The Muppet universe is anything but a smoke-free environment, as Muppet characters are sometimes seen smoking as part of a role they are playing, for celebratory purposes, or other reasons. In many cases, the smokers in Muppet productions are stock characters with whom the habit has often been associated, such as cigar-chomping tycoons or gangsters, while at other times it's associated with a specific milieu (smokey bars or a poker game). Here is a list of characters — both human and Muppet — who have been seen smoking in Muppet and Henson productions.

MuppetsEdit

Wontkins smokes a cigarette while playing cards in a Wilkins Coffee commercial.

Harry the Hipster perpetually has a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Wisss smokes craters like a bong in The Land of Gorch.

King Goshposh is almost always seen smoking. The display puppet in exhibits omits the cigar, showing the cigar hole in his mouth.

Grump smokes a cigarette in the Sesame Street Pitch Reel.

Taminella Grinderfall as the French artist in Tales of the Tinkerdee

Bobby Benson smoked in most of his appearances on The Muppet Show.

J. P. Grosse is almost always seen smoking a cigar.

Flower-Eating Monster asks his dancing partner, "Mind if I smoke?" in episode 101 of The Muppet Show. Smoke billows from his head and spreads across the dance floor.

Statler's cigar explodes in his face in episode 101 of The Muppet Show.

Burlington Bertie smokes in the UK spot from episode 201.

Dr. Julius Strangepork smokes in "Cigarettes and Whiskey" from episode 219.

Black Rooster in The Muppet Show episode 220

When the Electric Nose Warmer begins to smoke from overheating, Bunsen warns Beaker that smoking is bad for your health.

Kermit is given an unlit cigar by Fozzie in episode 303 of The Muppet Show.

The Gambler in episode 410 of The Muppet Show.

In episode 412 of The Muppet Show, Billy the Bear stuffs a cigar into Fozzie's mouth that promptly explodes in his face.

Assorted Whatnot Muppets during the "Roaring 20s" sketch in The Muppet Show episode 505.

Floyd Pepper smoked a hookah as the Caterpillar in The Muppet Show episode 506.

In "Workin' at the Car Wash Blues" Gonzo sings, "a man of my ability should be smokin' on a big cigar."

Rizzo smokes a pipe playing the role of a townsperson in the "Pied Piper" story from episode 510.

Fozzie Bear shares an unlit cigar with Lew Grade at the Variety Club of Great Britain Show Business Awards luncheon on February 7, 1978.

Ernie as Old King Cole calls for his pipe in a sketch, but it turns out to be for blowing bubbles.

An Old King Cole Anything Muppet calls for his pipe in a Sesame Street News Flash. He quickly puts it away when he starts coughing, concluding that smoking is not healthy.

Alistair Cookie holds a pipe in some early Monsterpiece Theatre sketches, but he generally eats it instead of smoking it.

Mr. Chatterly held a pipe in the Alphabet Chat segments.

Bugsy Them smokes a cigar in Dog City.

Statler and Waldorf smoke cigars in episode 212 of Muppets Tonight. ^{[note 1]}

A frackle in episode 103 of The Jim Henson Hour.

Jacques Roach in episode 112 of The Jim Henson Hour.

Sam smokes a cigarette during a commercial for a phone order collection of songs about food in The Jim Henson Hour episode 112.

In "Don't Forget to Watch the Movie," Benny Rabbit says that smoking in the theatre is illegal and ejects a smoking dragon from the theater.

Pepe the King Prawn takes a puff of Craig Ferguson's pipe during a December 2005 appearance on The Late Late Show.

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HumansEdit

Jerry Juhl smokes a pipe in the 2nd Wilson's Meats meeting film.

Juhl as John Magnetico smokes a cigar in a Bell Data Communications Seminar film.

Juhl as Charlie Magnetico again smokes a pipe in a Bell Data Communications Seminar film.

Cosmo Scam is handed a cigar by Snarl the "cigar box Frackle".

Elliott Gould in Out to Lunch.

Rich Little in The Muppet Show episode 204 while impersonating Humphrey Bogart.

George Burns smokes in every scene of his episode of The Muppet Show.

Liza Minnelli at the beginning of "Copacabana" in episode 414 of The Muppet Show.

Señor Wences in The Muppet Show episode 508.

Marty Feldman in The Muppet Show episode 518.

Wally Boag says he smokes in bed in The Muppet Show episode 520, but doesn't specify what he smokes.

A waiter...

...Mad Man Mooney, and...

...Lew Lord smoke cigars in The Muppet Movie.

An invisible Pepe tells a C.O.V.N.E.T. Guard that "Smoking is very bad for you, okay" in Muppets from Space.

Martin chomps on a cigar in Muppets from Space. Backstage, a sign reads "positively no smoking."

A hippie sings "life is full of highs" in "Life's a Happy Song". ^{[note 2]}

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Animation and IllustrationsEdit

An Anything Muppet smokes a peace pipe in The Sesame Street 1976 Calendar.

Bunsen assures Beaker that smoking is unhealthy as he blows bubbles from his pipe in "The Muppet Broadcasting Company."

Marijuana manifests as "Smoke" in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue inducing a coughing fit in Baby Gonzo, Baby Kermit and Baby Piggy

A tourist smokes a cigar on the cover of Muppet Babies #23.

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TheTruth.com commercialEdit

In 2007, a television commercial for the anti-cigarette "truth" campaign aired, using a Muppet-like body costume as commentary in response to a 1979 document they suggest was meant to advertise smoking to pre-school children. The PSA was produced by the American Legacy Foundation and discussed details behind how Philip Morris, a major tobacco company, paid to have its products appear in The Muppet Movie (particularly the cigars used by the El Sleezo waiter, Mad Man Mooney, and Lew Lord^[1]) ten years after an executive from that same company stated that they would never attempt to market cigarettes to children. To comment on the apparent hypocrisy between these two actions, the commercial then showed a man in a Muppet-like costume wandering the streets, confusing adults and delighting children.

The commercial ignored the fact that the Muppets had a very large adult fanbase at the time the film was released, and thus implied that the placement of cigars in The Muppet Movie would have only been done to target children. Additionally the video implied through its visuals that Muppets were smoking in the movie; whereas human characters were the only ones who smoked in The Muppet Movie.

See alsoEdit

• Muppets imbibing alcohol

SourcesEdit

1. ↑ "'Muppet Movie' cigars weren't just props." The News and Observer (Raleigh NC). March 21, 1998. Retrieved from Tobaccodocuments.org

Notes

1. ↑ Statler: "This show reminds me of a twenty-five cent cigar." Waldorf: "Oh, yeah? Why is that?" Statler: "Because it's cheap and it stinks!"
2. ↑ Merriam-Webster defines "high" as meaning "filled with or expressing great joy or excitement" or "excited or stupefied by or as if by a drug." Given the Willie Nelson-like appearance of the hippie, the latter meaning is implied, suggesting the gentleman has recently smoked marijuana.