Sam the Machine's on Youtube... Youtube... Youtube... *thud* Thank you.

[wiley207]

Mod's Note: Link was removed by youtube.com

This is the first time I saw Sam the Machine, and I thought he was very strange! The 70s was a strange decade when it came to introducing new Muppets. It is also actually hard to believe that Sam the Machine is a Muppet! His features were very cool, though, including the buttons and the clock. I also liked the cartoony machine sounds he always made. I also noticed how he appeared to have been made. His body might have been constructed out of wood or plastic of some sort. His mouth might be some kind of rubber or fabric (a Muppet's mouth needs to be flexible!) It also appears to be very easy to imitate Sam's "broken record" bit, like the title of this thread.

Anyways, it seems that with the voice distorter Jerry Nelson used performing Sam, it sounds like anybody could perform Sam with the voice box! (Jim Henson, Carol Spinney, Richard Hunt, even Fran Brill... but not Frank Oz. He hates performing the full-body Muppets.) I bet it was really hard and uncomfortable for Jerry to be all cramped up in that little space, operating all those gadgets, etc.

Anyone else see this yet?

 

[mikebennidict]

You know there's already a thread for SS clips on youtube so why do you all keep starting new thread? Why not just add to the existing one?

 

[Vic Romano]

Wow, what a blast from the past. I forgot how cool S.A.M. was!
And Susan is HAWT!

 

[BEAR]

It was fun to get to see a clip with Hal Miller playing Gordon. Also, do you think Jerry Nelson was actually inside the robot or was he just doing the voice?

 

[superboober]

The Unpaved book says Nelson was actually inside the robot.

 

[Infinity Sirius]

That is a cool muppet! Sam's face looks like it is compueterized. They must have had to make the latex for his mouth very thin and durabl, probably was a tough job. Was this the only sketch Sam was in or was he a reoccuring character?

I wonder where he is now...if he was taken apart or if he is in a dark corner of the Muppet archives somewhere. Was remote technology available in the 1970s? Because maybe some of his gadgets were controlled by remote.

 

[ISNorden]

That is a cool muppet! Sam's face looks like it is compueterized. They must have had to make the latex for his mouth very thin and durable, probably was a tough job. Was this the only sketch Sam was in or was he a reoccuring character?

I wonder where he is now...if he was taken apart or if he is in a dark corner of the Muppet archives somewhere. Was remote technology available in the 1970s? Because maybe some of his gadgets were controlled by remote.

Sam appeared in a few other sketches and songs; I even have a dim memory of watching his "wiring day" episode as a girl: he wants to throw a party in honor of the day he was built, and invites other machines to the street. (Two of the guests were a mixer and a washing machine, I'm sure...) Sam also sings a "Happy Wiring Day" song (modeled on "Happy Birthday") in a strange monotone.

 

[JaniceFerSure]

I clicked on the link, and received this:

"This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."

 

[Fozzie Bear]

It's the thing that stinks about youtube anymore. There are commercials before videos, but I hope folks use veoh.com or google videos.