Kermit the Frog

P is for — Miss Piggy from The Muppets

I’ve always loved the Muppets. Last year, I wrote about Kermit the Frog for my K post, so it only seems fitting that this year’s A to Z includes his diva co-star, Miss Piggy.

Miss Piggy began as a chorus girl on the Muppet Show, but soon became one of the stars of the show. Her saccharine-sweet-one-moment, temper-tantrum-the-next personality, her romantic pursuit of Kermit, and her trademark “Hi-ya!” karate chops to those who draw her ire always made me laugh.

She prides herself on being a fashionista, and in the various Muppet movies, she displays an amazing array of talents, including motorcycle and truck driving, and some impressive roller-skating skills. Miss Piggy’s karate chop moments, though, are my favorites.

I discovered that Miss Piggy is also an author. One of the books she “wrote,” Miss Piggy’s Guide to Life, spent 29 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in the early 1980s. She has her own perfume called Moi, and she even has a Facebook page and Twitter account. A true show-biz prima donna, she is always entertaining.

Photo Credit: Muppet Wikia

Photo Credit: Amazon.com

K is for — Kermit the Frog from Jim Henson’s Muppets.

“Heigh ho, Kermit the Frog here…”

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I love characters that make me laugh. I grew up watching the Muppet Show hosted by that much-harried green amphibian, Kermit. The Muppet Show was a variety show full of zany song and dance numbers, over-the-top gags and slapstick comedy, and general wackiness that never failed to keep me in stitches. I remember very well looking forward to the weekly laugh-fest. An amazing array of A-List actors and entertainers guest-starred on the show, and it was so funny watching them get “Muppetified.” Through it all, Kermit did his best to keep things under control and not lose his temper.

The Muppet Show was such a hit with my family that we bought hand puppet versions of many of the characters, along with Sesame Street and Looney Tunes characters, and put on our own way-out “Muppet Shows” for friends and family.

Loving the Muppets as we do, we, of course, had to go see the new movie, Muppets Most Wanted. It was an okay movie with some funny moments. The kids loved it, and it spawned another go-round of watching our old Muppet Show videos. One of my favorites is the ridiculously silly Star Wars episode with Mark Hamill, C3P0, R2D2, Chewbacca, and “Derth Nader.” Another is the episode with Harry Belafonte. In the final segment, he talks about, then sings a wonderful song with African roots that is so uplifting and inspiring that I sing it in my head for days afterward. According to Brian Henson, the late Jim Henson’s son who introduces each episode, the intricate African puppets that sing with Harry Belafonte were specially made for that performance. Enjoy!