This special episode features an interview with one of the most-requested Muppet performers among the fans, Jerry Nelson. Now retired, Mr. Nelson was one of the very early Muppeers, working closely with Jim Henson on projects like Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and Fraggle Rock; not to mention numerous Henson films like The Muppet Movie, The Dark Crystal, and The Muppet Christmas Carol. His career spans over 40 years, with much of that time spent as a principal Muppet performer.

Thanks to everyone who left voicemails and sent in special audio pieces for the show. It truly is the Muppets fans – from all over the world and from every walk of life – that keep The MuppetCast afloat. I sincerely appreciate your listening.

Questions/Comments about the Muppets or The MuppetCast can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              614-364-4270      end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Even better, stop by the Muppet Central Forums and discuss this and many other episodes with Muppet fans worldwide. Follow the show on Twitter and join the Facebook page too!

Have a great week!

-Steve

The MuppetCast is sponsored by Bell, Book & Comic. Life should be more fun!

Don’t forget, on January 30, William Paterson University will be hosting “Sesame Street at 40: A Night of Celebration and Discovery with the Legendary Cast“. This special evening’s panel discussion will feature Frank Oz, Kevin Clash, Caroll Spinney, Marty Robinson, Fran Brill, and David Rudman. Also on the panel are Sonia Manzano, Bob McGrath, and writer Tony Geiss. Author Michael Davis will be the evening’s moderator. Tickets are still on sale, call 973-720-2371 or email boxoffice@wpunj.edu to reserve your seats.

Fans who plan on attending the Sesame event at WPU can read and participate in this discussion going on at the Muppet Central Forums. Maybe we can all meet up somewhere during that weekend!

February 7 marks the opening of “Jim Henson’s Fantastic World” in Orlando, FL at the Orange County History Center. Join me if you’re in the Orlando area for fun and Muppets!

The Electric Company made a comeback this week on PBS. The original Electric Company, which aired from 1971 to ’77 and in repeats until ’85, was created by Joan Ganz Cooney as a follow-up to her Sesame Street. The new 30-minute program changes things up a bit from what many of us remember, but the show is just as viable a teaching tool today as it was then. One of the actresses is even from the Columbus, OH area!

Set your DVR for Scrubs this Tuesday January 27 on ABC! This new episode is titled “My ABCs” and features a plethora of Sesame Street Muppets. What could be better?

Norman Stiles will be honored at the WGA Awards ceremony on Feb. 7 at the Hudson Theater in Gotham. He’s won a dozen Emmys for his work on Sesame Street and Between the Lions (which he co-created). During his career, Stiles oversaw more than 2,000 scripts, supervised a staff of 15 to 20 writers, authored or co-authored many Sesame Street books and wrote or co-wrote many of the show’s songs.

The Henson digitally puppeteered series Frances is set to release the DVD and book set “Bedtime for Frances” in late March. This series is based on the popular Russel Hoban books about a high-spirited young badger named Frances. Hoban also co-wrote the book “Emmet Otter’s Jugband Christmas.”

Muppet Central Forums member “Hat Sharpener” has some photos on his Flickr page of Kermit the Frog at his wedding! Congratulations Hat, and the photos were very well done.

The new Muppet book “The Diva Code”, written by Miss Piggy (with help from our friend Jim Lewis) hits store shelves this Tuesday. Pick it up at your local bookstore or online at Amazon!

ToughPigs.com reader Peter Savieri graces the front page of that website with some original Muppet artwork that’s quite a cut above the usual. He’s lent some images of Gonzo, Piggy, Animal, and Kermit. You’ll also find two new irreverent comics from artist Chris Smigliano.

Before the big event at WPU on January 30, Michael Davis – along with Christopher Cerf, Roscoe Orman, and Caroll Spinney – got a practice round in, with a panel discussion at a Barnes & Noble in Lincoln Triangle in NYC. You can see pictures and hear the full audio of the discussion here!

Mr. Davis himself sent a link to a recent radio appearance he did in Boston promoting the book “Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street”. You can listen to the entire audio streaming over the internet or download it to your computer.

Listener David Manley sent a link to his website, Puppet Muse, with some very well-made characters. He also sent a beautiful scan of a foldout from a magazine featuring Jim Henson and the Muppet Whatnots from the Muppet Show dates. A rare find indeed!

New picutres are up on The MuppetCast Flickr Page from listeners Amanda and Luke.

Thanks for downloading and listening to the podcast! The MuppetCast couldn’t continue to produce new weekly episodes without the continued support of listeners like you.

Questions/Comments about the Muppets or The MuppetCast can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Even better, stop by the Muppet Central Forums and discuss this and many other episodes with Muppet fans worldwide.

Have a great week!

-Steve

Voting for The MuppetCast’s “Make Something Cool” contest runs from July 14 – 21. Look for the Contest Page on MuppetCast.com. Thanks to everyone who participated and submitted entries, they’re all wonderful. Vote for your favorite!

Last week we learned that on July 19 on the Disney Channel you’ll find Studio DC: Almost Live. This week we learn that Muppet writer and friend of the show Jim Lewis consulted on the project. Nice to know that such a close connection to The MuppetCast is involved with such an exciting project.

The Sesame/USO page on MuppetCast.com gives the complete schedule for all appearances of the Sesame Street Experience, the live Sesame event being held on military bases nationwide. I’m not sure if civilians have access to be able to participate in the events, but I think it’s much more geared toward the families the men and women in the Armed Forces.

I’m very happy to say that I’ll kick off the Road Trip season the first weekend in August (I’m anticipating a total of 3 trips this Summer and Fall). I’ll be driving up to New Jersey in August, and could really use some help with gas money! If you have a few spare bucks, I’d appreciate your help in getting me to Jersey and back. Use the Donate button on the right side of the webpage if you’d like to help; I sincerely appreciate it. You won’t be disappointed with what I bring back!

In the news, Charles Aznavour recently received the Order of Canada in recognition of his contributions to Canada throughout his career as an entertainer. Aznavour summed up his feelings on receiving the award with one word: Love.

Jim Henson’s Fantastic World is now on display at the International Gallery at the Smithsonian’s S. Dillon Ripley Center in Washington DC. There’s a great website put together by SITES that tells all about the exhibit. Karen Falk, the Jim Henson Company Archivist, talks in an interview about Jim’s life, and what you can expect to see when you visit this amazing exhibit, presented jointly by the Smithsonian SITES and our friends at the Jim Henson Legacy.

Bob McGrath recently received the “Music for Life” award from NAMM, the Nonprofit Association of International Music Products Industry. McGrath is an original cast member of “Sesame Street” who plays the music teacher on the show, and continues to be on the show even now into its 39th season.

It seems so long ago, but Sesame Street’s 10th Anniversary TV special was titled “A Walking Tour of Sesame Street“, hosted by actor James Earl Jones. One listener was gracious enough to send me the audio from that special, and part of it is included in the show. It’s certainly something we’ll have to explore further in the future.

What species is Big Bird? It’s kind of up in the air, really. Email me your opinion this week. Also call the voicemail line and answer this question: If Disney did a 50 States line of pins with a different Muppet for each state, who would be on which state pin? Pick a few and call in with your opinions, and listen for it on next week’s show!

Denver.YourHub.com listed out their top 100 movies this week (in no particular order), and The Muppet Movie, The Great Muppet Caper, and The Muppets Take Manhattan all made the list!

Elizabeth from the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA sent a link to a wonderful video from Georgia Public Broadcasting. It features a few people from the Center itself, along with Bonnie Erickson and Jane Henson. Much of the footage was shot when I was at the Center last September for their 29th anniversary, and I can’t wait to see everyone again this September for the 30th!

A few listeners sent a link to the Muppets re-enacting the Continental Congress, in a video spot from 1982. I didn’t get it in time for last week’s episode, but it’s very much worth the watch. Miss Piggy as George Washington is priceless.

Mental Floss had an idea to do a Quick 10 article on the Muppets, and it got such a huge response that they quickly ran a second article as well! Read them over at MentalFloss.com.

Make sure to visit our friends at the Muppet News Flash and Tough Pigs for more great Muppet-y fun throughout the week.

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called into the voicemail line at 614-364-4270. Also, stop by the Muppet Central Forums and say hello! Can’t wait to talk to you there.

Have a great week!

-Steve

It’s time for some more rare Muppet audio! Thanks a listener submission, we have footage of Jim Henson on the Mike Douglas Show; one appearance in 1976 and one in 1977. At that point in history, Kermit the frog was already 20 years old!

The “Make Something Cool” contest has now hit the deadline for entry submissions. Get ready to see what everyone has been working on soon!

Congratulations to Bindi Irwin for winning the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series. Nominated for the award, along with Bindi, were John Tartaglia for Johnny and the Sprites, and Kevin Clash for his work as Elmo and Hoots the Owl.

Canada’s Telus World of Science centre is eagerly awaiting the opening of the new Sesame exhibit “Sesame Street Presents: The Body”.

Labyrinth fans will be delighted to see that Toy Vault is now producing plush replicas of the door knocker characters from the film, available for preorder now! They officially come out in July.

Check out this amazing video of Jim Henson circa 1982, in which he talks about essentially how HD-TV is just around the corner, and what he wanted to do with it!

Caroll Spinney is always a great Muppet person to discuss. Here’s a wonderful day-in-the-life article about him, and a great video, too!

The claymation skits of Ernie and Bert will soon be making appearances in Sesame Street season 39.

The Muppet News Flash has some great video of Cookie Monster appearing on the Colbert Report!

Sadly, Jim Henson’s boyhood friend Kermit Scott passed away recently at age 71. Scott is arguably the namesake of Kermit the Frog.

The Sacramento Youth Band is using the Muppet Show theme in their summer marching program!

Arianne (aka Muppetfan44) recently found this VERY early piece of video of the Muppets and Disney working together. This is from a 1989 Euro-Disney video!

Stay tuned next week, as we will be celebrating the Muppet Movie! This classic film was released in June 1979. Helping us to celebrate will be Muppet historian Craig Shemin, and possibly Muppet producer Martin Baker as well. It should be a really great show!

Questions/Comments can be emailed to me@muppetcast.com, or called in to the voicemail line (live on Thursday nights) at 614-364-4270. You can also chat about the Muppets and The MuppetCast on the Muppet Central Forums.

Have a great week!

-Steve