5 Talk

Dr. Julius Strangepork

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Performer:

Jerry Nelson

Dr. Julius Strangepork is an elderly pig who serves as resident scientist aboard the Swinetrek spaceship in the recurring Muppet Show sketch Pigs in Space. His fellow crew members include Captain Link Hogthrob and First Mate Piggy. The German-accented "sesquipedalian" Dr. Strangepork performed routine repair work as well as offering diagnostics on planets or approaching spacecrafts. It was revealed in Episode 218 that Dr. Strangepork is the only one who knows how all of the Swinetrek works.

Outside of the Pigs in Space sketches, Strangepork was occasionally seen on stage with the other pigs; he also appeared in the chorus for "Cigarettes and Whiskey" in episode 219 (as a smoker with a more rural accent) and portrayed Fritz, the murdered director, in episode 414. He also played the scientist (whose nephew is Fozzie Bear) in the Frankenstein parody, Nephew of Frankenstein in the 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies.

In films, Dr. Strangepork had silent cameo roles, often accompanying Link and other pigs, in The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Muppets, and a speaking part in The Muppet Christmas Carol as one of Fred's party guests. Along with Link and First Mate Piggy, he also appeared in animated form in segments on the short-lived Little Muppet Monsters. In The Muppet Show Comic Book: Muppet Mash storyarc, he appears in the "Link Hogthrob, Monster Smasher" segments under the name Dr. Hugo Strangepork.

Later appearances included a guest spot as the beach commissioner in a "Bay of Pigswatch" sketch on Muppets Tonight, a silent cameo with the Gonzo followers at Cape Doom in Muppets from Space, a vocal cameo in the video game Muppet Party Cruise, and the Virmup video for "Bohemian Rhapsody".

In Muppets Studios Presents: You're the Director, Strangepork was performed by David Rudman, and mostly dubbed later by Jerry Nelson (three of his lines remain undubbed). Matt Vogel performed Dr. Strangepork in the "Bohemian Rhapsody" video, and was quoted in an interview with The Muppet Mindset as saying,

I think he was in the video because they were trying to get as many recognizable characters to the fans in there somewhere but I’m looking forward to doing something with him some day.^[1]

1 Origins
2 Filmography
3 Book appearances
4 Sources

OriginsEdit

Dr. Nauga, a character bearing a striking resemblance to Dr. Strangepork, appeared in a sketch called "Return to Beneath the Planet of the Pigs" on The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence.

The puppet, refurbished with brown hair and eyebrows, was part of the pig ensemble in the first season of The Muppet Show and appeared in various At the Dance and Panel Discussion sketches, among others.

The pig's white hair was restored for the second season, and he was thereafter known as Dr. Strangepork. His name and German dialect is a likely nod to the title character (played by Peter Sellers) of the 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.