THE LOVERS, THE DREAMERS, AND ME

As anyone who knows me at all, knows that I am some sort of muppet. I gotta be. I don't remember a time of my life when they were not a strong influence in my life. Kermit playing the banjo, Piggy karate chopping someone, Gonzo lusting after chickens, Animal yelling "Woman!" They were always apart of me.

Last month was the 20th anniversary of Jim Henson's death. Jim is the man responsible of creating and assembling this motley crew of creations, as well as putting a big yellow bird on Sesame Street, and many other worlds that were explored on film and television. He was a true genius in the vein of Walt Disney and Mark Twain, and we lost him way to soon.

I was only five years old the day Jim died. I came home from school, and my mother was prepared to tell me the news. I sobbed. It was like a death in the family. My first questions were about Kermit and Piggy and all of their friends, and what they would do now, and my mother had no answers. She just hugged me and mothered me. I knew they were puppets, somehow, but didn't fully understand how they operated. I knew they were just "held up." If Jim Henson wasn't there to hold Kermit up, what was to become of him??  I remember this day as it was yesterday. It is very profound in my memory.

As I am now an adult, the humor and irreverent style with a sweetness that the Muppets carried has stayed with me. I have has the pleasure to meet and talk with a few of the original Muppeteers about Jim and his outlook on life and work and I hold him responsible for my silly sense of humor. Jerry Juhl was head writer for the Muppet Show and a performer before that, and he was responsible for their silly sweetness. I blame him for the way I write jokes, as well. From a very young age, these men groomed me to be a comedian and writer, and humorist.

Recently, this sweet silliness and irreverent style has been unveiled for the public to see. At 30 Rock in NY, The Muppets made their mark a long time ago when they were guests on The Tonight Show with Jack Parr (he was before Carson!) I will let my buddy Frank Oz explain in this video to Brian Williams....

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It really gets to me how emotional he gets and he explains that he is the "last man standing." Jim has been gone for 20 years, and we lost Jerry Juhl a few years ago. The world is a little less funny, a little less silly.



    Muppet Writer, Jerry Juhl and                                                       Muppet Builder, Don Sahlin             
                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                            


Here is Frank cutting the ribbon with Meridith Viera and Jimmy Fallon for the pipes to be part of the NBC studio tour....

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I hope that you all can see what I am talking about when I say I hold these men responsible for my sense of humor. I also think that they have affected and effected a lot of folks. I mean, I am not their only fan! Just their biggest. There has never been a time in my life that Kermit or his friends have never been an important part of it. I have forced The Muppets upon others. I was even at the dentist the other day, and started singing the Muppet Show theme to let them know when I was in pain! They are my happy place. They are my sane place. They are my insane place. They are my place. 

I will probably never stop feeling the loss of Jim Henson, a man that I only knew in this life through his work. I could go on but, I will end this post with a quote from Kermit that I hold as a mantra. At the end of the Muppet Movie, Kermit and the gang are being chased down by a business man who wants Kermit to be a spokesman for his french fried frog leg restaurants. It is the business man's dream to own a chain of these crummy restaurants. Kermit replies, " Yeah, well, I got a dream too. It's about singing a dancing, and making people happy. That's the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with." I find that to be more true everyday.