Occasionally Muppeteers will appear on an entertainment program alongside the puppet being performed. While some feel that such an appearance ruins the illusion of the Muppets, Jim Henson was not shy about appearing on camera with the characters he literally had a hand in:
An early Rowlf the Dog sketch written by Jerry Juhl began with Rowlf alone onstage addressing the audience. Rowlf would say "I'm not a real dog. Where real dogs have hind legs, do you know what I've got? Puppeteers!" At that point the podium would be pulled away exposing Jim Henson and Frank Oz. According to Oz, "We loved the idea of Rowlf sitting there on a huge podium, and then it collapses and you see Jim and me performing him. We loved the idea of being seen. That was one thing I loved about Jim—he was never precious with the puppets."[2]
The page lists instances where the puppeteers of the Muppets were publicly shown operating their characters. This list does not include instances in documentaries and behind the scenes specials where puppeteers are shown performing, live events where puppeteers are visible along side their Muppets, instances in which the puppeteer is visible but intended to blend in with the crowd, or goofs where puppeteers are accidentally exposed.
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- ↑ Jim Henson Interview
- ↑ Brian Jay Jones, Interview with Frank Oz. Jim Henson: The Biography.