The 50th Anniversary of The Muppet Show

It was 50 years ago today that The Muppet Show debuted on ITV in the United Kingdom. In the United States, it aired in first run syndication on local stations. While the Muppets had appeared in various projects before The Muppet Show and have appeared in various projects since, it may well remain what the Muppets are best known for. What is more, it introduced new Muppets who remain important to the franchise to this day.

As is well known, the Muppets were the creation of Jim Henson. They first appeared on Sam and Friends, a locally produced puppet-sketch comedy show that aired on WRC in Washington, DC and later in syndication. Among the characters was Kermit, a lizard-like creature who would later be established as a frog. From Sam and Friends, the Muppets went onto appear on such shows as The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Hollywood Palace, The Mike Douglas Show, and Dinah!. Rowlf the Dog was even a regular on The Jimmy Dean Show. The Muppets, including Kermit, appeared on the children's show Sesame Street from its beginning in 1969. The Muppets appeared in their own TV specials, including Hey, Cinderella! in 1969 and The Frog Prince in 1971. During the 1975-1976 season, the Muppets appeared on the first season of Saturday Night Live, where they performed decidedly more adult material than would be seen on Sesame Street. Among the Muppet segments was the Land of Gorch, which featured alien creatures who could be crude and boorish. Ultimately, Jim Henson and the Muppets left Saturday Night Live due to disagreements with the show's writers.

.Despite having appeared on shows made for adults and general audiences, from The Ed Sullivan Show to The Tonight Show, Jim Henson worried that the Muppets were being typecast as children's fare due to their appearances on Sesame Street. This is one of the reasons they had appeared on Saturday Night Live. It was also the reason Jim Henson began developing the idea of a show that would be made more adults than for children.

It was in April 1973 that Jim Henson met with Michael Eisner, then in charge of programming at ABC, about a holiday special featuring the Muppets. This resulted in The Muppets Valentine Show, which aired on ABC on January 30, 1974 and served as a pilot for The Muppet Show. ABC passed on a regularly scheduled Muppets series at the time, feeling it would not be a hit. Jim Henson then produced a second special that also served as a pilot, The Muppets: Sex and Violence, which aired on ABC on March 19, 1975. The Muppets: Sex and Violence was historic for introducing new Muppets who would become part of The Muppet Show. These included Sam Eagle, Dr. Teeth, hecklers Statler and Woldorf, and The Swedish Chef (a prototype of which had appeared under the name Järnvägskorsning in the Sixties). Miss Piggy was also a part of The Muppets: Sex and Violence, although it was her second appearance. She first appeared in 1974 in the TV special Herb Alpert and the TJB.

Unfortunately, ABC once again passed on a regularly scheduled show featuring the Muppets. Jim Henson then produced a 25 minute pitch reel, written by him and George Schlatter of Laugh-In fame, for CBS. CBS did not pick up a regularly scheduled show featuring the Muppets, though Jim Henson shopped the pitch reel around to other television venues. Fortunately Lew Grade of the British broadcaster ATV made an offer to Jim Henson to produce a regular series. The show would be produced at the ATV Elstree Studios and would air on ITV. It was Lew Grade who proposed that The Muppet Show could be sold to first run syndication in the United States, much as many previous ATV shows had been. After years of Jim Henson trying to get a regularly scheduled show featuring the Muppets off the ground, The Muppet Show finally debuted on IV on September 5, 1976.

While featuring puppets, The Muppet Show was essentially an old fashioned variety show. It featured both comedy sketches and musical performances. It was performed in the Muppet Theatre, which was a grand old theatre of the sort common in the days of vaudeville. Kermit the Frog acted as both the show's host and its showrunner, with plots taking place both backstage and elsewhere in the theatre.

The Muppet Show included both long running Muppets, such as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, and Gonzo the Great (who first appeared as a background character in the 1970 special The Great Santa Claus Switch), and more recent characters such as Miss Piggy, Dr. Teeth, Statler and Woldorf, and The Swedish Chef. It also introduced some new Muppets, including comedian and Kermit's sidekick Fozzie Bear, Scooter, nephew of the theatre's owner and backstage stage manager and go-fer, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker, Beauregard the janitor, Rizzo the Rat, and yet others. The Muppet Show always began with a cold opening that introduced that week's guest star.

Like other variety shows, The Muppet Show featured several recurring sketches. Among the earliest was "At the Dance," in which Muppets delivered rapid-fire one-liners as they danced in a ballroom. "Bear on Patrol" featured Fozzie Bear as a hapless police officer, with his chief played by Link Hogtrob (best known for the sketch "Pigs in Space"). "Muppet Labs" featured Dr. Bunson Honeydew and Beaker attempted experiments that always went wrong. The aforementioned "Pigs in Space" parodied space operas and sci-fi shows from Flash Gordon to Star Trek, and featured Miss Piggy and Link Hogthrob. "The Swedish Chef" parodied cooking shows, while "Veterinarian's Hospital" parodied medical dramas and soap operas. There were several other recurring sketches throughout the show's run.

As a variety show, The Muppet Show featured a guest star in every episode. Joel Grey was the guest star in the very first episode. The first season would see such guest stars as Rita Moreno, Jim Nabors, Ruth Buzzi, Paul Williams, Peter Ustinov, and Ben Vereen. Once the show became a success, many performers were keen on appearing on The Muppet Show, so that it attracted stars and musical performers one wouldn't usually see on a television variety show. These included Peter Sellers, Elton John, Alice Cooper, Sylvester Stallone, Dudley Moore, Arlo Guthrie, and Debbie Harry. The Muppet Show was also notable for featuring guest stars whose careers went back to the Golden Age of Hollywood and the Golden Age of Radio. Among these were Lena Horne, Vincent Price, George Burns, Milton Berle, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Bob Hope, Danny Kaye, Roy Rogers, and Dale Evans, and Gene Kelly. Among the many other guest stars on the show were Harvey Korman, Ben Vereen, Connie Stevens, Madeline Kahn, Julie Andrews, James Coburn, and yet others. Amazingly enough, no guest star ever appeared on The Muppet Show twice.

The Muppet Show lasted for five seasons and 120 episodes. When it ended, it was not due to its ratings, as it was still extremely popular. Instead, the decision was made to prevent the show from running too long, and so that Jim Henson and the Muppets could concentrate on making movies. While The Muppet Show ended its run, it was hardly the last television viewers would see of the Muppets or even the Muppet Theatre. During the 1996-1997 and 1997-1998 seasons, the Muppets had their own show again, Muppets Tonight, on which they were running their own TV channel. In 2001, during MuppetFest The Muppet Show Live took place at the Hollywood Palace in Los Angeles. This year saw a reunion special for The Muppet Show, guest starring Sabrina Carpenter, in which the Muppets returned to the Muppet Theatre.

The Muppet Show would have a lasting impact on the Muppets. Characters who had appeared earlier, but were not yet major players, rose to prominence on The Muppet Show, including Miss Piggy and Gonzo. Other characters were introduced on the show who would play a major role in subsequent Muppet projects, including Fozzie Bear and Scooter. It also brought the Muppets to its largest audience up to that point. That exposure allowed them to expand into movies, starting with The Muppet Movie in 1979.

What is not often noted about The Muppet Show is that it was a bit of a last hurrah for variety shows in the United States. It was perhaps the last truly successful variety show to air on American television. The Muppet Show also proved that puppet comedy could draw an adult audience. Such puppet shows as Spitting Image in the UK, Les Guignols in France, 2DTV in the UK, and yet other adult-oriented puppet shows may owe their existence to The Muppet Show. The series is available on DVD and can be streamed on Disney+. Chances are good people will still be watching The Muppet Show fifty years from now.

Popeye the Sailor's 70th Anniversary on Television

(Perhaps no one knows as much about Popeye as Fred M. Grandinetti. He was a founding member of the Official Popeye Fan Club. He has also written several books on the character, including Popeye: An Illustrated Cultural History; Popeye, the Collectible: Dolls, Coloring Books, Games, Toys, Comic Books, Animation; Popeye: An Illustrated History of E.C. Segar's Character in Print, Radio, Television, and Film Appearances 1929-1993; He Am What He Am!: Jack Mercer, the Voice of Popeye; and Popeye the Sailor: The 1960s TV Cartoon. This month marks the 70th anniversary of the release of the Popeye the Sailor animated theatrical shorts to television. Fred M. Grandinetti has graciously written a guest post for the occasion.~Terence)

Popeye the Sailor's 70th Anniversary on Television 
By Fred M. Grandinetti

 

There were children's shows with an adult host on the small screen during the golden age of television. However, the format was cemented with the help of a one-eyed sailor.
 
Seventy years ago, the Popeye theatrical cartoons, produced by Fleischer and Famous Studios for Paramount Pictures, made their television debut.
 
Originally, Popeye was the star of E.C. Segar's Thimble Theatre comic strip. He came to life in a 1933 Betty Boop cartoon. Popeye the Sailor became the longest running animated short subject series in motion picture history with a total of 234 episodes.
 
In September of 1956 they were syndicated to numerous television markets by Associated Artists Productions. Local stations across the country generated high ratings! Popeye was often teamed with an adult host whether it was Sailor Bob, Capt. "C" Whiskers, Cooksey the Clown, Commander Jet, Uncle Gus, Capt. Jolly, Mayor Art Finley, Sally Starr or Tom Hatten. Several of these hosts interacted with a live audience of children. The sets often had decorative pictures of Popeye and his crew.
 

While Popeye had been appearing on merchandise since the early 1930's the marketplace exploded following his television debut.  Anything you can imagine was produced due to his overwhelming popularity! Today these items are highly collectible. In 1963 many programs participated in a Physical Fitness Campaign sponsored by the sailor's owner, King Features Syndicate. It was a national youth movement to promote children's health through exercise.
 

Unfortunately, by the 1980's groups like Acton for Children's Television forced the adult hosts off the air.  The group didn't like hosts encouraging children to buy a sponsor's product.  Of course, they failed to realize the same individuals would remind the young audience to obey their parents, do well in school, listen to the bus driver and other important lessons.
 
Despite the loss of adult hosts independent stations continued to air the Popeye theatricals.  By this time the prints looked like they had been swept up off the floor, but children didn't care.  In the year 2000 The Cartoon Network decided to create an anthology series around the films. The plan was to restore the black and white cartoons as they were seen in theaters.  The television distributor's logo would be removed and replaced by the studio which originally distributed them to movie screens; Paramount Pictures.
 

The needed footage was located but The Cartoon Network would not finance the restoration of the films. I was asked to provide the money needed and The Popeye Show made its debut. Unfortunately, The Cartoon Network had a phobia in regard to airing black and white cartoons during prime time.  The series was originally scheduled Monday mornings at 1:30am. I began a public relation's campaign requesting an earlier time period. The fans came through and the show was moved to Sunday nights at 9:30pm and later 7:30pm. It remained on the air for three years highlighting many of the sailor's best adventures. Eventually the Popeye cartoons from 1933 to 1949 were released on DVD from Warner Brothers.
 
The theatrical Popeye films continue to air on Me TV and You Tube. 

Happy anniversary to Popeye and all of the adult hosts who introduced audiences to his animated adventures!

The 15th Anniversary of TCMParty

Today TCMParty turns 15 years old. For those of you who do not know what TCMParty is, it is a collective live posting of movies on Turner Classic Movies using the hashtag #TCMParty. It originated on Twitter and has since largely moved to Bluesky, although the hashtag is used on other social media services as well. Originally, TCMParties were scheduled and had hosts who posted trivia about the specific movie then airing. The hosts essentially curated the live posting. While scheduled TCMParties with a host still take place, TCMParty has evolved to where it takes place 24 hours a day. 

Since the first TCMParty took place on September 3, 2011, TCMParty has become an established part of Turner Classic Movies fandom. TCM has announced TCMParties on their official Twitter account and TCM hosts have served as hosts of TCMParties. On the occasion of the 5th anniversary of TCMParty, Turner Classic Movies celebrated along with the rest of us. On the occasion of our 10th anniversary, they released a video in our honour. 

I already posted a detailed history of TCMParty on the occasion of its 10th anniversary, so I won't repeat myself  here. I will mention that it was not the first collective live tweet by any measure. #TCMBugout and its successor #TCMDriveIn pre-dated it. #TCMDriveIn evolved into #DriveInMob which persists to this day. As to #TCMParty, it originated with Kathleen Crowley, who decided live tweeting to movies on Turner Classic Movies would be easier if there was a hashtag with which fans could keep track of all the tweets. She served as the first TCMParty host, choosing a specific movie from the schedule and then alerting everyone that there would be a TCM Party for that particular film. It was then on September 3, 2011, that the first TCMParty was held with a live tweet to the classic Casablanca (1942). Pault Guthat, the name now most associated with TCMParty, joined as a host in October 2011. Her impact on TCMParty was such that she is often counted as its co-founder. It wasn't long before TCMParty had its own Facebook page and its own Tumblr blog as well. 

Kathleen Crowley left as a TCMParty host in March 2012 to concentrate on her handicrafts and animal rescue. Since then TCMParty has had a few permanent hosts, including silent movie expert Trevor Jost for a time and later Joel Williams, who is still a permanent host to this day. TCMParty has had several guest hosts over the years, including Illeana Douglas, various Turner Classic Movies hosts themselves, and various journalists and film historians. I have hosted TCMParty several times myself, particularly when British New Wave films, A Hard Day's Night (1964) or Stand and Deliver (1988) have aired. 

A few celebrities have been TCMParty members over the years. Songbird Monica Lewis and actress Vanessa Marquez of Stand and Deliver (1988) and ER fame are counted among the founding members. Illeana Douglas has participated in TCMParty even when she wasn't hosting. TCMParty has even had some connection to the Golden Age of Hollywood beyond being fans of the era. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall's son Stephen Bogart has participated in TCMParties, as did the legendary Mitzi Gaynor. 

TCMParty has changed over the years. It can not only be found on Facebook and Tumblr, but also on Instagram and TikTok as well. It was in November 2024 that the official TCMParty moved from Twitter to Bluesky due to changes to Twitter (now called "X") that made the social media service less secure and safe, not to mention several members left the social media service (including myself). Despite this, TCMParties do still take place on Twitter, and on Mastodon as well. 

I cannot begin to estimate the impact on TCMParty on my life. I have made many close friends though TCMParty. I count Paula Guthat, co-founder of TCMParty, as one of my closest friends. And, of course, it was through TCMParty and live tweets of Mad Men that I met the dearest friend in my life, Vanessa Marquez. Indeed, following Vanessa's death, I don't think I would have survived without TCMParty. Besides making friends through TCMParty, it has had other impacts on my life. A Shroud of Thoughts had a following before TCMParty, but I think TCMParty made it even more popular. I also believe it is because of TCMParty that  was chosen as one of TCM's Fan Favourite co-hosts.

Of course, I am not the only one for whom TCMParty has had an impact. Many people have made friends though TCMParty. Some have even met their spouses. Yet others have credited TCMParty with getting them through difficult times and even saving their lives. TCMParty ceased to be a mere live posting of movies on Turner Classic Movies long ago. It has since become a vibrant, close knit community of TCM fans who support each other through the best of times and the worst of times. Quite simply, I think TCMParty has improved the lives of nearly everyone involved with it.  

Grieving Vanessa Marquez

Today it has been eight years since Vanessa Marquez was shot in the back and killed by members of the South Pasadena, California Police Department. At the time, I described it as feeling as if a part of my soul had been ripped out. And I still feel as if a part of me is missing, eight years later. Vanessa's death was definitely the most painful thing I have experienced in my life.

I have written about this before, but for those new to the blog, the fact is that Vanessa Marquez and I were very close. We first encountered each other on Twitter live tweeting movies on Turner Classic Movies and episodes of Mad Men and Downton Abbey. We soon learned we had much in common beyond classic movies and Mad Men, including a love of Star Wars, Star Trek, and other science fiction shows, a love of old music, an interest in popular culture, and shared political views. Eventually we were in touch every day, through social media and later texts and phone calls I considered Vanessa my closest friend and she called me her favourite friend. We never met in person, but our nearly constant contact made up for that.

It was then that the events of August 30, 2018, shook me to my core. The night of her death my heart was pounding so hard and fast that I thought I might have a heart attack or a stroke. What is more, I didn't really care if I did. The fact is that night I experienced something I never had before, suicidal ideation. What is more,it would reoccur over the next several months. I cried every single day during the month of September, usually multiple times. Afterwards, I would still cry over Vanessa regularly for some time afterwards. 

Indeed, after Vanessa's death I think I very nearly lost my mind. There were times when I really couldn't think straight, when I was overly suspicious of people and I could be overly emotional. Dominating this entire period was an overwhelming sense of sorrow. It was difficult to find any real meaning in life.

I am much better than I was then, but I am still grieving Vanessa Marquez. There is still this hole in my life where she should be, and I still miss her terribly. I suppose I should have expected that. Ron, my best friend from college, has been dead for nearly 40 years, and I still miss him. My parents have been dead for a long time and I still miss them. My best friend Brian had been dead for 15 years now and I still miss him. I loved Vanessa more than anyone except close family, so it is natural that I would still miss her.

Indeed, I do not think grief ever goes away. There is no recovering from grief.  When you really, truly love someone, you will always feel the loss. There will always be this hole in your life that can never, ever be filled. You learn to live with grief. You learn to accept it. But you will never fully stop grieving. And perhaps that it is as it should be. I have quoted it before, but there is a line from the WandaVision episode "Previously On" that I think is all too true. Quite simply, Vision tells Wanda, "But what is grief if not love persevering?" You will never completely stop grieving someone you love, just as you will never stop loving them.

And, as I once told a mutual friend, Vanessa was very easy to love. It wasn't because she was a beautiful and talented actress who had appeared in a classic movie (Stand and Deliver) and the number one show of its day (ER).. It's because she was a sweet, loving, intelligent, and funny woman who truly cared about her friends and other people. If one of her friends was attacked, Vanessa was the first to take up for them. If one of her friends was sick, she would worry about them. She was happy when her friends were doing well and sad when they weren't. Vanessa never missed a birthday or an anniversary, and could remember the smallest minutiae about her friends. She was quite possibly the most remarkable woman I ever knew, and I will love her forever.

In the eight yeas since Vanessa's death, I have accepted that I will always miss her and that I will always grieve over her. I know that there will be those times, although they are spaced farther apart than right after she died, that I will break down crying over her. I know there will be those times when I feel her absence more sharply than others. In the end, I don't think we ever get over the deaths of those we love. Grief never completely goes away. It remains with us for the rest of our lives.