What puppeteers go through.

[abiraniriba]

I hope that you appreciate that I'm doing all my own stunts.- in GMC while climbing up Miss Holiday's house.

If you think that was hard check out the Landstriders from Dark Crystal. A man with stilts on both his hands and his feet prancing around at high speed. One wrong move and the show would be over for good

 

[jeffkjoe]

I have one.

What did Frank Oz go through to do this:

1) Grover and Kermit sketch. 1971. Sesame Street.
Grover demonstrates short and long with short and long ladders.
The punchline is that somehow, Grover is able to carry BOTH ends of the long ladder, because it seems there are TWO Grovers!

I'm sure Frank had to do some quick manuevering to get from one end of the ladder to the other.

2) Grover "Over, Around, and Through" song. 1970.
Frank has to hold Grover up over his head for, like, 3-4 minutes, but Grover is doing a LOT of physical stuff here - running, going under things, hopping....

I tried to hold my hand up in the air for the whole song, and couldn't do it. Frank's arm must've been BURNING by the end.

 

[Skekayuk]

I have one.

I tried to hold my hand up in the air for the whole song, and couldn't do it. Frank's arm must've been BURNING by the end.

I have read (Lewis Chester's book 'Tooth And Claw The Inside Story Of Spitting Image', its also mentioned in a Tibby's Bowl/Muppet Central Interview) that when Spitting Image's pilot episode was in production, Louise Gold insisted the puppeteers work out with dumbells, just get them fit/ their arms strong enough BEFORE shooting the pilot. According to Mr Chester's book, after one session "a groggy puppeteer" said that if the show was a failure it would be a very noble one.

 

[Muppet Newsgirl]

According to Of Muppets and Men, when Linda Ronstadt appeared on TMS, she asked Jim Henson if the performers' arms ever got tired. Jim responded, "You get used to it."

In one TMS-era interview, Richard Hunt said that after a long day in front of the cameras he would go out to a basketball court and shoot left-handed baskets. "That gets both arms sore."

 

[Beauregard]

In one TMS-era interview, Richard Hunt said that after a long day in front of the cameras he would go out to a basketball court and shoot left-handed baskets. "That gets both arms sore."

That is SUCH a cute quote!

 

[mikebennidict]

I have one.

What did Frank Oz go through to do this:

1) Grover and Kermit sketch. 1971. Sesame Street.
Grover demonstrates short and long with short and long ladders.
The punchline is that somehow, Grover is able to carry BOTH ends of the long ladder, because it seems there are TWO Grovers!

I'm sure Frank had to do some quick manuevering to get from one end of the ladder to the other.

2) Grover "Over, Around, and Through" song. 1970.
Frank has to hold Grover up over his head for, like, 3-4 minutes, but Grover is doing a LOT of physical stuff here - running, going under things, hopping....

I tried to hold my hand up in the air for the whole song, and couldn't do it. Frank's arm must've been BURNING by the end.

For the 1st one you mentioned.

I bet there was some kind of speciall effects with the videotape that made them possible to have 2 Grovers.


They maybe not.

 

[abiraniriba]

Muppet challenge

And now for the muppeteer challenge!

Can you handle this situation:

You are the back end of Mr. Snuffleupagus
Your partner playing the front end suddenly feels the need to fart, and does.
How do you handle this?

 

[Ilikemuppets]

2) Grover "Over, Around, and Through" song. 1970.
Frank has to hold Grover up over his head for, like, 3-4 minutes, but Grover is doing a LOT of physical stuff here - running, going under things, hopping....

I tried to hold my hand up in the air for the whole song, and couldn't do it. Frank's arm must've been BURNING by the end.

He did this live on the Tonight show as well when the show first started as I'm sure you probably already know.

 

[CBPuppets]

Wow! But something tells me that the people inside a full-Body Character would Provide Air Freshners afterwards to prevent the smell of Flatulence spreading. that's what I would've done.

 

[D'Snowth]

Ah, yes it DOES make you wonder, doesn't it?

I can tell you from my own puppeteering experiences that it can be both fun and painful (physically) at the same time.

Back in the days when I was co-puppeteering for my local PBS station, my co-puppeteer and I had to have both of our characters appearing looking through a window from inside a little club house out to the camera at the same time - the house was wood, and there was just a front to it, while the sides were just wood-work to prop it up, meanwhile, but myself and my colleague had to squeeze inbetween the woodwork with two small metal chairs for us to sit on, and a HUGE monitor between us for us to see what the audience is seeing at home; the set wasn't up in the air, it was on the ground, because our puppets had to interact with some human characters, who were hanging out outside the clubhouse, so we're both cramped back there sitting on metal chairs, and having to make sure we make our performances believable, without bumping into each other, or getting in the others way.

If I was skinnier, it might not have been such a hassle, but shortly afterwards at the next pledge drive, I went solo in the clubhouse (since I was still the new kid on the block), and my partner was "promoted" to her own special little set, where he character served as sort of a news anchor to let the kids at home know how many pledges we have currently, how many more we'd like, what kind of special goodies they'll receive when they join the club, things like that.