Skeeter Muppet said:
This one is from the 'Of Muppets and Men' special. One of the behind the scenes shots is the Muppet performers doing the gargles for Lew Zealand's singing fish (from the Roger Moore episode). First they're debating just how they're going to do the gargles (how much water they need to take into their mouths, how they should stand at the microphones, etc.) and how they should sound. Then they actually get to recording the gargles, and poor Louise Gold is having a difficult time keeping a straight face listening to the guys doing their gargles. She does hers and then cracks up, practically falling on the floor. Jerry, Richard and Dave aren't any help; they're cracking up that she's cracking up, and making jokes about her drowning. Someone (I'm pretty sure it was Richard) made a remark about giving her "artificial perspiration."
-Kim
And Steve Whitmire was the only one of the puppeteers who did try to help (but he was on the other side of the recording studio), he called out "Uh Oh She's drowning, help her" and someone else (not sure who) thumped her on the back.
Incidentally, it should perhaps be noted that Louise Gold does laugh rather easily. I can think of several occassions when I've seen her on stage, where she's had no end of trouble keeping a straight face:
1. In Mamma Mia, near the end there's a moment in the wedding scene, when Tanya starts crying, when Louise Gold played Tanya it was impossible to tell whether she was laughing or crying.
2. In Noises Off, there was one moment during act 1, where Louise was standing by the 'stairs' (on the set - there's a play-within a play going on in the plot) laughing. I wasn't quite sure if it was that Louise's character Dotty was laughing when she shouldn't be, or if it was Louise herself who was laughing a little out of place. As the piece is a farce about putting on a play, it didn't really matter either way.
3. At a fundraising concert for The Lost Musicals Charitable Trust, producer/director Ian Marshall-Fisher came on stage to introduce the evening (the five performers - including Louise, and two guest-artistes were already seated on the stage). Midway through Ian's introduction (well actually quite near the beginning), Louise burst out laughing. Which prompted Mr Marshall-Fisher to turn to her and say "Excuse me, who's in charge here?" to which Louise retorted "That's what we'd like to know." Louise then spent most of the first half of the concert having trouble controlling her laughter. She did manage to control herself enough to sing, but kept bursting out with giggles whenever it wasn't her turn to perform. As a result, Mr Marshall-Fisher spent much of the first act glaring at her.
4. In her own cabaret act, LOUISE GOLD...By Appointment. She happens to have included a medley of 4 songs from TMS, which great, until she gets the Hawaiin War Chant, which she does in Annie Sue's voice. She seldom manages to sing this song in her act without spoiling it by laughing, but perhaps that's quite appropriate in a funny sort of way.