Discussing Muppeteer's Personal Lives

[Fozzie Bear]

Thanks for brining this up, Kevin.

I'm guilty of it in the past as well, but I saw something once that triggered the memory of Danny's TP Post and I said, "I need to ask him can I link to that." He said it was okay, and it's very good information to follow.

 

[Luke]

And it wasn't Brian's restraining order...it was one from (1984) Sigourney Weaver because I kept crying at the gates to let me in.

I always thought you were really Rick Moranis in disguise!

Bring back the Thwackins !!!!!!! (little ones with a feather soft plastic rubber pork chop)

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Rick Mor---

*Twacks Luke over the head with a rubber chicken.*

They're baa-aaaaack!

 

[Infinity Sirius]

How about the reincarnation of the rubber chicken and it's ghost or the zombie or how about Frankenchicken?

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Well, all the incarnations of "Billy" are gone.

My most recent rubber chicken is named Groucho, the Rubber Chicken.

 

[Gorgon Heap]

So is it not kosher to ask "is so and so married, does so and so have kids, grandkids, etc"?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

 

[Luke]

My most recent rubber chicken is named Groucho, the Rubber Chicken.

I met him once, whatta guy. He gave a good thwackin!

By the way, "I aaaaaam the gatekeeper!" ......

 

[Infinity Sirius]

So is it not kosher to ask "is so and so married, does so and so have kids, grandkids, etc"?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

I was wondering the same thing and I asked in Jim had grandkids in this thread: http://forum.muppetcentral.com/showthread.php?t=22051

In that post I was just curious and I wanted to know if any grandkids existed, it's not like I wanted to know the Henson family history or anything. I think questions like that will be all right as long as we don't take it the great extent like in People magazine.

How many rubber chickens have you had, Kevin?

 

[Convincing John]

I was considering asking if any of the Muppeteers had any pets when they were kids. I had seen where Chewbacca was inspired by George Lucas's dog, and I wondered if any of the Muppets were inspired by beloved pets they might have had growing up.

From what I've read, Jim Henson liked animals and nature, so it wouldn't surprise me if he had a furry friend or two as a kid.

Muppet origins always fascinate me. Someone mentioned to me once that Heather Henson (as a kid) might have inspired a version of Prairie Dawn. Check out page 76 in "The Works" that shows Jim, Heather and Ernie with Prairie in the background. Whether or not you think Heather and Prairie look alike, the picture will make you go "awwwww" nonetheless.

Convincing John

 

[Fozzie Bear]

So is it not kosher to ask "is so and so married, does so and so have kids, grandkids, etc"? David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

You know what? It's more of a common sense thing, really. You know yourself what kind of information is decent to ask of someone's life, but there are some things that should be left alone. I really don't know, personally, what that fine line is or where it should be cut off at; but, I know if I leave things alone then I don't get too close for comfort.

Basically, when you're in the public eye you're going to be discussed. Biographical information is going to come up, but you know that there are some things too personal (ie, children's names, divorce, medical history, etc) that you just don't discuss publicly because those are private things.

I don't see where it's a bad thing to ask if someone is married or has kids, but you should be able to find that information under biographies in personal websites of these people rather than hunting it down through a chat forum.

Otherwise, try to contact the person directly and add those questions as part of the biography because, if they're interested in it being public, they can say so--if not, they'll ignore the question or say it's private.

By the way, "I aaaaaam the gatekeeper!"

You're a WOMAN!?

The Keymaster is a man. Geez...and all this time I thought Luke was a dude's name. I'm so disappointed! But--Kevin is also a dude's name, so does that make me a woman, too? OH THE HORRORS OF IT ALL!! Now it explains why I associated with Tip so well in The Marvelous Land of Oz. Ugh.

How many rubber chickens have you had, Kevin?

Successfully or...?

Two. The first one dry-rotted and got buried. I posted about it here on the boards and then Zach/Rowlf was kind enough and sympathetic enough to send me a black-and-white 8x10 glossy of HIS rubber chicken, which is now framed on the wall of my kitchen.

Convincing John: That's a good set of questions above! That's incorporating the work and inspiration and biography. Would be interesting to know.