Questions about anything

[Blue Frackle]

The only thing I can say about Frank Oz...
I saw him once in New York. He did a lecture and afterwards security said he would come out and sign autographs.
Outside was a courtyard. There was a sidewalk and on either side were fences people were behind. There were several hundred people on each side.
Frank came out and everybody went nuts. He would sign a few posters, records, etc. on one side, then the other. This went back and forth for ten minutes.
But it was total chaos. People were shoving things in his face, and others were pushing people out of the way to shove things in his face. No order, no manners, no patience, just "SIGN THIS FRANK!!"
It was pathetic the way they were acting. Not just Muppet fans, but Star Wars/Yoda fans too.
After ten minutes of this frenzy, Frank said he wasn't signing anymore. Someone got mad and yelled "You suck!" because he didn't get an autograph. And Frank, not one to mince words, chimed back "Well, F You!!'"

I didn't get an autograph either, I was too far away.
But I can't blame Frank. They want to meet with fans when they can, but they're entitled to their privacy too. When people mob them, won't give them peace, it's easy to get turned off by that. It wouldn't be fun to go out to dinner and having people interrupt your meal.

Why hasn't Frank responded on Twitter? I have no idea. I'm sure he must get bombarded a lot.
Maybe sending him a card or letter might work. And be patient. If he doesn't respond, too bad for him. But at least you're not invading his privacy.

The saddest thing is, I bet half those people were desperate Star Wars fans who wanted to sell his signature on eBay for a quick buck.

And yeah, I totally would not expect a response from Frank on Twitter... I'm surprised he's even still using it.

 

[fuzzygobo]

The saddest thing is, I bet half those people were desperate Star Wars fans who wanted to sell his signature on eBay for a quick buck.

And yeah, I totally would not expect a response from Frank on Twitter... I'm surprised he's even still using it.

And some were mad Frank wouldn't pose for selfies either.
That would take a lot of time. But for the 500 or so people out there, about a hundred got autographs, many more didn't.
If they can't even appreciate all he has done, they don't deserve an autograph. Frank could have not signed any and saved himself the hassle.

On the other hand, Caroll Spinney was very gracious when he met fans after a screening of "I Am Big Bird".
Nobody mobbed him, and he took time to meet with everyone, take pictures, sign autographs, whatever. No riots, no pushing and shoving, just giving the man his space. I wish they gave Frank the same respect.
I even got to meet Oscar. He kept staring at me, and said, "Wow, look at you, you hippie freak!"
I replied, "Hey, I was around when you were orange".
Oscar's eyes got real big and said, "Man, you're OLD!!!"
After the crowd died down, he came over and sat down with me. I mentioned how hard it must have been making that episode after Mr. Hooper died, and he reached over and hugged me. Dear sweet man.

Again, I wish the crowd could've shown the same respect to Frank.

 

[D'Snowth]

Getting to meet Caroll Spinney was one of the biggest highlights of my life, even if he wasn't in the best of health. Due to a misunderstanding regarding tickets and such, I actually had to go all the way back up three huge flights of stairs because I was missing a specific autograph ticket I needed, otherwise I would have had to pay extra for his (I purchased a fan package, which autographs were included as part of), and he offered to cover for me if I wasn't able to return to his table with the proper ticket.

Luckily, I managed to get them, and I got his autograph, as well as purchased a copy of I AM BIG BIRD. I also presented him some digital artwork I did of him, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz in tuxedos, martinis, and cigarettes, based on a comment I once read describing the three of them as "The Original Rat Pack of Puppetry." I had it framed for him, and he said he was going to hang it up in his home studio.

Likewise, meeting Steve Whitmire last year, you could just sense his passion for his work with the Muppets during his Q&A panel, and you also got a sense of how much he appreciated fans coming out to meet with him; he was incredibly kind and personable.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Getting to meet Caroll Spinney was one of the biggest highlights of my life, even if he wasn't in the best of health. Due to a misunderstanding regarding tickets and such, I actually had to go all the way back up three huge flights of stairs because I was missing a specific autograph ticket I needed, otherwise I would have had to pay extra for his (I purchased a fan package, which autographs were included as part of), and he offered to cover for me if I wasn't able to return to his table with the proper ticket.

Luckily, I managed to get them, and I got his autograph, as well as purchased a copy of I AM BIG BIRD. I also presented him some digital artwork I did of him, Jim Henson, and Frank Oz in tuxedos, martinis, and cigarettes, based on a comment I once read describing the three of them as "The Original Rat Pack of Puppetry." I had it framed for him, and he said he was going to hang it up in his home studio.

Likewise, meeting Steve Whitmire last year, you could just sense his passion for his work with the Muppets during his Q&A panel, and you also got a sense of how much he appreciated fans coming out to meet with him; he was incredibly kind and personable.

I never got to meet Steve Whitmire (yet), but Fran Brill once said I looked like Steve's evil twin. 8)
When I met Caroll, I had a piece of artwork for him too.
He gave everybody autographs, selfies, etc. But to give him something was a nice gesture.
My cartoon had two of my bunny characters riding in the ocean on this big unflatable rubber horse. Big Bird is standing on the shore. One of the rabbits takes Big Bird's hand and invites him to join them. The picture is called "Room For One More". I wouldn't be surprised if Caroll has a fan gallery in his house where our pictures reside.
The other thing that day, a dozen or so wanted to show him the puppets they made. And no lie, they all looked vaguely like Steve D'Monster (demonstrably so), they all were live hands, and they were all purple. Maybe you started something.

 

[D'Snowth]

Steve himself is admittedly heavily inspired by SS monsters for certain, but I've seen my fair share of other very similar-looking purple monsters as well; there was another one on YouTube for a time (not sure if he still is) who looked like he could have been like Steve's older brother or something, with a very Eric Jacobson-esque voice . . . IIRC, I believe his name was Larry. I also seem to recall another similar purple monster who sounded like Rizzo, and wore a little collar and tie.

Interestingly enough, even though I didn't bring him with me (I don't like coming across as one of those guys), I did tell Whitmire about D'Monster, because we got to discussing puppeteering, and he asked about my background, which I told him about how I got my feet wet doing PBS pledge drives, and how I have a YouTube channel. He said he'd take a look (and that the name Steve would be easy for him to remember), though I'm not sure if he ever did, but it still was a lot of fun to meet him.

At both of those cons, at least one other person brought a puppet with them to show off. When I was at the 2017 con to meet the SS cast, one person had an FAO-Schwartz Whatnot with them that was made up to look like a princess; last year's con, somebody brought their nice-looking homemade Kermit puppet for Steve to check out.

Now that I have a newer, better-looking Steve D'Monster puppet that's actually smaller, and easier to travel, I may start bringing him to these things if other Muppet folks are gonna be there.

 

[antsamthompson9]

Did Wikia go through an unnecessary makeover? Muppet Wiki isn't functioning like it should.

 

[minor muppetz]

At the end of Brewster's Millions (the 1985 version), when the deadline is almost up and it looks like Brewster will lose the challenge and inheritance, he's about to sign some papers, indicating that he doesn't get anything. But why is he signing it? Would it make any difference if he didn't sign anything?

 

[D'Snowth]

Okay, so out of all of those hilarious SS skits that MADtv did, why is the childhood obesity one always so hard to find? It's almost as if FOX doesn't even want anyone to see it.

 

[D'Snowth]

Just because I don't keep up with internet slang, can somebody please explain to me what it means to "dox" somebody, or "put them on blast"?

 

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Just because I don't keep up with internet slang, can somebody please explain to me what it means to "dox" somebody, or "put them on blast"?

I know ''dox" basically means to dig up dirt on someone and publish it on the internet to smear them.