Rod Hands and Live Hands Switching
From Muppet Wiki
This is a list of instances in which a character who is normally an arm-rod puppet appears with live hands, and vice versa.
Live Hands to Rod Hands
- Ernie -- song: Best Friend Blues, 1989
- Fozzie Bear -- In the opening theme for the first season of The Muppet Show, Fozzie is seen with both his arms in the air
- Link Hogthrob -- The Muppet Show episode 205, "I Talk to the Trees"; episode 224, a duet with Cloris Leachman; episode 308, "The Rhyming Song"; episode 419 -- when practicing to be a super hero; The Muppets Go to the Movies -- hitting a gong; Muppet Treasure Island -- standing by a gong
- Leo -- meeting film "Explosion"
- Beaker -- The Muppet Show, Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge, Muppet Labs segment.
- Dr. Bunsen Honeydew -- Muppets Tonight, Episode 211: Andie MacDowell, when Andie MacDowell tap dance with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and swing him by the arms.
- Baby Bear -- "The Bear Went Over the Mountain": Kids' Favorite Songs 2, 2001
Rod Hands to Live Hands
- Convincing John -- Fraggle Rock Episode 310: The Secret Society of Poobahs
- Elmo -- Elmo's Magic Cookbook; "Hands" segment of Elmo's World; Music Works Wonders; Sesame Street Episode 4196
- Gonzo -- Muppets from Space when examining the telescope
- Kermit -- Wow, You're a Cartoonist! drawing sequences
- Travelling Matt -- Fraggle Rock Episode 104: You Can't Do That Without a Hat. When observing the donut he's inadvertently purchased.
- Red Fraggle -- Fraggle Rock Episode 410: Red's Blue Dragon. When she picks an apple off the tree & when she throws a rock to the Blue Dragon.
- Sarah Hall-Small --The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss Episode 214: The Cat in the Hat's Art House. When she is creating a picture of her mom for her mom's Birthday.
- Zeke -- The Muppet Show episode 307. When playing an instrument in "You're Looking at Country".
Other Alterations
- Dr. Teeth originated as a rod hand Muppet in The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence. During the first season of The Muppet Show, he alternated between rod hands and live hands, eventually remaining a live hand puppet. First season appearances by the rod hand Dr. Teeth puppet include: Episode 103 (Cabaret number), Episode 104 (Sunny), and Episode 116 (exiting the stage from Tenderly)
- Grump had rod hands in early appearances (FHA commercial and The Ed Sullivan Show), but when he was in the Muppet Meeting Films he had live hands, except for the meeting film "Let Us Have the Dam Break".
- Mokey Fraggle switched back and forth between live hands and rod hands, depending on what the scene required.
- Sonny Friendly originated as a rod hand Muppet played by Richard Hunt on Sesame Street from Season 18 to Season 23. When David Rudman took over the character in 1992, he became a Large Lavender Live Hand. However in Episode 3911, Sonny Friendly appears as a Lavender Little Anything Muppet with rod hands.
