Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Gonzo

GONZO

Performed by...
Dave Goelz

First appearance...
The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970)

Most recent appearance...
"The Muppet Show Theme Song" Music Video with OK Go (August 2011)

Best known role(s)...
Whatever, daredevil, weirdo, performance artiste, chicken lover, plumber, narrator, cabin boy, photographer, Tin-Thing, purveyor of the weird, wild, and unusual

Best friend(s)...
Rizzo the Rat
Kermit the Frog

Significant other...
Camilla the Chicken (when he can tell her apart from any of the other chickens)

WHO IS GONZO?
Gonzo, otherwise known as The Great Gonzo or Gonzo the Great, is The Muppet Show's resident performance artiste who enjoys performing feats of "lunatic daring," endangering his own life nearly every time he performs--and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Gonzo first appeared in the 1970 television special The Great Santa Claus Switch as a small blue Frackle who lived in a cigar box; thus, he earned the tentative name of Snarl the Cigar Box Frackle. It wasn't until 1976 and The Muppet Show that the tiny fellow was plucked from the cigar box, given a purple tuxedo, and became a star.

In the very first episode of The Muppet Show, Gonzo's weirdness shone right through as he performed his first televised wacky act wherein he ate a rubber tire to the tune of "Flight of the Bumblebee." The Muppets were never the same. (And neither were their health insurance premiums.) Throughout the course of the show, Gonzo's acts would become weirder and weirder as he attempted to reach new artistic heights.

In the first season of the show, Gonzo's appearance was constantly very sad and morose due to his unmoving eyelids and pouty facial expression that didn't match his usually manic personality. By the second season, Gonzo acquired bright yellow moving eyelids, a new nose, and an entirely new expression. After this new evolution, Gonzo leapt from the ranks of secondary character and, with help from his energetic and outspoken personality, became one of the primary and most popular Muppet characters.

Throughout the run of the show Gonzo would interact with guest stars; including notable scene-stealing moments with John Cleese, Madeline Kahn, Lola Falana, George Burns, and Big Bird; he often purveyed weird acts such as dancing cheese, singing rocks, hot-stepping chickens, and a baby asparagus chorus; he coordinated an all-show-long dance party, serenaded countless chickens, and, of course, blowing the final note of "The Muppet Show Theme Song" at the opening of every episode.

Gonzo's attraction to poultry persona began and developed throughout the course of the show, starting with a humble "Nice legs!" remark to an auditioning chicken dancer in the Rich Little episode, and reaching its apex with his semi-creepy attraction to six year-old, male, Big Bird in the Leslie Uggams episode. In that same episode, Gonzo met his now-regular chicken girlfriend, Camilla. Gonzo and Camilla have been in some sort of relationship ever since, even with Gonzo's apparent inability to tell her apart from other chickens, leading one to ask the question... is the chicken he's with really Camilla, or is some nameless chicken just looking for a quick buck-buck-buck?

In 1979, Gonzo made the jump to feature films with the rest of the Muppets with a starring role in The Muppet Movie. In the movie, Kermit and Fozzie discover Gonzo on their way to Hollywood when their cars collide. We find Gonzo pursuing a career as a Plumbing Artiste with Camilla at his side. However, once he finds his way into Fozzie's uncle's Studebaker, Gonzo professes his dream of going to Bombay, India to become a movie star (Hollywood is just too easy). He settles for Hollywood, however, and travels with Kermit and the rest of the Muppets to reap the rewards of the Standard Rich and Famous Contract. Along the way, he gets to take a trip in the air on balloons, gets "hopping mad," and sings his most famous tune, "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday."

After The Muppet Show ended and the Muppets moved on to their second feature film, The Great Muppet Caper, Gonzo took on a new role as a photographer--a weird one, of course, with one of his projects being a photographic essay on kneecaps. In the film he worked as a photographer for The Daily Chronicle alongside roving twin reporters Kermit and Fozzie. Thanks to Gonzo, the mystery of who stole Lady Holiday's fabulous Baseball Diamond was solved (eventually). It is also in this movie that Gonzo is first referred to as a "Whatever," a classification that sticks to this day.

In his third feature film role in The Muppets Take Manhattan, Gonzo tags along with the rest of the Muppets as the go to New York City to try and make it on Broadway. When all of the Muppets go their separate ways, Gonzo and Camilla travel to Michigan where they start up a fantastic boat act in which Gonzo water skis while his chorus of chickens performs Tony Bennett's rendition of the "William Tell Overture." Thankfully, Gonzo rejoins the rest of the Muppets on Broadway, where he famously didn't play the part of the Minister in Manhattan Melodies.

When the 1990's loomed, Gonzo took more of a leadership role in the Muppet clan, starting first with The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992) where he played the part of Charles Dickens, guiding the audience through the story alongside his new-found partner and soon to be best friend, Rizzo the Rat. Together, Gonzo and Rizzo sold apples, broke a shelf, and did some other exciting things in the film as Michael Caine's Ebeneezer Scrooge dealt with ghosts and ex-girlfriends. At this point, Gonzo's manic, daredevil side would begin to fade into the background in favor of his more prominent, show-runner role.

In 1993, Gonzo continued his hosting role in Muppet Classic Theater where he and Rizzo alternated between hosting and acting, with Gonzo playing Rumpelstiltskin. 1996 brought the Gonzo and Rizzo dynamic back to the big screen in Muppet Treasure Island where the two played the best friends of Jim Hawkins. As a cabin boy on the Hispaniola ship, Gonzo had his limbs elongated, starfish put down his pants, and finally got to go to Zanzibar to meet the Zanzibarbarians (or wherever the wind ended up taking him).

Gonzo's role on Muppets Tonight was odd. (What else did you expect?) At times he acted as a sort of co-host to Clifford, other times he seemed to be a producer, and even more times he conducted even more crazy acts including a cannonade set to the "1812 Overture," being hammered feet first into a railroad tie by two American Gladiators, and rocketing skyward at mach 5 held only by a thin little bungee-cord, where at the apex of his ascent he was snapped back to earth where his fall was stopped by... the floor, what else?

The biggest role of Gonzo's career came in Muppets From Space (1999) where he played himself, the main protagonist of the story. In the film, Gonzo struggles with his identity (obviously not content with just being a whatever), builds a jacuzzi, nearly has a quadrilobal brain probe, and discovers that the truth of his existence is completely out of this world. Gonzo's friendship with Rizzo developed in this movie, as did his relationship with Kermit. Unfortunately, Camilla was nowhere to be seen during the whole ordeal--maybe that's what sparked the whole identity crisis in the first place.

In the 2000's, Gonzo was present in every major Muppet project including It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Carol (2002) where he played the producer role again, The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) where he played the Tin Thing, A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) where he worried about a little girl and sang his first duet with Fozzie Bear. In 2008, Gonzo started his own YouTube account, posting a video called "Classical Chicken" where he, Camilla, and chickens perform the "Blue Danube Waltz." Gonzo later appeared in the "Rolling with the Skateboarding Dog" video as well. He famously crooned the opening solo during the Muppet cover of "Bohemian Rhaposdy" in 2009 as chickens joined in behind him.

Most recently, Gonzo appeared in the music video for OK Go's cover of "The Muppet Show Theme Song" from Muppets: The Green Album. In the video, Gonzo joins Kermit, Fozzie, and Animal as they sing alongside lead singer Damian Kulash, watches as Camilla gets whacked by a can of paint, and even acts as a puppeteer of one of the band members, carefully watching the monitor as he worked.

Gonzo will be returning to the big screen this November in The Muppets, where he will once again be playing a prominent role. In the film, Gonzo plays himself as a high-powered plumbing magnate and owner of Gonzo's Royal Flush. It takes Kermit, Fozzie, Jason Segel, Amy Adams, and new Muppet Walter to convince him to return to the stage and the daredevilry that he loves so much. Together, with the rest of the Muppets, he will attempt to save the Muppet Theater from the grips of bad guy Tex Richman... and he'll probably flirt with a few chickens and hurl a few bowling balls along the way, too.



GONZO AND DAVE GOELZ
For 35 years, since his first appearance on The Muppet Show, Gonzo has been performed by only one person: Dave Goelz. Dave was not only instrumental in Gonzo's characterization, but his design as well. Dave was the puppet builder who redesigned the character in between the first and second season of The Muppet Show and thus became responsible for Gonzo's wild takes and wild outlook. Dave (along with writer Jerry Juhl) is obviously responsible for creating exactly who Gonzo is. From his lunacy to his more somber side, Dave has been the one who made Gonzo who he is and who he will continue to grow into.

GONZO'S STUNTS, ACTS, AND WILD IDEAS
For 35 years, Gonzo has been performing the most outlandish acts this side of Timbuktu. Starting with his eating of a rubber tire to classical music on The Muppet Show and most recently hurling a bowling ball at Jason Segel's head in a trailer for The Muppets, Gonzo lives to entertain with his idea of fine art. Here are some of his greatest performances...


• Gonzo Wrestles a Brick (The Muppet Show Episode 207)
• Gonzo Recites Shakespeare While Hanging By His Nose (The Muppet Show Episode 222)
• Gonzo Recites the Seven Times Table While Balancing a Piano on His Nose (The Muppet Show Episode 301)
• Gonzo Yodels While Riding a Motorized Pogostick (The Muppet Show Episode 303)
• Gonzo Tap Dances in Oatmeal (The Muppet Show Episode 411)
• Gonzo Conducts Liebesträume and Battles a Crab (The Muppet Show Episode 504)
• Gonzo Water Skis While Chickens Cluck Tony Bennett's Rendition of "The William Tell Overture" (The Muppets Take Manhattan)
• Gonzo Rockets Skyward at Mach 5 While Being Held by a Bungee Cord (Muppets Tonight Episode 102)
• Gonzo Conducts The Refined Young Cannonballs to the "1812 Overture" (Muppets Tonight Episode 206)
• Gonzo Skydives Out of an Elevator (Muppets.com)
• Gonzo Butters Pickles the Alligator (Muppets.com)
GONZO SONGS
Being an artiste, Gonzo is quite musically inclined, having many different songs under his belt. Here are some of his most stand-out musical performances...


• "Wishing Song" with Madeline Kahn (The Muppet Show Episode 209)
• "Jamboree" (The Muppet Show Episode 311)
• "Act Naturally" (The Muppet Show Episode 405)
• "My Way" (The Muppet Show Episode 411)
• "El Condor Pasa" (The Muppet Show Episode 511)
• "Dancin' With Myself" (Muppets Tonight Episode 207)
• "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday" (The Muppet Movie)
• "Love in a Laundromat" with Camilla the Chicken (The Muppets at Walt Disney World)
• "Mr. Spaceman" with Jimmy Buffett and Rizzo the Rat (Kermit: Unpigged)
• "Something Better" with Rizzo the Rat and Jim Hawkins (Muppet Treasure Island)
• "Everyone Matters" with Kermit the Frog (It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie)
• "I Wish I Could Be Santa Claus" with Fozzie Bear (A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa)
WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED GONZO?
It's a wonder that the Muppets do keep Gonzo around after all the pain, destruction, and debt he causes them. What is it about the blue weirdo that makes him someone Kermit keeps on the pay roll (or under the steam roller--Gonzo would prefer either one)? Well, Gonzo may be crazy, wacky, zany, unhinged, and other-worldly, but he pursues the Muppets' dream just as intensely as anyone. The dream of making people happy is exactly what Gonzo strives for every time he steps on stage.

Every time he balances a piano on his nose, tap-dances in tapioca and thumb tacks, or hypnotizes himself while holding a 5,000 pound weight, Gonzo is trying to live the dream and make people happy. The Muppets need Gonzo because he pushes their dream to its limits, bursting it at the seams, doing whatever he has to in order to live that dream and make those people happy through art.

The Muppets need Gonzo because, like Fozzie Bear, like Kermit, like Miss Piggy, no matter how many times he fails, he gets back up and tries again. No matter how many times he can't remember what seven times seven is, no matter how many times he can't walk for a week, no matter how many times he's flattened like a fuzzy blue pancake, Gonzo always hoists himself up. He gets a calculator, he wears shoes, he uses a bicycle pump to reinflate himself... he never gives up on the dream.

Gonzo has never given up, and he will never give up, as long as there is art to showcase, chickens to chase, and weird to be.








The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.comSource URL: https://jimhensons.blogspot.com/search/label/Dave%20Goelz
Visit Jim Henson for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Dave Goelz Gets Interviewed and Jason Segel Says the Movie Rocks

Don't you love it when you get a message from a Muppet fan letting you know that he has an audio interview with Dave Goelz on his website? ...That's never happened to you? Oh. Well... then live vicariously through The Muppet Mindset! My new friend Andrew messaged me recently to let me know that his website, CobblestonePath.org, has a great audio interview with Muppeteer legend Dave Goelz. Dave, as you probably know, has performed The Great Gonzo since 1976 and continues to be a major star in the Muppet world. The interview is awesome, so I highly recommend checking it out!

Speaking of Muppets (as if we're not always speaking of Muppets around here), IGN.com had the opportunity to ask Jason Segel how the movie is going. According to him, it's going quite well--"fantastic," actually. He also says that he's sworn to secrecy about the cameos in the movie (other than name-dropping Jack Black and Emily Blunt). I wonder if he's seen everything we know... probably not. He's too busy for us. Packaging a blockbuster... Anyway, it's a nice little update--check it out!

And, finally, check out this incredibly awesome piece of fan art designed by Pasha Romanowski. Pasha has his own website, www.projectpuppet.com, which, you guessed it, you should also check out! But first... the fan art!













The Muppet Mindset by Ryan DosierSource URL: https://jimhensons.blogspot.com/search/label/Dave%20Goelz
Visit Jim Henson for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Digit

Today's Weekly Muppet Wednesday spotlight is written by friend of the blog Max Jessop!

DIGIT

Performed by…
Dave Goelz


First Appearance…
InnerTube (1987)

Most recent appearance…
Muppet Party Cruise (2003)


Memorable quotes…
“Oh, that was a mistake, I meant ‘no’, it came out ‘yes’” – The Jim Henson Hour “Episode 105: The Ratings Game”

WHO IS DIGIT?
Digit is the semi-robotic technical director for MuppeTelevision, helping Kermit run the broadcast at Muppet Central. He also appears in various musical numbers as the keyboard player for the resident band, Solid Foam, playing songs and back-up to guest stars, Smokey Robinson, k.d. Lang, and the cast of the show.

Digit was also featured briefly in The Jim Henson Hour’s opening scenes and every episode that featured events at Muppet Central. He was one of the most prominent characters on The Jim Henson Hour.

DIGIT MOMENTS
One moment that seemed memorable would have to be in Episode 105, in which Lindbergh hits him with a sledgehammer many times in hopes that it will fix his malfunctions.



Outside of the series, Digit hasn’t been seen much, but on a few occasions he has been seen outside of Muppet Central. Digit along with other Muppets from The Jim Henson Hour were seen in an episode of The Cosby Show, mostly just as a promotion for the show. The episode aired in 1990, yet The Jim Henson Hour was already canceled a year before.

His most recent appearance was in 2003 where he was given a vocal cameo in the Muppet video game, Muppet Party Cruise. He not only had a vocal cameo but he also hosted his own mini-game, "Short Circuit."

WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED DIGIT?
The Muppets don’t really need Digit. You see, Digit, along with other Muppets of The Jim Henson Hour, were test characters. Digit isn’t really a main or popular character. But the Muppets will always need a big cast!

Look back on the Weekly Muppet Wednesdays on Lips, if you’d like. It might answer the question. Digit may not be the main character. But without these characters that don’t get top-billing or are seen in the background we wouldn’t have this whole cast of characters. The cast that made The Muppet Show funny and what we enjoyed and still enjoy today!











The Muppet Mindset by Ryan DosierSource URL: https://jimhensons.blogspot.com/search/label/Dave%20Goelz
Visit Jim Henson for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Dave Goelz

Today's Weekly Muppeteer Wednesday article was written by Tom Stroud.

DAVE GOELZ

BORN...
July 16, 1946

Notable Muppets...
Gonzo the Great, Zoot, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Boober Fraggle, Uncle Traveling Matt, Beauregard, Digit, Philo, Waldorf (1992-present), Randy Pig, Bill the Bubble Guy, World's Oldest Fraggle, Large Marvin Fraggle

WHO IS DAVE GOELZ?

Dave was born in Burbank, California in 1946. From childhood Dave had an interest in puppetry, and had a fondness for the children's television show Time for Beany. After high school, Dave attended the Los Angeles Art Center's College of Design and began to work as an industrial designer, working for companies like American Airlines and Hewlett Packard. When Sesame Street premiered, he was fascinated by the puppet's craftsmanship, and began to dabble with puppet building.

In 1972, Dave met Frank Oz at a puppetry festival, and visited Sesame Street tapings while on vacation in New York. A few months later Dave met Jim Henson, and was offered a job with Henson Associates as a part-time puppet builder in 1973. The first assignment he was given was to build puppets for a planned Broadway show. However, the show was soon given up on in favor of The Muppets Valentine Show pilot, for which Dave built Muppets and performed his first character, The Guru, Brewster.

When Dave returned to California, he found that his electronics employer had replaced him, so he began to work on his own, creating puppets for industrial builders. In 1974, Henson offered Dave a full time job, building and designing puppets, and occasionally performing characters of his own. Dave returned to New York, and worked on another pilot, The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence, building Nigel, Animal, Floyd Pepper, and Zoot; the latter becoming his first major Muppet character.

Two years later, in 1976, Dave joined the rest of the Henson team in London to work on The Muppet Show. In the show, Dave was promoted to Principal Muppet Performer, playing a starring role as Gonzo the Great. He also performed Zoot, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, and other background characters. Dave started out very nervous about performing a major character like Gonzo, but after some time he began to evolve as a performer, especially towards the end of the first season, in which Gonzo needed to shout "No!" in amazement. Dave was told to make it bigger, and he replied with a huge, overempathetic "NO!" gaining him his first laugh from crew members.

Towards the end of the first season Dave, feeling stressed out with his hectic schedule of working both in the Muppet Workshop building puppets as well as performing asked Jim Henson if he could come back the next season only as a performer, and was told he could.

As The Muppet Show worked through its five season run, Dave developed into a core performer and became one of the five main performers working on the show--the others being Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, and Richard Hunt. As Gonzo, Dave's character matured from a timid, small, weirdo and became a avant-garde, charismatic, outgoing, weirdo with a thing for chickens.

When Fraggle Rock debuted, Dave was again given one of the main characters, a depressed Fraggle named Boober Fraggle. He has said in interviews that the main characters in Fraggle Rock were made out of their performers' flaws, and that he was sometimes as suspicious and grumpy as Boober. He was also given other characters, such as Uncle Traveling Matt, Philo, The World's Oldest Fraggle, and various other one-shot characters.

When The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth came around, Dave played several characters, including Master SkekUng and Fizzgig in The Dark Crystal and Sir Didymus in Labyrinth. Dave continued to play Gonzo and Bunsen Honeydew in various specials and movies, and created occasional new roles in other specials and TV shows, including Rugby Tiger in The Christmas Toy and Digit in The Jim Henson Hour.

After Jim Henson's unfortunate death and Frank Oz's heavy focus on directing, Gonzo and Dave gained significance, receiving top billing in The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, and Muppets from Space. Dave has credited The Muppet Christmas Carol as his favorite Muppet project.

Dave continues to work with the Muppets in all of their projects, performing Gonzo, Bunsen, Waldorf, and Beauregard. Dave remains one of only two performers still working with the Muppets from the original Muppet Show team--the other being Steve Whitmire. The two of them have been noted as one of the most hilarious Muppeteer duos, performing notable teams including Gonzo and Rizzo, Bunsen and Beaker, Statler and Waldorf, Kermit and Gonzo, Wembley and Boober, Andy and Randy Pig, and many more.

Dave will be performing in the new Muppet movie and it seems like he'll be performing with the Muppets until he can't hold his hand up any more.











The Muppet Mindset by Ryan DosierSource URL: https://jimhensons.blogspot.com/search/label/Dave%20Goelz
Visit Jim Henson for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection

St. Louis Goes Gonzo for Dave Goelz

Ryan Dosier - Greetings, Muppet fans! How's your life? It's been awhile! (You know... if you don't count yesterday or everyday before that.) I'm here to finally write an article on my own for my website--shocking, isn't it? Today I'd like to give you all an inside look at an incredible event that took place a week ago today in St. Louis, Missouri that involved Dave Goelz, a special guest, and a bunch of wonderful Muppet fans.



The event in question was Muppet History 101: An Evening with Dave Goelz and it was held at the St. Louis County Library (sort of) near St. Louis, Missouri. This was just about two hours from me, so rampant, rabid wildebeest couldn't stop me from attending (unfortunately, they did stop Mufasa... that scene always gets to me). So I packed up my camera, threw on my Gonzo t-shirt, printed out some Muppet Mindset business cards to hand out, trimmed my facial hair, and made my way up to St. Louis for the event!

Except I left at around 11:30 in the afternoon and the event didn't start until 7:00 at night. So... I went to lunch with my grandma and cousin (which you probably don't care about), bought the new Muppet Yahtzee game at a local mall (which you probably only care about slightly more), and stopped by a comic shop where I found the Muppet King Arthur trade paperback which The Muppet Mindset is apparently quoted on the back of... so I had already had a very, very good day even before seeing Dave Goelz!



I arrived at the library around 5:00 in hopes of weaseling my way into the library before the doors officially opened at 6:00. Unfortunately, that was a no go, so I sat in my car and played Text Twist on my iPod until about 5:45 when I wandered over to the back door where a small crowd of people waiting was beginning to form. As I was walking up I apparently caught the eye of an eleven year old kid in an awesome Muppet t-shirt. I thought, at first, that he was just excited to see my Gonzo shirt, but it turned out he was excited to see me. He shouted, "Oh my gosh! You're Ryan Dosier!!" To which I said, "...Yes, yes I am."

Turns out the kid was Max, an (apparently) huge fan of me and The Muppet Mindset, who recognized me from the few pictures of me that have been on the blog and my YouTube video. So I was thrilled to meet such an enthusiastic young Muppet fan--especially one that is also a fan of me--so we took a picture together:




Such a great kid!! SO much fun and SO knowledgeable--look out Muppet world, Max is going to be stepping up soon enough. I just hope he remembers me when he starts his own Muppet fan site--and that he doesn't attempt a coup and overthrow me. ...Probably shouldn't be giving him ideas.

So anyway! I talked to Max and his awesome mom and the other Muppet fans and people waiting around for the doors to open, trying explain to people who I was (thankfully I had those aforementioned business cards) and then a little before 6:00 the doors finally opened and we all wandered in. I got a seat in the front row with Max and his family and friends (who traveled all the way to St. Louis from Nashville, Tennessee--that ain't a short drive, my friends). As we were walking in I got a tap on the shoulder asking if I was really Ryan Dosier from The Muppet Mindset and it turns out with was Anthony from the ToughPigs forums and his amazingly awesome fiance Roz! They were two of the friendliest and most fantastic people I've had the pleasure of meeting. So nice and fun and easy to talk to... just fantastic! Plus, Anthony lucked out by finding Roz who is a HUGE Muppet fan and an all-around AWESOME lady. He's living the dreams, folks! Unfortunately we didn't get a picture together... I'm not exactly sure how that happened but it needs to be rectified at some point.

While we were sitting around chit-chatting while waiting for the event to start I met so many other wonderful Muppet fans whose names I either didn't get or are escaping me right now... but I know they included Daniel from the ToughPigs forums (pictured at right), an adorable little girl who I took a picture with, and a fantastic guy in an Electric Mayhem t-shirt who couldn't stop saying nice things about the Mindset. It seemed that every time I said I was Ryan Dosier from The Muppet Mindset someone else turned around and said, "You run The Muppet Mindset? I love that site!" It was truly an incredible experience and my first time in a group of Muppet fans. I felt like a celebrity!



And then Dave Goelz had to come out and take away my celebritude... But it's okay because it was freaking Dave Goelz!! The main library guy gave Dave a nice, long introduction--during which Dave made three false entrances, finally just standing next to the podium waiting for the intro to finish. Eventually Dave looked at his watch and said, "Well, that's it for me! I've got a plane to catch!" and started to leave, which made us all laugh and clap and stuff.

Once the intro was over Dave finally took the podium and introduced Muppet History 101, put on by The Jim Henson Legacy. He explained that it was a look into Jim Henson's humble, hilarious beginnings and told us that he would be introducing and explaining each clip. He jumped into it pretty quickly and we started out with a hilarious clip from Sam and Friends in which Kermit interviewed two NBC news anchors, as Muppets, of course. All of the anchors' dialogue was looped and made up entirely of their sign-off phrases from the programs, such as "[name of anchor], NBC News, Washington DC." It was hysterical and I don't want to give away the gags... but it was awesome and already showed Jim's innovative humor.



The next few clips were commercials for Esskay Meats and Wilkin's Coffee... and I'm sure you all know how hysterical they are, so I don't really need to dwell on them. Next we saw the Sesame Street pitch tape featuring Kermit and Rowlf and "Hey, Stupid!" and everyone died of laughter--including Dave. It was fantastic. Then Dave introduced some stuff from The Muppet Show. We saw "Froggy Went a Courtin'" from The Muppet Valentine Show and then we saw a heap of promos with Kermit and Fozzie promoting various guest stars for that week of The Muppet Show. Dave told us that he did Fozzie's right arm in these spots and explained that it was his job to find a prop for Fozzie to play with and bug Kermit with. These props ranged from a trombone, Dave's Gonzo-shaped microphone headset cover, a script, glasses, and so much more. They were laugh riots and showcased the ad-libbing power of Jim and Frank. Absolute genius.

The final clip was an incredible interview with Fozzie and some British chap whose name I don't remember from around the era of The Muppet Movie. I can't tell you a time that Fozzie was more funny. I was dying of laughter--and so was everyone else in the room! It was just incredible and I wish I could give a complete transcription of it, but unfortunately my memory isn't that good.


However, I do remember that the Question and Answer section was next. We got through about five questions with just Dave before a fantastic little kid got a hold of the microphone going around and asked, "Um, who's the special guest?" Well, to answer his question...




(Sorry that picture is so blurry... I was shaking with excitement.) So out comes Gonzo and he is in top form. My gosh... He was everything I hoped he would be and more. It was like sitting there watching to your best friend make a crowd of people laugh and feeling so incredibly proud. This is going to sound incredibly cheesy, but I don't care... It was like old friends who've just met sitting there watching Gonzo. Someone I've known my whole life and I'm now finally getting the chance to meet. It was incredible. In other news... I SAT LESS THAN TEN FEET AWAY FROM GONZO!!!

So then people started asking the weirdo questions. Here are some of the ones I remember the most clearly...


Question: "Gonzo, what did you think of Fraggle Rock?"
Answer: "I don't know what that is. Is it some TV show? Never heard of it."

Question: "Gonzo, what's your favorite song?"
Answer: "Oh, that's a good question. There are so many songs... but I really love the song I did in the first Muppet Movie, 'I'm Going to Go Back There Someday.'"

Question: "Gonzo, why did you act like a middle-aged widow in Letters to Santa?"
Answer: "...What?"
Clarification: "Well there wasn't a single canon!"
Answer: "Well--I'm a maturing ARTIST! I progress, I GROW! And besides--that was a MOVIE! I can't just wheel a canon in and go off script! There's a crew! There are people working! I can't just shoot myself out of a canon in the middle of a production--there's a SCRIPT!"

Question: Something REALLY random that no one would ever know the answer to.
Answer: "THAT'S the question that has been gnawing at you?! Really? The state of the world we're in and THAT'S what you ask? Really? Nothing about the Middle East... Oil spills... Obama?!"

Question: "Where's Rizzo?"
Answer: "Rizzo's not here. He's on the coast." *waggles eyelids*

Question: Something about Gonzo's horn in The Muppet Show.
Answer: "I don't know. I don't watch the show."

And now some witty banter between Dave and Gonzo...

Dave: "At first Gonzo's voice was small and insecure--it sort of mirrored me. I felt very insecure at the time."
Gonzo: "And rightly so!"

Gonzo: "That's it, I'm leaving!"
Dave: "That's not how it works. I can go without you, but you can't go without me."
Gonzo: "...Good point."

And now... the question that I asked...

Dave: "You in the front row in the purple shirt."
Gonzo: "Wait a second! Is that me on your shirt?"
Me: "It is! I'm wearing you tonight, Gonzo."
Gonzo: "That is so cool! Where'd you get that?"
Me: "JCPenney--not that I'm trying to promote for them or anything."
Gonzo: "Gotcha. That's awesome!"
Me: "Thank you. And now my question... Well, first, let me just say what an honor it is to meet you, Gonzo. Just incredible for me."
Gonzo: "It is an honor, isn't it?"
Me: "Absolutely! But my question is... What do you think of Elmo?"
Dave: *laughs*
Gonzo: "Elmo... Elmo. Well, Elmo's a weirdo! Seriously! Have you ever heard him speak? He never uses pronouns! It's always 'Elmo went to the library' or 'Elmo ate dinner' or something! You kids, you know Elmo, right? Well do you talk like that? Do you say, 'Buster cleaned his room'? I didn't think so! I don't know how Elmo got a job on educational television."

We all laughed vehemently, of course... and Gonzo just completely controlled the room. Oh, and, I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE GREAT GONZO!!!

After the Q and A Gonzo went back into his box and then the library hosted a signing session with Dave. So I hung around the back of the line so I could be all official and talk to him about an interview and stuff... and I bought The Muppet Movie on DVD just for him to sign. Once I got to the front of the line where he was signing stuff I gave him my card and we talked for a bit and he told me he was very interested in an interview, so... That might be happening at some point very soon!

Then he signed by DVD and my t-shirt and I had a giddy fan-boy moment. And then... the evening was over. It was just beyond incredible, Muppet fans and if I wasn't scrambling to finish this article because I have to run off to class I would tell you more... but believe me when I say that it was just the greatest thing ever. If you have a chance to see a Muppet live and in person don't you dare pass it up. You're depriving yourself of an unprecedented experience that you will never, ever forget.

Thanks to Dave Goelz and Gonzo for making it an evening I'll always remember and thanks to all of the wonderfully amazing Muppet fans I met who made me remember why I run this blog in the first place!!




To view these and all (70) pictures I took at the event, check out our Dave Goelz album on The Muppet Mindset's Photobucket account!











The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Source URL: https://jimhensons.blogspot.com/search/label/Dave%20Goelz
Visit Jim Henson for Daily Updated Hairstyles Collection