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The master manipulator is Muppet Founder Jim Henson, 41, who introduced his creatures 21 years ago as Sam and Friends on local television in Washington. Henson was a University of Maryland freshman at the time. By graduation, he had made enough money letting his Muppets shill for TV commercials so that he could arrive to pick up his diploma in a Rolls-Royce. The Muppets traveled to New York next for dates on the Ed Sullivan Show. Jane Nebel, a Sam and Friends partner, had by now become Jane Henson; and Frank Oz, a journalism student from San Francisco, had joined up to create Fozzie the Bear and then Miss Piggy. Other Muppets (the term is a cross between a hand puppet and a marionette) were born through the years according to need and inspiration.
In 1970 Henson's creations took the U.S. by storm as the puppets on Sesame Street. Then three years ago Sir Lew Grade decided to back a worldwide syndicated show featuring Kermit the Frog as M.C. With 156 outlets in the U.S. and 106 overseas, it is the most popular first-run TV show internationally. Henson still picks the translators meticulously for their ability to mimic the English-speaking characters.
This week Henson will not be doing anything like auditioning Japanese Gonzos. He will be over his head in swamp water, encased in an aluminum tank that is equipped with a video monitor and earphones. Through rubber arms on the top of the casing, Henson will be guiding Kermit the Frog as he sits on a log playing his banjo. Dom DeLuise, a Hollywood agent, sloshes into view, lost on a fishing trip. Kermit the Frog spots an ad in Dom's copy of Variety announcing auditions for "frogs wishing to become rich and famous." He sets off and, in true road picture tradition, picks up Fozzie, Miss Piggy and Gonzo along the way.
Work on film forces subtle, close-up shooting. A half-inch of movement can spoil a sequence. (For one scene, a room ful of Muppets must be in motion, restlessly sitting through a preview of the movie. Says one: "I've seen a detergent that leaves better film than this.") Still Henson runs a happy set. Edgar Bergen, 75, who does a bit with Charlie McCarthy, believes that the Muppets "have given puppetry a new dimension. It's awfully good theater." But Comic Steve Martin best explains their appeal: "Pretty soon you don't want to talk to people anymore. You just want to talk to the Muppets."