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  1. puppetguy

    Just Two Green Guys Playing the Banjo...

    I discovered "Tomorrow" on an old Kingston Trio record..and there's actually a verse that the Muppets did not use in their rendition of the song. The song was written by Bob Gibson, a popular 60's folk performer. Which brings me to avatars....Foreignman, I would love an avatar of the Muppet...
  2. puppetguy

    Just Two Green Guys Playing the Banjo...

    Should be noted that the banjo used on "Sing" for the Travis album is actually a 6-string banjo, tuned and played just like a guitar. Mostly its a banjo for guitar players who don't want to learn finger rolls. The Cripple Creek is a great beginner banjo. GoldTone is a great company. I have...
  3. puppetguy

    Just Two Green Guys Playing the Banjo...

    I am a banjo picker, though more inspired by other musicians than by Kermit. I've been playing for 6 years now and its been a lot of fun, though frustrating at the start. The banjo is probably the most difficult instrument to "master." The style of playing that is usually used with Kermit is...
  4. puppetguy

    Muppet Show Posters

    I am trying to find old Muppet Show posters. There were a couple up on Ebay recently: one of the group shot in the theatre from the second season, the other of the Electric Mayhem. If anyone has these or others that they would be willing to sell or trade, please let me know. Thanks David...
  5. puppetguy

    The Land Of Gorch Sketches on Video

    I have seen a couple of the Gorch sketches on E! They are re-running the first season occasionally. One I saw dealt with Scred reading "the Joy of Sex," and the other was a bit done, I'm supposing, right before they left the show. It was a scene with guest, whom I can't remember, and Skred...
  6. puppetguy

    Confusing...

    I pose this question: How is a Muppet character's reference to being in a movie any different from an actor breaking the "fourth wall" to address the audience in a stage play. This kind of aside to the audience is as old as the Greek theatre. Its a way to let the audience in on something that...
  7. puppetguy

    Very Merry Muppet Questions

    In response to re-voicing Nigel, a Jim-character that "no one remembers," if you'll recall, Jim only voiced Nigel on the Muppet Show in one segment: "Sax and Violence," with Zoot. He was voiced by John Lovelady in a separate Season 1 show (Kay Ballard). When he showed up in season three with...
  8. puppetguy

    Jim and frank @ puppeteers of Am. video

    Frank did a similar "Q & A" at the Puppeteers of America Festival in San Francisco in 1993, which I was fortunate enough to attend. The difference of seeing Frank and his characters alone compared to the video with both he and Jim is like night and day. Frank tried to get the audience to...
  9. puppetguy

    Jim Henson Books

    While "The Works" and "Muppets and Men" are highly detailed references about the overall scope of Jim's work, the only book that even begins to explore his creative process is "Designs and Doodles" that Allison Inches put out a couple of years ago. For me, the most interesting and creative...
  10. puppetguy

    Kukla Fran & Ollie fans?

    Burr Tilstrom was an improvisational genius. He was also a master at creating remarkable characters with tremendous depth. Perhaps that is what is truly great about his work on television: it was so simple-very minimal sets and props, the puppets themselves were simple. The show relied solely...
  11. puppetguy

    Puppetry

    >Do you find it better to sketch or draw your designs? >or do you prefer to create as you go along? I do a bit of both...Everything I build starts as a sketch, but during the building process, sometimes wonderful discoveries can be made that I hadn't thought of when drawing. That's what is...
  12. puppetguy

    Puppetry

    I've been a professional puppeteer for over 12 years and have had a passion for the art since I was 2. Like Matt, I went to the University of Connecticut for some higher education. But, unlike Matt, I went there for my MA. I design and build my puppets as well as write (adapt) the material...
  13. puppetguy

    Weezer and the Muppets: Making the Video special

    Well, I was thoroughly disappointed. When a show says it is the "Making of.." that's sort of what I expect. I really wanted to see how they went about recreating the backstage set. I had also hoped to see more of the puppeteers than just the tip of Steve Whitmire's head. Instead I got mediocre...
  14. puppetguy

    Crank Yankers

    >Puppetry should have some dignity, right? You mean like Sal Monkey calling Bobo a "butt-head" What about Spamela Hamdersen?? Granted these examples are post-Jim, but come on...Muppets are not above the "back pocket" as you say. Granted, its not "meet the feebles" (which I can't sit through)...
  15. puppetguy

    Crank Yankers

    And what, pray tell, is wrong with "filthy humor." Listen, scarylarry, I don't know what sort of Sam the Eagle "moral dignity" you want, but the Muppets danced all around, over, and on top of that in their hey-day. And I'd like to know just what exactly is "your experience" that you keep...
  16. puppetguy

    Banjo's Place in US History Lauded

    Until I started playing one, I never realized how often the banjo pops up in Muppet music, mostly associated with Jim's characters (the Muppet Jim as well as Kermit, and Rolf played a tenor banjo in season 5 for "The Cat Came Back") Though Jim never played an instrument himself, I happen to...
  17. puppetguy

    Announcement and question

    Two videos are now available that supplement the Foam Book put out by Grey Seal Puppets (who wrote the book). One video focuses on the "Three Piece Head Method" and the other on their "Nip and Tuck Method." I haven't seen these yet, but for those of us who are more visual thinkers, and knowing...
  18. puppetguy

    Virna Finley

    According to the Puppetry Journal, Winter 1992, Vol 44, No. 2: "Verna began her love affair with puppetry while working as a costumer for children's nationally televised programs for WXYZ, an ABC affiliate in Detroit. There she met Bob Elnicky, a puppeteer who worked with Jim Henson. Elnicky...
  19. puppetguy

    Virna Finley

    Really cool stuff on the site..puppets look great!! Wonderful characters, even just looking at them you can tell they've got personality. I'll double check my source, but I'm almost positive she never worked with JHP. THere was a good article on her work in the Puppetry Journal a few years...
  20. puppetguy

    Virna Finley

    Verna Finley is perhaps one of the finest foam puppet builders alive..and she never worked with the Muppets. Best known for her work with soft-sculptured ventriloquist figures, such as some of Ron Lucas' characters, her work has a distinct style that is easily to recognize. Occassionally, she...
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