Behind the Scenes of "The Muppet Movie"

[Fozzie Bear]

It's so funny, because I keep point it out to my friends that Earl was there, and when I start saying it, now they repeat it with me, "Earl 'was once ernie."

Earl, do you still have my phone number? Call me.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

Here's a funny story, posted on my close friend Mark Evanier's weblog.

Muppet Movie Mishap

I promise, it is completely on-topic!

 

[Chilly Down]

LOL! That is funny...and strange.

Wonder how Mark's name got up there?

Especially since, for all non-speaking background puppeteering, it should be listed as "Additional Puppeteer," not "Ernie."

But hey, if anyone's going to get credit for playing Ernie, it should be our old buddy Earl!

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Well, the names are similar:
Earl Ernie.

Yep. It was fate.

 

[dpurves]

This is a fascinating thread. I'm sorry I didn't read through it earlier, but I really wanted a time when I could just sit down and read it from beginning to end, and this was my first opportunity. It was well worth the time it took to read. Thank you for sharing so much of your experiences with TMM. I first saw TMM when I was 8 years old, and have rewatched it countless times, and feel that it has been a very important part of my life. I'm sure if I said that to anyone off of this forum they'd look at me like I was crazy, but here I think it would be understood.

Now, in just the past couple of days I found a new question about TMM, that maybe you (or someone else) can help me with. Ever since I saw that movie so many years ago I have been in love with Studebakers, namely the rainbow colored car used in this movie. So much, in fact, that I wound up buying a bullet nose of my own last year. I recently found out that in November, 1979, Turning Wheels Magazine (the official publication of the Studebaker Drivers Club) did a piece on the Muppet Movie Studebaker(s), and managed to get my hands on a copy. One of the things that really threw me was when they reported that they were holding onto all of the Muppet vehicles for the upcoming sequel. I know that none of the cars from this movie appeared in GMC, and to my knowledge the only one that was ever reused was the Electric Mayhem bus in MFS. Does anybody know if there was supposed to be another/different sequel to TMM besides GMC, or was GMC originally supposed to be different from what was finally released? Was there ever a real plan to reuse these different vehicles, or was the person writing this article just given faulty information?

 

[Was Once Ernie]

Does anybody know if there was supposed to be another/different sequel to TMM besides GMC, or was GMC originally supposed to be different from what was finally released? Was there ever a real plan to reuse these different vehicles, or was the person writing this article just given faulty information?

I don't know if there was supposed to be a different sequel, but I do think the reporter was either given faulty information or just made that up.

Shortly after the movie came out, there was a big auction where they sold all the costumes, some of the props and all the vehicles, including the Studebaker and the bus.

By the way, I don't know if the article mentions it or not, but the car was all tricked out so Fozzie could drive it. The seats were basically removed to make room for the puppeteers and the car was driven by a stunt driver watching a monitor. I'm pretty sure he was in the trunk, but he may have been in the back seat with an extended steering mechanism.

 

[dpurves]

By the way, I don't know if the article mentions it or not, but the car was all tricked out so Fozzie could drive it. The seats were basically removed to make room for the puppeteers and the car was driven by a stunt driver watching a monitor. I'm pretty sure he was in the trunk, but he may have been in the back seat with an extended steering mechanism.

Yes, I actually saw this car back in January at the Studebaker Museum, or actually in the attic of the Studebaker Museum. The man in charge explained how the steering was done. By the way, my avatar is a picture of that same Studebaker, the way it looked earlier this year. They said they were going to restore it to its former glory and put it in the regular museum exhibit, but I'm not sure if they ever did.

 

[Vic Romano]

Article About Was Once Ernie

If you read this at a later date, look for the November 4 blog entry at the link above.

Haven't seen this thread in awhile and this link doesn't work at all anymore, will you repost it, WOE?

 

[Fozzie Bear]

I always wanted the bus or the studebaker. It's a cool article as I recall, Vic, sorry you missed it...but, I think I saved the picture in my "Friends" folder at my home computer.

 

[Was Once Ernie]

Hey, Vic! The link still works. Sometimes that site is non-responsive. There have been days when I wasn't able to get on it. But I just tried it and it worked fine. You do need to scroll down to November 4, though.