Switching rod-hands and live-hands

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's rod hands.

• Baby Bear — "The Bear Went Over the Mountain": Kids' Favorite Songs 2, 2001.
• Beaker — The Muppet Show, Episode 301: Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge, Muppet Labs segment.
• Chelli — Big Bag, in the opening theme sequence, when Chelli pops up and falls into a animated bag.
• Dr. Bunsen Honeydew — Muppets Tonight, Episode 211: Andie MacDowell, when Andie MacDowell tap dance with Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and swing him by the arms.
• 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 306 "Tico Tico", 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."

Rod Hands to Live Hands

Kermit's live hand, from the 1988 video Wow, You're a Cartoonist!

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• 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; Elmo's World: Happy Holidays!; Sesame Street Episode 4196; "Tying Your Shoelace"; Sesame Street Episode 4206.
• Gonzo — Muppets from Space when examining the telescope.
• Kermit — Wow, You're a Cartoonist! drawing sequences.
• Miss Piggy — The Muppet Christmas Carol during "Bless Us All."
• Red Fraggle — Fraggle Rock Episode 410: Red's Blue Dragon, when she picks an apple off the tree and when she throws a rock to the Blue Dragon. And in Episode 509: Ring Around the Rock, when she tosses the ring away.
• 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.
• Uncle Traveling Matt — Fraggle Rock Episode 104: You Can't Do That Without a Hat, when observing the donut he's inadvertently purchased. And in a postcard from Uncle Traveling Matt from the UK, when picking flowers for his outfit.
• Zeke — The Muppet Show episode 307. When playing an instrument in "You're Looking at Country."
• Grover -- "Super Grover 2.0" sketches, in close-up shots him of picking up objects.

Other Alterations

Mokey with one rod hand and one live hand.

• 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. Appearances by the rod hand Dr. Teeth puppet include: Episode 103 ("Willkommen"), Episode 104 ("Sunny"), and Episode 116 (exiting the stage from "Tenderly"), Episode 218 ("That Old Black Magic"), episode 302 (Leo Sayer's dressing room).

• 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 (modified from the Large Lavender Live Hand design) played by Richard Hunt on Sesame Street from Season 18 to Season 23. After David Rudman took over the character in 1992, he became an actual Large Lavender Live Hand. However, in later appearances from the late 1990's into 2000, Sonny Friendly shrunk to a Lavender Little Anything Muppet with rod hands.

• The Orange Gold father, the Lavender mother and the Fat Blue daughter switched back and forth between live hands and rod hands in various "Dinner Theatre" sketches.