Federico Fellini

Frederico Fellini (1920-1993) was a world-renowned Italian filmmaker, whose best known movies include La Dolce Vita (1960) and 8 1/2 (1963).

In his 1995 autobiography I, Fellini, the director talks about programs on television he respected:

“I was very impressed by the Muppets -- wonderful puppets, wonderful characters. They remind me of some of the puppets I made as a boy. They are the successors to the great screen comedians -- the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Laurel and Hardy. Miss Piggy is the heir to Mae West, and Kermit to Stan Laurel or Harry Langdon. The Muppets would be nice to work with. I am always looking for faces, and they have unforgettable faces, and they are a sympathetic troupe of players with congeniality.”

References

• When Rowlf drops various foreign-sounding phrases in the May 13, 1965 broadcast of The Jimmy Dean Show, he says, "You bet your oo-la-la and Dolce Vita."

• Fellini was parodied on Plaza Sésamo by the character Federico Pellini.

• In episode 107 of The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, Cookie Monster describes a dream where he ate a giant marshmallow. In addition to his pillow being gone in the morning, he claims several other items were missing as well, including a boxset of Fellini movies.