Muppet Wiki

Kermiteye Welcome to Muppet Wiki!


Please visit Special:Community to learn how you can collaborate with the editing community.

READ MORE

Muppet Wiki
Register
No edit summary
m (necessary for Special:UnusedVideos to work)
(32 intermediate revisions by 11 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[file:Henson-pipes.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+
[[File:Henson-pipes.jpg|thumb|300px]]
[[File:JimGenePipes.jpg|thumb|300px|Jim reflects on the pipe creation with Gene Shalit.]]
+
[[File:WithLovePipes.jpg|thumb|300px|"With Love From the Muppets"]]
 
[[File:Frank oz with muppet closet.jpg|thumb|300px|Frank Oz unveils the pipes on ''Today'']]
 
[[File:Frank oz with muppet closet.jpg|thumb|300px|Frank Oz unveils the pipes on ''Today'']]
  +
[[File:Pipes-ribbon.jpg|thumb|300px|Oz prepares to cut the ribbon to commemorate the display as part of NBC's public tour.]]
  +
[[File:Tshirt_muppet_pipes.jpg|thumb|300px|T-shirt sold at the NBC store.]]
  +
[[File:Walter Checks Out The Muppet Pipes|thumb|300px|right]]
  +
In December of 1964, the Muppets were booked for a guest spot on ''[[The Jack Paar Program]]'', a prime-time Friday night talk-variety hour. The Muppet team -- [[Jim Henson]], [[Frank Oz]], [[Don Sahlin]] and [[Jerry Juhl]] -- arrived at NBC Studios in Radio City for a 10am rehearsal, but they were informed that they weren't actually needed on stage until 4pm. With lots of time to kill, they opened a door in their dressing room and found that it was filled with dark, dusty pipes.
   
  +
Juhl remembers, in a 1992 interview:
In [[1964]], [[Jim Henson]], [[Frank Oz]], [[Don Sahlin]] and [[Jerry Juhl]] were guests on ''[[The Jack Paar Program]]'' on [[NBC]]. Having some time to fill in between the rehearsal and the performance, Oz looked in the closet of their dressing room and was startled to discover that it was filled with dark, dusty pipes. Since the ''Paar'' studio was not far from [[The Jim Henson Company|Henson's company]] headquarters in [[New York City|New York]], Henson suggested that the crew go back to get some paints and fake fur with which to decorate the pipes.
 
   
  +
{{quote|We opened the door, expecting it to lead somewhere, but instead it was just this shallow closet with a maze of pipes... We had nothing to do, and Don had brought paints because we were performing something that needed touch-ups, so one thing led to another and we started decorating the pipes. It was Jim's idea -- a typical Jim idea -- and as the whole thing got more elaborate, one of us hopped in a cab and brought more material from the workshop. <ref name="theworks">Finch, Christopher, ''[[Jim Henson: The Works]]''. 1992.</ref>}}
The group worked hard on decorating the pipes in as many silly and imaginative ways as possible. The pipes soon had monstrous eyes, goofy noses, and multi-colored faces. Henson later revealed that part of the brown fabric had come from the [[Fuzzyface|original Grover]]. The bottom was signed "With Love From the Muppets." The signature originally included "Represented by William Morris" (Jim's agent at the time), but it was later painted over in black by the studio before putting it on air. Everyone intended to leave the pipes behind without mentioning it to the folks at NBC, as sort of a light practical joke. Someone at NBC discovered their work almost immediately, though, and Paar loved the pipes so much that he brought a camera backstage during the show so that people could see it.
 
   
  +
The group decorated the pipes with paint and fake fur, giving the pipes monstrous [[Muppet Eyes|eyes]], goofy noses, and multi-colored faces. Henson later revealed that part of the brown fabric had come from the [[Fuzzyface|original Grover]]. <ref>Henson, Jim ''[[The Today Show]]'', early 1980s.</ref> The team signed the artwork "with LOVE from the Muppets".
NBC told Henson and company that the pipes would be painted over the next day. Since the painting had come about as a lark, and they were just passing time, Henson and the others didn't have a problem with that. However, the next day's painting somehow never happened, and the pipes went largely forgotten about for 16 years.
 
   
  +
As the day went on, Juhl recalls, "People at the studio began to hear about this crazy closet and started stopping by, asking if they could take pictures. At some point, late in the afternoon, there was a knock on the door and a voice outside said, 'Hello, I'm [[Charlton Heston]]. Could I see your closet?' Since practical jokes weren't unknown in our world, we yelled back, 'Yeah, sure, you're Charlton Heston.' And, of course, it was Charlton Heston." <ref name="theworks" />
In 1980, while doing some remodeling in (what was at that time known as) the RCA building, the construction workers discovered the pipes. Though they had been told to knock out everything, the bizarre-looking pipes caught the workers' attention, and they asked NBC for confirmation that the pipes should be removed. After further investigation, it was decided to keep the pipes as they were, and Henson was brought in to film a segment of ''[[The Today Show]]'' with [[Gene Shalit]], explaining the history of the pipes. Shalit jokingly commented that the pipes would now be kept forever in the building as a museum piece.
 
   
  +
By air time, Paar had heard about the project, and brought a camera back into the dressing room to show the audience what the "crazy Muppet people" had done. <ref name="theworks" /> The signature at the bottom originally included the phrase "Represented by William Morris" (Henson's agent at the time), but that was painted over in black by the studio before putting it on air. <ref>Oz, Frank ''NBC Nightly News'', 2010</ref>
In 1984, [[Jack Paar]] appeared on ''Late Night with [[David Letterman]]'' and took Letterman on a tour around the studio to show him the Henson pipes. Paar says, "Now, I never won a lot of awards. But I have something that's so rare, and so touching to me." He later continues, "When I opened this door, you'll see a tribute that was made to me..."
 
   
 
NBC told Henson and company that the pipes would be painted over the next day. Since the painting had come about as a lark, and they were just passing time, Henson and the others didn't have a problem with that. However, the next day's painting somehow never happened, and the pipes went largely forgotten about for 16 years.
In 1992, a photo of the pipes appeared in [[Christopher Finch|Christopher Finch's]] book ''[[Jim Henson: The Works]]''. It remains unclear if the photo was from 1964, 1980, or taken just before the book's publication.
 
   
 
In 1980, while doing some remodeling in (what was at that time known as) the RCA building, the construction workers discovered the pipes. Though they had been told to knock out everything, the bizarre-looking pipes caught the workers' attention, and they asked NBC for confirmation that the pipes should be removed. After further investigation, it was decided to keep the pipes as they were, and Henson was brought in to film a segment of ''[[The Today Show]]'' on April 18, 1980 with [[Gene Shalit]], explaining the history of the pipes. Shalit jokingly commented that the pipes would now be kept forever in the building as a museum piece.
In 1993, the backstage area began being used for ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]''. The pipes were in a closet in Max Weinberg's dressing room. In 2009, [[Jimmy Fallon]] took over [[Late Night with Jimmy Fallon|late-night duties]], and he strongly encouraged NBC to make the pipes part of the backstage ''[[30 Rock]]'' tour. Fallon displayed the pipes during a satellite interview on ''The Jay Leno Show'' on February 12, 2010.
 
  +
 
In 1984, [[Jack Paar]] appeared on ''Late Night with [[David Letterman]]'' and took Letterman on a tour around the studio to show him the Henson pipes. Paar says, "Now, I never won a lot of [[:Category:Awards|awards]]. But I have something that's so rare, and so touching to me." He later continues, "When I opened this door, you'll see a tribute that was made to me..."
  +
 
In 1993, the backstage area began being used for ''[[Late Night with Conan O'Brien]]''. The pipes were in a closet in Max Weinberg's dressing room. In 2009, [[Jimmy Fallon]] took over [[Late Night with Jimmy Fallon|late-night duties]], and he strongly encouraged NBC to make the pipes part of the backstage ''[[30 Rock]]'' tour. Fallon displayed the pipes during a satellite interview on ''[[The Jay Leno Show]]'' on February 12, 2010.
   
 
In 2010, [[Brian Williams]] brought Frank Oz back to see the pipes for the first time in many years, causing Oz to emotionally comment that he was "the last man standing" from the original group. Soon, Fallon's plan came to fruition, and the pipes were officially unveiled as part of the tour with a "ribbon-cutting" ceremony featuring Oz, Fallon, and [[Meredith Vieira]], once again on ''The Today Show.'' Just as Shalit once jokingly predicted, the pipes will now forever be part of the tour as a testament to the creativity of Jim Henson and his business associates.
 
In 2010, [[Brian Williams]] brought Frank Oz back to see the pipes for the first time in many years, causing Oz to emotionally comment that he was "the last man standing" from the original group. Soon, Fallon's plan came to fruition, and the pipes were officially unveiled as part of the tour with a "ribbon-cutting" ceremony featuring Oz, Fallon, and [[Meredith Vieira]], once again on ''The Today Show.'' Just as Shalit once jokingly predicted, the pipes will now forever be part of the tour as a testament to the creativity of Jim Henson and his business associates.
  +
  +
On November 16, 2011, exactly forty-seven years and one day after the pipes had been decorated, [[Kermit the Frog]] was on ''[[Late Night with Jimmy Fallon]]'' to promote ''[[The Muppets (2011)|The Muppets]]''. On this day, he visited the pipes to film a brief clip for NBC.com. Just five days later, [[Walter]] visited the pipes upon his appearance on ''Late Night''.
  +
  +
On an appearance on ''The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon'' in March 2014, Kermit and Fallon talked about the pipes and Kermit presented him with [[Talk show gifts|a special gift]] - a specially designed Muppet wrench to take care of the pipes with.
  +
  +
<gallery widths=209 spacing=small orientation=landscape>
  +
JimGenePipes.jpg|Jim Henson reflects on the pipe creation with Gene Shalit in 1980.
  +
LateNightWithJimmyFallon-Kermit_AtTheMuppetPipes-(2011-11-16).png|Kermit at the pipes while visiting ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' in 2011.
  +
Muppet-Wrench.png|The Muppet Wrench
  +
</gallery>
  +
==Sources==
  +
<references />
   
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
  +
* [http://www.henson.com/jimsredbook/2010/12/18/12181964/ 12/18/64 - 'Parr show - "Glow Worm"'] entry at [[Henson.com#Jim Henson's Red Book|Jim Henson's Red Book]]
 
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37575033 Gene Shalit and Jim Henson]
 
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37575033 Gene Shalit and Jim Henson]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6yLfrMSh6Y&fmt=18 Jack Paar and David Letterman]
 
 
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3evrFhrRWw Late Night Underground]
 
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3evrFhrRWw Late Night Underground]
 
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37569554 Meredith Viera, Jimmy Fallon and Frank Oz]
 
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37569554 Meredith Viera, Jimmy Fallon and Frank Oz]
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37581189 Brian Williams, NBC Nightly News]
+
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37581189 Brian Williams, ''NBC Nightly News'']
 
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37574314 Brian Williams and Frank Oz]
 
* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/37574314 Brian Williams and Frank Oz]
  +
* [http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/kermit-the-frog-at-the-muppet-pipes/1369007 Kermit the Frog at the Muppet Pipes]
 
  +
* [http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/walter-checks-out-the-muppet-pipes/1370671 Walter at the Muppet Pipes]
 
[[Category:Exhibits]]
 
[[Category:Exhibits]]
 
[[Category:Real World Locations]]
 
[[Category:Real World Locations]]

Revision as of 00:01, 20 June 2014

Henson-pipes
WithLovePipes

"With Love From the Muppets"

Frank oz with muppet closet

Frank Oz unveils the pipes on Today

Pipes-ribbon

Oz prepares to cut the ribbon to commemorate the display as part of NBC's public tour.

Tshirt muppet pipes

T-shirt sold at the NBC store.

File:Walter Checks Out The Muppet Pipes

In December of 1964, the Muppets were booked for a guest spot on The Jack Paar Program, a prime-time Friday night talk-variety hour. The Muppet team -- Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Don Sahlin and Jerry Juhl -- arrived at NBC Studios in Radio City for a 10am rehearsal, but they were informed that they weren't actually needed on stage until 4pm. With lots of time to kill, they opened a door in their dressing room and found that it was filled with dark, dusty pipes.

Juhl remembers, in a 1992 interview:

We opened the door, expecting it to lead somewhere, but instead it was just this shallow closet with a maze of pipes... We had nothing to do, and Don had brought paints because we were performing something that needed touch-ups, so one thing led to another and we started decorating the pipes. It was Jim's idea -- a typical Jim idea -- and as the whole thing got more elaborate, one of us hopped in a cab and brought more material from the workshop. [1]

The group decorated the pipes with paint and fake fur, giving the pipes monstrous eyes, goofy noses, and multi-colored faces. Henson later revealed that part of the brown fabric had come from the original Grover. [2] The team signed the artwork "with LOVE from the Muppets".

As the day went on, Juhl recalls, "People at the studio began to hear about this crazy closet and started stopping by, asking if they could take pictures. At some point, late in the afternoon, there was a knock on the door and a voice outside said, 'Hello, I'm Charlton Heston. Could I see your closet?' Since practical jokes weren't unknown in our world, we yelled back, 'Yeah, sure, you're Charlton Heston.' And, of course, it was Charlton Heston." [1]

By air time, Paar had heard about the project, and brought a camera back into the dressing room to show the audience what the "crazy Muppet people" had done. [1] The signature at the bottom originally included the phrase "Represented by William Morris" (Henson's agent at the time), but that was painted over in black by the studio before putting it on air. [3]

NBC told Henson and company that the pipes would be painted over the next day. Since the painting had come about as a lark, and they were just passing time, Henson and the others didn't have a problem with that. However, the next day's painting somehow never happened, and the pipes went largely forgotten about for 16 years.

In 1980, while doing some remodeling in (what was at that time known as) the RCA building, the construction workers discovered the pipes. Though they had been told to knock out everything, the bizarre-looking pipes caught the workers' attention, and they asked NBC for confirmation that the pipes should be removed. After further investigation, it was decided to keep the pipes as they were, and Henson was brought in to film a segment of The Today Show on April 18, 1980 with Gene Shalit, explaining the history of the pipes. Shalit jokingly commented that the pipes would now be kept forever in the building as a museum piece.

In 1984, Jack Paar appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and took Letterman on a tour around the studio to show him the Henson pipes. Paar says, "Now, I never won a lot of awards. But I have something that's so rare, and so touching to me." He later continues, "When I opened this door, you'll see a tribute that was made to me..."

In 1993, the backstage area began being used for Late Night with Conan O'Brien. The pipes were in a closet in Max Weinberg's dressing room. In 2009, Jimmy Fallon took over late-night duties, and he strongly encouraged NBC to make the pipes part of the backstage 30 Rock tour. Fallon displayed the pipes during a satellite interview on The Jay Leno Show on February 12, 2010.

In 2010, Brian Williams brought Frank Oz back to see the pipes for the first time in many years, causing Oz to emotionally comment that he was "the last man standing" from the original group. Soon, Fallon's plan came to fruition, and the pipes were officially unveiled as part of the tour with a "ribbon-cutting" ceremony featuring Oz, Fallon, and Meredith Vieira, once again on The Today Show. Just as Shalit once jokingly predicted, the pipes will now forever be part of the tour as a testament to the creativity of Jim Henson and his business associates.

On November 16, 2011, exactly forty-seven years and one day after the pipes had been decorated, Kermit the Frog was on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to promote The Muppets. On this day, he visited the pipes to film a brief clip for NBC.com. Just five days later, Walter visited the pipes upon his appearance on Late Night.

On an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in March 2014, Kermit and Fallon talked about the pipes and Kermit presented him with a special gift - a specially designed Muppet wrench to take care of the pipes with.

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Finch, Christopher, Jim Henson: The Works. 1992.
  2. Henson, Jim The Today Show, early 1980s.
  3. Oz, Frank NBC Nightly News, 2010

External links