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JPGrosse
PERFORMER Jerry Nelson
DEBUT 1977
DESIGN Mari Kaestle
Jerry Richard Jim performing TMS

Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt and Jim Henson performing

Scooter jp grosse

Scooter and his uncle, J.P. Grosse

MCC-Screengrabs-JPGrosse-a

J. P. Grosse making an appearance in The Muppet Christmas Carol

Robin fleet jp

The puppets of J. P. Grosse, Robin and Fleet Scribbler, all Jerry Nelson characters

Scooter jp grosse tms

J. P. Grosse is the owner of The Muppet Theatre. Although he only made a few appearances on The Muppet Show, his name was often evoked and instilled enough fear in Kermit that he would usually go along with whatever demands were being made in Grosse's name. Most of these "requests" were casually mentioned by Grosse's nephew Scooter, who was nepotistically hired as the show's go-fer in episode 106.

Though he was mentioned often in the show's first season, Grosse did not make his first appearance on The Muppet Show until episode 205. He showed up at The Muppet Theatre again in episode 218, where the homophonic similarities between his name and guest star Jaye P. Morgan's caused much confusion. Although his last appearance on The Muppet Show was in the "Long, Long Ago" medley," the UK Spot in episode 221, he would continue to be mentioned throughout the run of the show. In the Muppets comic strip of September 29, 1981, it was mentioned that his wife owns the newspaper chain.

Technically, as owner of the theatre, J. P. Grosse is Kermit's landlord rather than boss. However, he frequently functions more like the latter, dictating acts or other changes, and in episode 202, he agrees by phone to cover the show's payroll (in exchange for lady wrestling).

Grosse has since made appearances in The Muppet Show context in illustrations (The Muppets comic strip, the book Bo Saves the Show, and The Muppet Show Comic Book) and full-bodied form (The Muppet Show on Tour: 2nd Edition).

In Of Muppets and Men, Jim Henson discussed the limitations of the character: "J. P. Grosse was a good concept so long as we didn't see him, but when we introduced him in person, he was just too harsh. You didn't want to have him around."[1]

Grosse also appeared, nameless and often voiceless, in background cameos in the Muppet movies and on Muppets Tonight, uncharacteristically acting in the Muppets' productions without threatening to close them down.

In a deleted scene from It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, Kermit the Frog claims to have inherited the theater from J. P. Grosse, thus implying that he has died. Though the scene was cut, Scooter is later heard telling some chorus girls that his uncle "used to own the theater." However, Jim Lewis, who scripted the project, offered a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal:

Dead? J.P. Grosse? I think not. Highly exaggerated and all that. Why, compared to Statler and Waldorf, he’s a mere child. No, I suspect the whole "dead" rumor was spread by his competitors or scurrilous writer seeking to please a network.[2]

Notes[]

Filmography[]

Smithgrosse

An original J.P. Grosse puppet, which was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 2013.

Mentions[]

Important instances when J.P. Grosse was mentioned but did not appear:

Book appearances[]

Sources[]

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