Scooter
From Muppet Wiki
Scooter serves as a "gofer" backstage on The Muppet Show, and appeared from the first produced episode through the end of the series. Possessing glasses with eyes embedded in the lens and generally wearing a green track jacket, Scooter is a vaguely humanoid character of unknown heritage (as cited in Of Muppets and Men, when pressed about his family, he explained that his mother was a parrot but he didn't know about his father). Although occasionally seen in production numbers, his primary role lay in the backstage plots. From the second season through the fourth season, Scooter appeared in the opening to greet the guest star with a brisk "15 seconds to curtain." (For the final season, Pops handled the guest star greeting).
Hired by Kermit the Frog as a general aide and to "go fer" things like coffee and sandwiches, Scooter holds on to his position through a combination of efficiency and nepotism. The latter lies in the fact that Scooter's uncle, J.P. Grosse, owns The Muppet Theater, a fact which served as a running gag, particularly during the first season. Although he had been around since the first (production) episode, Scooter's proper introduction, including his hiring and the reference to his family connections, occurs in Episode 106.
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Specials
Scooter has appeared in a number of television specials. In the 1981 special The Muppets Go to the Movies, he played Porthos in The Three Musketeers, and the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.
In The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, he introduced a montage of guest star clips, saying that his favorite Muppet moments are those with the guest stars.
In A Muppet Family Christmas, he found an old film strip of the very first Christmas that the Muppets had ever spent together.
In The Muppets at Walt Disney World, he was paired with Bean Bunny. He got a few opportunities to make some cute jokes about Bean.
Scooter has also appeared in The Muppets Go Hollywood, John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together, The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, John Denver and the Muppets: A Rocky Mountain Holiday, and The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. He also hosted the 1985 video compilation Children's Songs and Stories, and made appearances in Fozzie's Muppet Scrapbook and Rowlf's Rhapsodies with the Muppets.
Movie Roles
Scooter's movie appearances include The Muppet Movie (as The Electric Mayhem's road manager), The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Muppets From Space, It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie and The Muppets' Wizard of Oz.
In The Muppet Movie, Scooter is the road manager for Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem. In The Great Muppet Caper, he's a resident of the Happiness Hotel. In The Muppets Take Manhattan, he graduates with the other Muppets, and briefly works as a movie theater usher. In It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, it's revealed that if Kermit wasn't born, Scooter would have been a cage dancer. And in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, he plays the assistant to the Wizard.
In Muppet*Vision 3D, Scooter hosts the preshow film. Due to Richard Hunt's absence at the time, Scooter does not play a significant role in the movie itself; he makes a cameo appearance, riding a bicycle with Janice. Scooter was the Muppet character that Richard Hunt performed at Jim Henson's funeral.
Muppet Babies
Baby Scooter appeared in Piggy's dream sequence in The Muppets Take Manhattan, and he later was a featured member of the Muppet Babies animated series. The Baby Scooter seen on Muppet Babies was redesigned as a brainy, computer-knowledgeable child and he was given a tomboyish twin sister named Skeeter.
Performers
Scooter was performed by Richard Hunt until his death in 1992. The character was subsequently dropped from general use until 1999, when he appeared in the film Muppets from Space, voiced by Richard's brother Adam. Scooter made a comeback in the 2002 TV movie It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, performed by Brian Henson, and in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz performed by Rickey Boyd. The original Scooter, Richard Hunt, based the character's voice and personality on how he remembered himself from his youth.
Casting History
- Richard Hunt: The Muppet Show - The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
- Adam Hunt: Muppets From Space (voice only)
- Matt Vogel: Muppet Race Mania (voice only)
- Brian Henson: It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie - Muppet Party Cruise
- Rickey Boyd: The Muppets' Wizard of Oz
See Also
Links
- 15 Seconds to Curtain! - Scooter Fansite
- Your Face! - A Richard Hunt Fansite
