Episode 219: Peter Sellers
From Muppet Wiki
| The Muppet Show | |
| Guest Starring | Peter Sellers |
| Production Dates | December 1977 |
| Home Video | Season Two Best of the Muppet Show |
Kermit goes crazy with the madness of the show, made even worse with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker inventing a teleportation device which they use to pop in and out around him and teleporting things such as a lit bomb into Peter Sellers' dressing room. After trying to calm himself down by singing "Bein' Green" onstage, he confronts Bunsen on the teleporter, but gets whisked to Africa where he and Beaker are attacked by a gorilla.
Contents |
Songs/Sketches
- "A Gypsy's Violin": Peter plays Boris, a demented Gypsy violin player.
- Rowlf plays "When."
- Guest Star's Dressing Room: Peter recites a soliloquy from Shakespeare's Richard the Third, whilst -- and at the same time -- playing tuned chickens.
- UK Spot: Rowlf accompanies Gonzo on "Memory Lane."
- Peter plays Doctor De Ericlever, a crazed German masseur who ties Link in a knot.
- Kermit sings "Bein' Green" when Prunella and Her Prancing Poultry have to cancel on account of the start of duck hunting season.
- Muppet Labs: Teleporter
- "Cigarettes and Whiskey": Peter plays a bass-drum beating temperance preacher, backed by members of Lubbock Lou and his Jughuggers, Dr. Julius Strangepork, and George the Janitor.
Notes
- Jerry Nelson performed Strangepork in the closing number, but he had a different voice than usual.
- Three of the songs featured in this episode were written by the same person, entertainment personality and parodist Abe Burrows. They are: the opening number, A Gypsy's Violin, the second number, Rowlf's rendition of When, and the UK Spot, Memory Lane.
- One of Peter Sellers most famous quotes can be attributed to this episode: "There is no me, I do not exist. There used to be a me...but I had it surgically removed." Many say this line, in a nutshell, is the perfect personification of the enigma of the comedy and tragedy of the life of Sellers.
Cast
Muppets:
- Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Scooter, Rowlf the Dog, Statler and Waldorf, Whatnots, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Link Hogthrob, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Quongo the Wild Mountain Gorilla, Gramps
Background Muppets:
Performers
- Jim Henson as Kermit the Frog, Rowlf, Link Hogthtrob, and Gypsy
- Frank Oz as Fozzie Bear and player of Tambourine
- Dave Goelz as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Gonzo
- Richard Hunt as Beaker, Scooter, Statler, Whatnot Gypsies, Gramps, and a Chicken
- Jerry Nelson as Whatnot Gypsy, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Quongo the Gorilla, and a Chicken
- Louise Gold as Whatnot Gypsy (uncredited)
Edits
- Nickelodeon: The second backstage scene, Kermit's reaction to the exploding bomb, most of Kermit's introduction to the UK Spot, "Memory Lane", part of the last backstage scene (with Link walking backstage and Beaker suddenly appearing), and the last part of Fozzie's introduction to the closing number.
- CTS: The UK spot Memory Lane is cut.
- TVB Pearl: Memory Lane was also cut, as well as the backstage scene and Bein' Green; after the Doctor De Ericlever sketch, it just leads to Muppet Labs.
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