RIP James Frawley

[CBPuppets]

I don't know if someone posted something like already but I just found out on twitter that Jim Frawley passed away. https://variety.com/2019/film/news/james-frawley-dead-dies-monkees-muppet-movie-1203117008/

 

[theSHE124]

Cut, print, yes! TMM is my favorite classic Muppet film.

 

[minor muppetz]

For a long time, I thought James Frawley directed a lot of movies, even if I didn't know what other films he's directed. Then I saw his obituaries and was surprised that the majority of his work was directing television, barely even directing a movie after The Muppet Movie. I thought he directed a lot more films because the movie needed somebody more experienced with directing, I assume they meant somebody experienced with directing feature films (since Jim Henson did have prior directing credits, even if he hadn't directed a feature).

Years ago, I looked at his imdb credits and the fact that he directed episodes of The Monkees stood out to me. And that's his only other directing credit I tend to remember off-hand. Pretty much all the obituaries I see emphasize his directing TMM and The Monkees.

In thinking about it recently, I wonder if Frawley would have directed The Great Muppet Caper if offered. I figure Jim Henson wanted to direct the first one and it seems natural that he would want to direct the next one (with no worries that it would be a Muppet film would be a risk), so he probably wasn't ever considered to direct. Though I've seen an interview with Austin Pendleton where he said Frawley had a bad time directing the movie, so maybe he would have turned it down.