister
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Sabian : Teenager
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Shola : Old SS kid, Kermit interview
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Sheldon : Married to Buffy
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Susan : Married to Gordon
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Wanda the Word Fairy : New, in a few skits
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MUPPETS
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----------
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Alice Snuffleupagus : Mr. Snuffleupagus's sister
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Amazing Mumford : Magician; Grover often volunteered
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Angry Guy : Sherlock Hemlock lookalike
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Assorted Cows : Often used a backup singers
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Baby Martian
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Barkley : Large dog: owned by Linda
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Bart : Bert's brother
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Bert
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Betty Lou
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Biff : Construction worker: partner of
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Sully
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Big Bird
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Boss : Lefty's boss with the Golden "An"
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Brad : Bert's nephew
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Bruce Stringbean and the : "Born to Add"
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S Street Band
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Bruno : Carries Oscar's can
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Buster : Forgetful Jones' horse
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Captain Vegetable : Guy Smiley lookalike
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Charlie : as in "Hey, Charlie, a number 4!"
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Chrissie and the Alphabets : several big hits!
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Cinderella :
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Clementine : Forgetful Jones' girlfriend
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Cookie Monster
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Don Music
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Dr. Noble Price : Scientist
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Elmo
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Ernie
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Farley : Little boy
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Ferlengheti : Beat Poet
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Flo Bear
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Forgetful Jones : Cowboy; lives up to name
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Frank and Stein : The two-headed monster
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Gina : Muppet; "Gina play"
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Gladys : Cow
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Grover
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Grover's Mommy
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Grungetta : Oscar's girlfriend
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Guy Smiley : Real name: Bernie
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Liederkrantz (we think!)
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Guy from Alphabet Chat : Name???
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Harvey Kneeslapper : Practical joker
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Herbert Birdsfoot
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Herry Monster
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Hoots the Owl : Plays saxophone
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How Now Brown Cow and The Moo Wave : Cow singing group
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Humpty Dumpty : News Flash! star
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Irvine : Oscar the Grouch's niece
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Jackman Wolf : Guy with yellow hair and glasses, sung
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Kermit the Frog
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Large Blue Wolf : In most scenes with the wolf
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Lefty : Shady guy: sells things to Ernie
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Little Bird
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Little Jerry and the Monotones : "Telephone Rock"
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Little Red Riding Hood : Red is liberated or non-traditional
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Martians : The folks at CTW call them
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the "Yip-yips"
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Merryl Sheep
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Miss Muffett : News Flash! star
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Mr. Snuffleupagus
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Mrs. Snuffleupagus : Mr. S's mother
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Old MacDonald : Had a Farm
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Oscar the Grouch
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Oscar's little niece
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Oscar's mommy
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H. Ross Parrot
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Pat Playjacks : America's _Second_ Favorite Game Show Host
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Peter Piper :
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Pied Piper : Really groovy, looked like Jim Henson
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Placido Flamingo : Opera singer
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Polly Darton : Country Singer
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Prarie Dawn
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Prince Charming :
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Purple Guy : In the skit with the guy with long nose
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Roosevelt Franklin
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Rumpelstiltskin
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Sam the Robot
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Shaggy Singer and 2 backups who sing "Near, Far" and "Ball Tall Fall Wall"
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Sheldon the Turtle
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Sherlock Hemlock : The World's Greatest Detective
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Simon the Soundman : Made noises with his mouth
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Singing pigs
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Sinister Sam : "I wanna know who bought the last box
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of crayons and Y"
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Sleeping Beauty :
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Slimey : Oscar's pet worm
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Small Green Wolf : Accused of a crime
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Solid Citizen : Lady on stage with Mumford
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Spider of Miss Muffett : News Flash! star
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Sully : Construction worker; Biff's partner
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Telly Monster
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The Amazing Mumford
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The Beetles : They sing "Letter B"
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The Count von Count
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The Dingers
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The Honkers
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The Martians
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The Three Little Pigs : Various skits
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Theodore : In the Count's classroom
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Twiddle Bugs : At least four; live in Ernie's flowerbox
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Vanna White lookalike : Name???
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Very Large Grayish-Blue Wolf : Blew Kermit off the screen and screen white
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Vincent Twice, Vincent Twice : Armchair announcer
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Witches in a cave that COOPERATED to make some chicken soup
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ZZ Top Lookalikes : Cool =)
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The guy at Grover's restaurants
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NON-ANIMALS/PERSONS MUPPETS
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------------------------------
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Basketball : Gave Kermit a hard time
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Cloud : "Here is Your Life" star for Oak Tree
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Dentist : "Here is Your Life" star for Tooth
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Farmer Brown : Who grew the wheat for someone
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Fred Chair : "Here is Your Life" star for Oak Tree
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Glass of Milk :
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House : 4710 Pleasant Street
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Loaf of Bread : "Here is Your Life" honoree
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Nose : On Name That Part
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Oak Tree : "Here is Your Life" honoree
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Pasty the ToothPaste : "Here is Your Life" star for Tooth
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Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches : "HIYL" honoree From Tuscaloosa, AL
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Spider of Miss Muffett : News Flash! star
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Tooth : "Here is Your Life" honoree
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Toothbrush : "Here is Your Life" star for Tooth
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Wilma Table : "HIYL" star for Oak Tree
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THE MUPPET SHOW CHARACTERS
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--------------------------
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Kermit
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Miss Piggy
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Statler
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Waldorf
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Fozzie Bear
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Crazy Harry (likes explosions)
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Lew Zealand (throws fish)
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Scooter
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J.P. Grosse (Scooter's uncle who owns the theatre)
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Bobby Benson and his Baby Band
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Tom, Dick, and Harry, the 3-headed creature
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Annie Sue (Miss Piggy's rival)
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Timmy Monster
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Thog
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George the Janitor
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Rowlf
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The Great Gonzo
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Sam the American Eagle
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Swedish Chef
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Link Hogthrob
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Camella the Chicken
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Dr. Julius Strangepork
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The Muppet News Reporter
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Sweetums
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Nigel the conductor (wrote theme music)
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Showered Rosell (sports anouncer)
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Muppy
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Foo-foo
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Robin
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Andre the Artist
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Hilda (from Wardrobe)
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Dr. Bunson Honeydew
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Beaker
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Annie Sue
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The Gargling Gargoyl
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Marvin Suggs and his Amazing Muppephone
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(Also, M.S. and his All-Food Glee Club)
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Beauregard
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Clifford (Jim Henson's last creation -- only two known appearences)
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Mahna mahna
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Wayne and Wanda
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Rizzo and various other rats
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Lewis Kezagger -- sportscaster
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Uncle Deadly
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Granny the Gouger
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Flying Zucchini Brothers
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Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem
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Dr. Teeth -- keyboards
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Sgt. Floyd Pepper -- guitar
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Zoot -- saxophone
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Janis -- guitar, vocals
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Animal -- drums
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Lips -- trumpet (later)
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Veterinarian's Hospital
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Dr. Bob (Rowlf)
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Nurse Piggy
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Nurse Janice
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Pigs in Space
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The Swinetrek
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Captain Link Hogthrob
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Dr. Julius Strangepork
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First Mate Piggy
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Q4. WHO PLAYED THE HUMANS ON SESAME STREET?
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Contributed by Reuven William Goren
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Character Actor
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David Northern Calloway
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Luis Emilio Delgado
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Mr. Hooper Will Lee
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Susan Loretta Long
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Maria Sonja Manzano
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Bob Bob McGrath
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Gordon Hal Miller
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Q5. WHAT WERE THE NAMES OF SOME MONSTERPIECE THEATER EPISODES?
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(List contributed by Tim Wright)
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The King and I
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The Postman Always Rings Twice [a classic]
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The Monsters of Venice
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The Taming of the Shoe
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The Old Man and the C
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Upstairs, Downstairs, episode ___ [I forget which number]
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Guys and Dolls
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The 400 Blows ["with subtitles"]
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Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves
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12 Angry Men
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1 Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
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The Sun Also Rises
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Twin beaks
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Cyranose de Bergerac
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Much Ado About Nothing
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Me Claudius
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The 39 Stairs
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Gone With the Wind
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Hamlet
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Chariots of Fur
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I hope everyone has been entertained.
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Bob Pedersen
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--
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Bob Pedersen
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University of Iowa Library Science Student
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Snail: P.O. Box 847, Iowa City, IA 52244
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"I have a room for life at the Home for the Chronically Groovy!"
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-- Sgt. Floyd Pepper
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