When was kermit the frog made

As Jim Henson described: "all the characters in those days were abstract"; Kermit was simply a lizard-like creature, and was not a specific species.

Kermit truly became a frog in the late s. However, the exact moment of the transformation has been unclear. Whereas most official sources list the TV special The Frog Prince , research shows it happened earlier. Jim Henson himself even said so in a interview: [1]. However, Kermit was already a frog, complete with flippers, in the television special Hey Cinderella!

Kermit also appeared in his current form in Muppet Puppet Plays in , where Henson called him a "frog-type Muppet. He also makes a cameo in the pilot for a proposed Cinderella TV series as a frog. In , when the Muppets appeared on The Mike Douglas Show , Florence Henderson is taken aback by Kermit's sudden appearance; in response, she remarks, "He scared me, I didn't expect a frog!

In one Ask Henson. We frogafied him over a couple of television specials we did years ago, before Sesame Street. So he just slowly became a frog. I don't think there was a conscious move to do that He's very primitive as a puppet goes because he's really like a glorified sock puppet. But he changed a little bit - a few years after I first made him because when I first made him, he was - all my characters in those days were abstract.

And he was sort of a lizard-like character. He is being phased out of the show. Ultimately, of course, that did not turn out to be the case, as Kermit returned as a regular Sesame Street character in the third season See also Kermit the Frog on Sesame Street.

Kermit has appeared in almost every major special from The Jim Henson Company. He had a fairly major supporting role in Hey Cinderella!

Willowby's Christmas Tree. However, when The Muppet Show was in development, Kermit was not intended to be the main character. In The Muppets Valentine Show , he had a major supporting role and starred in two sketches, but the main character for that special was Wally. After Kermit's role on The Muppet Show was established, he starred in subsequent specials relating to The Muppet Show family of characters, often in the starring role.

Kermit became a star when he hosted The Muppet Show , acting as the host and the person ultimately in charge of what went on during the show. During the first season, it seemed as if he treated his fellow cast and crew members more like employees, but later on, as the characters developed, it became clear that they were his friends as well.

In addition to hosting, Kermit regularly got to chat with the guest stars, in the Panel Discussions and Talk Spots , as well as backstage and in some numbers. Being the main character, Kermit interacted with most of the main cast of the show. He was often pursued by Miss Piggy, who made no secret of her love for him, but Kermit generally rebuffed her advances. Although Piggy loved him, that didn't stop her from karate-chopping him whenever she got mad at him. Miss Piggy unsuccessfully tried to make Kermit jealous of guest star Avery Schreiber , but on some occasions, Kermit actually has gotten jealous of male guest stars who Piggy liked, including Peter Ustinov and Christopher Reeve.

They even danced together in an At the Dance spot in episode There have also been many episodes that revolved around Kermit and Miss Piggy.

Episode revolved around Miss Piggy pursuing Kermit. In episode , Miss Piggy had Scooter pay the audience to cheer at her so that Kermit would notice her more. In episode , Miss Piggy got some shoes that were too small for her feet, but when Kermit complimented on the shoes, she reluctantly kept them. One of the biggest episodes for them was episode , in which, after being annoyed over Miss Piggy telling the gossip papers that they were secretly married, Kermit fired Miss Piggy.

However, Kermit eventually did hire her back. In episode , Piggy tricks Kermit into a wedding sketch with a real minister she secretly booked. He realized the minister was a real one in the nick of time, however, to Miss Piggy's rage. He was also good friends with Fozzie Bear. They have appeared together in acts such as " Any Old Iron " and Kermit has reluctantly joined Fozzie for some of his monologues , such as "Good Grief!

The Comedians a Bear! Kermit let Fozzie help him plan the show for episode , and when Kermit suddenly became sick in episode , Kermit chose to put Fozzie in charge of hosting. Other episodes illustrating Kermit and Fozzie's relationship include episode , in which Fozzie brings his agent, Irving Bizarre , to the theater to negotiate Fozzie's contract with Kermit; episode , in which, after Fozzie mistakenly sends the stagehands to the country, Kermit makes Fozzie do their work, threatening to fire him if he blunders; and episode , where Kermit kept asking Fozzie who the many phone calls to the theater were from.

Although he generally functions as the "normal" and calm center of the show, at times, Kermit would panic or become annoyed and frustrated with the chaos around him. Sources of his frustration include the antics of Dr. Bunsen Honeydew 's teleportation device in episode , the presence of Mickey Moose in episode and a robot version of himself in episode , and the various pranks pulled by Fozzie in episode Kermit expressed annoyance at the acts proposed by Gonzo for the show and Crazy Harry 's many explosions, and was discomfited by Scooter's frequent reminders that his uncle owned the theatre.

Beyond his frustrations, Kermit wasn't always the straight man himself. He engaged in sarcasm or insults often towards Miss Piggy, to his peril, as in " Pig Calypso ". After ribbing Lesley Ann Warren in episode , the guest star says she thought he was the one who wasn't crazy.

The frog quips, "Me not crazy? I hired the others. Kermit has had major parts in many episodes of the show, and many episodes revolved around Kermit. In episode , Kermit became jealous of Peter Ustinov when Fozzie, Miss Piggy, Hilda , and Scooter all talked about how great Peter is, especially since Fozzie and Scooter were saying things about Peter that they had previously said about Kermit. In episode , Miss Piggy attempted to wed Kermit by writing a sketch in which they got married, and then tricked Kermit into signing a marriage license; she even booked a real clergyman to play the part of the minister.

In episode , Kermit hurt his flipper after falling off a trapeze, getting hit by a faulty light fixture, and later catapulting into Statler and Waldorf's box this episode put Piggy in the "over-protective mother" position. In episode , Miss Piggy was jealous because Kermit had a crush on guest star Linda Ronstadt and decided to lock Kermit inside a trunk.

Kermit's birthday was celebrated in episode , although, at the end of the episode, it was revealed that it was actually a few months before his real birthday. Subtle changes to his collar and feet were made as newer versions of Kermit were created, but the Kermit we recognize today has not really changed since When creating Kermit, Jim Henson wanted a puppet that was more capable of expression than those made with harder materials.

It featured a cast of hand puppets created by Jim Henson and his eventual wife Jane Nebel that often lip-synched to popular songs or comedy records. It aired from to Our collection database is a work in progress.

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