Uncle Deadly • Performed by
Jerry Nelson (1976–1979),
Matt Vogel (2011–present)
Uncle Deadly is a sinister-looking, blue
reptilian-like monster who lurks around the Muppet Theater. He was originally performed by
Jerry Nelson on
The Muppet Show. In his first full part on the show, in episode 121, he was known as "the Phantom of the Muppet Show." Although he made his first appearance alongside
Vincent Price on episode 119 of
The Muppet Show, Uncle Deadly did not receive his proper introduction until episode 121. One by one, the Muppets tell
Kermit the Frog that they have seen a phantom, but Kermit refuses to believe them until he sees Uncle Deadly with his own eyes. Once revealed, Uncle Deadly explains that he used to perform at the Muppet Theater, where he played
Othello until he was killed...by the critics. Uncle Deadly sang a handful of songs on the show, including singing a bar of "You're Just in Love" with
Ethel Merman and "Sheik of Araby," and performed in the Muppet Melodrama sketches with
Miss Piggy and Wayne in season three. Although he did not have a major role in any of the Henson-helmed Muppet movies, Uncle Deadly did appear in the final group scenes at the end of
The Muppet Movie and
The Muppets Take Manhattan. He also appeared on
The Tonight Show in 1979 when Kermit hosted. Uncle Deadly made his first appearance in over 20 years in
The Muppets, in which he was performed by
Matt Vogel. He and Bobo the Bear are the henchmen of oil tycoon Tex Richman (
Chris Cooper), who wants to demolish the Muppet Theatre and drill for oil on the site. As Richman tries repeatedly to stop the Muppets from raising the funds to buy the theater, Deadly realizes his mistake and decides he too is a Muppet. He forces Richman off the theatre roof before he can cut the wires on the transmission tower and joins the group. Uncle Deadly is seen during the finale version of "Life's a Happy Song." Uncle Deadly later appears in
Muppets Most Wanted as the organist at Miss Piggy's wedding, performed again by Vogel. In the
2015 TV series, Uncle Deadly is Miss Piggy's
wardrobe supervisor and plays a featured part in the show, a role he continues in
Muppets Now and the live shows the Muppets performed at the
Hollywood Bowl and
the O2 Arena. On the Muppets YouTube page, Uncle Deadly is the host of its "Muppet Thought of the Week" segment where he also contributed some thoughts. He appears as the Justice of the Peace in the 2021 Halloween special
Muppets Haunted Mansion.
Bobo the Bear • Performed by
Bill Barretta (1996–present)
Bobo the Bear is an imposing yet easily amused and befuddled
brown bear, though his appearance is less
anthropomorphic than other animal characters such as
Fozzie Bear. Bobo has been in several Muppet films as a major character and others as just a background character. One of his appearances was on
Muppets Tonight as the security guard, where he was a seemingly clever and lovable character, with his tagline of "Have a good day, sir!" His character in
Muppets from Space was named Rentro. The character appeared in the television special
A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, appearing alongside
Nathan Lane as a pair of
airport security personnel. In
The Muppets, Bobo appears as a henchman of oil tycoon Tex Richman (
Chris Cooper), who wants to demolish the
Muppet Theater and drill for oil on the site. Along with fellow henchman Uncle Deadly, Bobo is not fully aware of the scheme that Richman is doing; at one point, he even turns to Uncle Deadly asking, "So, you think we're working for the bad guy?" He was seen partaking in the finale version of "Life's a Happy Song" where he was seen with Tex Richman's showgirls. In the television series
The Muppets, he plays a key role as the stage manager for the talk show
Up Late with Miss Piggy.
Robin the Frog • Performed by
Jerry Nelson (1971–2003),
Matt Vogel (2008–2017),
Peter Linz (2017–present)
Robin the Frog is Kermit's young, sweet-voiced
nephew. He has appeared in most Muppet productions since
The Muppet Show. He loves to spend time with his Uncle Kermit, his best friend
Sweetums, and his boys' club, the Frog Scouts. Robin first appeared in
The Frog Prince as Sir Robin the Brave. One of his most famous moments was singing "
Halfway Down the Stairs," a song based on a poem by
Winnie-the-Pooh creator
A. A. Milne. He also has an important role in episode 212 of
The Muppet Show, when he was feeling sad for being so small until the guest star
Bernadette Peters and all Robin's Muppet friends sing the song "Just One Person" to cheer him up. In the animated
Muppet Babies series, Robin appeared as a
tadpole in a
fish bowl, as all the characters were younger versions of their live-action selves, and was said to be the son of Kermit's (unnamed and unseen) big sister. Robin's roles in the Muppet movies varied from supporting roles, minor roles and cameos to large roles, though he has not appeared in many Muppet movies. In
The Muppet Movie (1979), he had a supporting role at the beginning of the movie at the
film screening where he asks Kermit if the movie is about how the Muppets got started. He also had a few other scenes and is with the other Muppets in the finale. In the TV special
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together (1979) Robin helps sing many of the Christmas Carols with the other Muppets and
John Denver. In the TV movie
Rocky Mountain Holiday (1982) Robin plays a more major role as he tries to help out as a Frog Scout and bonds with John Denver through the process. In
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), he only appeared in the audience at the wedding. In
A Muppet Family Christmas, Robin discovered the Fraggle hole in the basement, taking Kermit with him and meeting the five main Fraggles. Robin played the role of
Tiny Tim in
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), his largest role to date. His next appearance was in the
direct-to-video Muppet Classic Theater (1994) where he appeared in "
The Emperor's New Clothes" sketch in a minimal role, realizing
Fozzie (the emperor) was not wearing clothes. He also appeared alongside Kermit in
The Elves and the Shoemaker sketch where he took on the role of the shoemaker's nephew. He had a minor role (with dialogue) in
Muppets From Space (1999) in the boarding house. His final role with Jerry Nelson as his performer was in 2002's ''
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, which was arguably his second-largest role to date, he appears in the Muppet Theatre in a few scenes and in the Moulin Scrooge scene as the green fairy. After a five-year absence, Robin returned in A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa, performed by Matt Vogel. He wore his Tiny Tim attire in a 2009 appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and made a non-speaking cameo appearance in the film The Muppets. Robin, along with his Uncle Kermit, appeared again on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' to sing "
When the River Meets the Sea" on December 23, 2011, once again, performed by Matt Vogel. He also made a minor role in 2014's
Muppets Most Wanted, again performed by Vogel. Robin (voiced by Vogel) is the "guest star" of the February 23, 2016 episode of
The Muppets titled "
Little Green Lie." In the episode, Kermit and Miss Piggy pretend to still be in a relationship so as not to upset Robin, whose parents are divorcing.
Sweetums • Performed by
Jerry Nelson (1971, in-suit performer),
Carl Banas (1971, voice only),
Richard Hunt (1976–1991),
John Henson (1992–2005),
Noel MacNeal (2008),
Matt Vogel (2009–present)
Sweetums is a very large, imposing and hairy
ogre about nine feet tall. Despite appearing physically intimidating, he is often depicted as friendly and harmless. Sweetums has very thick blondish-brown hair all over his body. He has a very large lower jaw, similar to a
bulldog, which juts out, revealing two pointy
warthog-like tusks. He has thick, brown eyebrows over his large yellow eyes and large nose. He often wears a shabby, burlap-like brown shirt. Many are fooled by his intimidating appearance, but he is very nice and humble, hence his name, "Sweetums." Sweetums first appeared on the television special
The Frog Prince (based on the
story of the same name) in 1971 as the henchman of a full-bodied Taminella Ginderfall (who was previously seen in the pilots to
Tales of the Tinkerdee and
The Land of Tinkerdee). There he tried to eat the hero, played by
Kermit's nephew
Robin. He later performed a
duet with Robin and the two appeared together on
merchandise as best friends. During his first appearance, Sweetums was performed by Muppeteer
Jerry Nelson and voiced by voice veteran
Carl Banas, but soon after,
Richard Hunt made the character his own. Hunt gave life to Sweetums throughout the run of
The Muppet Show and the first two Muppet movies. During the making of
Muppet*Vision 3D when Hunt's health deteriorated, Muppet creator
Jim Henson's son,
John Henson, did the puppetry, while Hunt did the voice. After Richard Hunt died, John Henson eventually took over both the voice and puppetry. Sweetums also played a car
jack in a used-car lot in
The Muppet Movie where a salesman introduced him as his Jack. When called "Jack" by Kermit, he replied, "Jack not name, jack job!" After Kermit and his friends ask him if he wants to go to
Hollywood with them, he shouts "Hollywood!" repeatedly and runs away, only to come back with his suitcase shortly after the group has left. He pursues the group for the duration of the movie, finally making it to Hollywood, bursting through the movie screen, shouting "I made it!!" During the montage of the Muppets getting back together again in
The Muppets, Sweetums is shown working at the same lot and is again forced to chase after the group's car. He also has supporting roles and minor roles in
The Great Muppet Caper,
Muppet Treasure Island,
Muppets from Space, ''
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'', and various other Muppet specials. Sweetums was performed by
Matt Vogel in 2011's
The Muppets and
Muppets Most Wanted. The character was seen in an episode of
Statler and Waldorf: From the Balcony. In the
2015 TV series, Sweetums is in charge of the cue cards for the show.
Lew Zealand • Performed by
Jerry Nelson (1978–2003),
Bill Barretta (2002–2005),
Matt Vogel (2008–present)
Lew Zealand is a tan humanoid Muppet with dark hair, a mustache, a red knobby nose, a
ruff and a red ringmaster's suit. His name is a
portmanteau of
New Zealand and
Lew Grade, the distributor of
The Muppet Show. Lew started out as a
Whatnot before a permanent puppet was made of him. Lew has an obsession for throwing fish, which are unique in that they return to him once thrown—hence the term "
boomerang fish." His catchphrase is: "I throw the fish away, and it comes
back to me!" Lew appears on
The Muppet Show from season three onward trying to promote his Boomerang Fish act. He is also able to play a fish
organ (a line of fish that, when squeezed, each gargle a different note). The sketches he appears in usually end with the entire stage in an uproar. In the "
Marisa Berenson" episode, he played a major part in that episode by using his timely boomerang fish to prevent
Kermit the Frog from being tricked into a real marriage during Miss Piggy's "wedding sketch." In the "
Leslie Uggams" episode, Lew Zealand told Leslie how to be a great boomerang fish thrower by saying that "Well, you've got to have
sole. And if you can't get sole, get
halibut." In the "
Lynn Redgrave" episode, he played a member of the
Merry Men in the
Robin Hood sketch. Lew Zealand has had supporting roles in
The Muppet Movie,
The Great Muppet Caper,
The Muppets Take Manhattan,
Muppet Treasure Island, and
Muppets Haunted Mansion. Lew Zealand has had cameo appearances in
The Muppet Christmas Carol and
Muppets From Space. Lew Zealand has a supporting role in
The Muppets, where after rejoining the group to help save the Muppet Theatre from Tex Richman, Lew assists in kidnapping
Jack Black to be the telethon's celebrity host. He later encourages Kermit not to give up on the Muppet Theatre. Lew reappears in
Muppets Most Wanted, joining the rest of the Muppets on their world tour. The Whatnot head construction for Lew Zealand was done by
Dave Goelz and Lew Zealand's character finishing was done by Amy van Gilder. Jerry Nelson considered Lew Zealand to be a tribute to
Frankie Fontaine. Nelson stated in an interview, "He had that dopey voice, but he could sing beautifully. We never did that part of it on the show, but just the idea of this guy who had a boomerang fish act. There were some really ridiculous acts on the show, and that was one of the all-time dopey ones."
Crazy Harry • Performed by
John Lovelady (1974, 1976–1977),
Richard Hunt (1975–1981),
Jerry Nelson (1977–2003), Rickey Boyd (2005),
Matt Vogel (2008–present)
Crazy Harry is a
pyrotechnician obsessed with explosives, who first appeared in
The Muppets Valentine Show and later,
The Muppet Show. Crazy Harry has black scruffy hair, an uncombed
chin curtain beard and huge, egg-shaped baggy eyes. Early in season one, he played
triangle with the pit band. He usually carried a
plunger box which would activate a hidden charge, often to his victim's chagrin. Once he assisted
Gonzo the Great in a cannonball-catching act but perhaps overdid it on the powder, which resulted in an absurdly stretched right arm for Gonzo. In episode 28 he provided the "Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta!" chorus of "
Chanson d'Amour," happily blowing the stage and performers to smithereens with his little plunger and cackling. Harry also played solo backup for
Jean Stapleton's performance of "
I'm Just Wild About Harry," with a collection of plunger boxes forming an "explodaphone," providing explosions at the end of every verse of the song. In the show's first couple of seasons, Harry's appearances were a regular
running gag. After those first seasons, the gag was shelved along with Crazy Harry for the remainder of the show's run. Crazy Harry also appeared in
The Muppet Movie, complete with his explosive equipment, as one of the many Muppets in the audience to whom
Kermit the Frog screened the film. He appeared in
The Muppets Take Manhattan as a wedding guest. In 2009, he appeared in the Muppets music video "
Bohemian Rhapsody." In 2011, he appeared in
The Muppets, blasting his likeness onto
Mount Rushmore—destroying
Abraham Lincoln's face in the process—during the film's montage. In 2014, he appeared in a
Toyota Highlander commercial, blasting Gonzo from a cannon, like a human cannonball, through the sunroof. In 2014, he appeared in
Muppets Most Wanted, in which a criminal uses the noise of Harry's explosions to cover the sounds of a break-in. For the commercials for the then-new
TNT cable channel, Crazy Harry would be featured at the end of the commercials, prefixing his use of his plunger with the question "Did someone say TNT?"—followed by a maniacal laugh after the explosion. In the
Dresden Files novel
Blood Rites, several references are made to the "Bolshevik Muppet with all the dynamite." The phrase "Bolshevik Muppet" was then used as a warning by
Harry Dresden to his allies just prior to setting off a large explosion.
Beauregard • Performed by
Dave Goelz (1978–present)
Beauregard is the Muppets' backstage
janitor and
stagehand of indeterminate species. Debuting in season three of
The Muppet Show, Beauregard originally wore a gray jacket over his plaid shirt, but in the fourth season, he stopped wearing the jacket. It is revealed in
The Muppet Show On Tour that he calls his mop "Belleregard."
Beaker occasionally assists Beauregard with stagehand duties. He tries to be helpful, but his dimwitted efforts frequently result in disaster. His slow wit is often preyed upon by other characters who use him to their own purposes. He has a characteristic blink and often turns to the camera and says, "Right." Beauregard has
superhuman strength, which is illustrated by his ability to effortlessly lift and carry around objects that are far too heavy to carry, such as an anvil, couch or piano. Beauregard appeared on the stage in various sketches and skits. Other times, Beauregard appears accidentally on stage during productions, still working on the props until he realizes that he is intruding and must either rush out of sight or attempt to blend in with the action. However, Beauregard was more comfortable backstage. Beauregard also appeared in
The Great Muppet Caper in 1981, where he played a
taxi driver. He brought Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo to the Happiness Hotel, and right through the front door, into the lobby. Beauregard's other major role was in the 1990 special
The Muppets at Walt Disney World, where he dragged Miss Piggy onto a series of thrill rides. He has also had minor roles in later projects, including
The Muppets Take Manhattan,
Muppets Tonight and
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years, and a cameo appearance in ''
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie. In the book Of Muppets and Men
, Goelz explains that Beauregard was based on the clumsy Wendell Porcupine from Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas. The main reason why Beauregard never became a star was because the writers thought he was too passive, he did not desire anything. This made Beauregard difficult to write for. In The Muppets'', Beauregard is found by
Scooter living in the janitor's closet of the old Muppet Theatre, seemingly unaware that
The Muppet Show is no longer on the air. In
Muppets Most Wanted, Beauregard is the engineer of the train that is used for the Muppets' world tour.
Link Hogthrob • Performed by
Jim Henson (1977–1990),
Steve Whitmire (2000–2016),
Peter Linz (2017–present)
Link Hogthrob is a dim-witted pig possessing traits of a stereotypical
leading man, with wavy blond hair, a manly
cleft chin, and a high opinion of himself. In
The Muppet Show, Link is best known as the captain of the
Swinetrek on the recurring sketch
Pigs in Space where his unbridled machismo is often a source of conflict with his co-star,
First Mate Piggy. Unlike Dr. Julius Strangepork, whose role on
The Muppet Show would primarily be on
Pigs in Space, sketches including "Wonder Pig," Link would feature regularly both in the show's onstage acts and backstage mayhem. Link's singing talents featured a number of times in solos (such as "
Sonny Boy"), duets ("
Là ci darem la mano"), and group numbers. Starting in the show's third season, Link was also featured as the police chief in the recurring
Bear on Patrol sketches, where his
dimwittedness was often the source of physical trauma to
patrol officer Fozzie Bear. Henson's son,
Brian Henson, recalled that his father often used Link's deep-throated,
pompous voice when performing some stereotypically masculine chore, such as carving the
Thanksgiving turkey. Link was later one of the few classic
Muppet Show characters to be used regularly in the Muppet Central
control room on
The Jim Henson Hour. Since Henson's death, Link has mostly remained a non-speaking Muppet, although he has since appeared occasionally in silent
cameos in such productions as
The Muppet Christmas Carol,
Muppet Treasure Island,
Muppets Tonight and
Muppets from Space. His only speaking roles from 1990 to 2011 were in the video games
Muppet RaceMania and
Muppets Party Cruise, as voiced by
Steve Whitmire. Whitmire performed Link for the 2011 movie
The Muppets. The appearance featured the first speaking appearance of the puppet ever since Henson's death. Link appears in several scenes in the background and gets a moment in the spotlight as part of a
barbershop quartet, singing "
Smells Like Teen Spirit." In
Muppets Most Wanted, Link returned to prominence for the first time in decades, having several lines of dialogue and his own scene with
Usher. An animated version of Link was seen in
Pigs in Space segments in
Little Muppet Monsters (voiced by
Bob Bergen) and an episode of
Muppet Babies. A walk-around version of Link was created for
The Muppet Show on Tour. An
action figure of Link was produced in 2003 as part of Series 4 of
Palisades Toys' line of Muppet action figures.
The Newsman • Performed by
Jim Henson (1976–1990),
Richard Hunt (1981),
Jerry Nelson (1996),
Brian Henson (2001–2003),
Steve Whitmire (2008–2016),
Eric Jacobson (2017–present)
The Newsman is the bespectacled
newsman for
The Muppet Show, who tries to deliver the news with accuracy, but is visibly flummoxed on camera by the day's latest bizarre story or interview. Interviews were a more common part of the
Muppet News Flash segments in its first season, where the interviewees were portrayed by the show's guest star. From the second season onward, he would almost invariably suffer some calamity related to the story, such as having items dropped on his head or the newsroom destroyed.
Pops • Performed by
Jerry Nelson (1980–2002),
Matt Vogel (2011–present)
Pops is an elderly
doorman at the Muppet Theatre in
The Muppet Show. He greeted the week's guest star in every episode of the fifth season. He also had a major part as the innkeeper of the Happiness Hotel in
The Great Muppet Caper. Since then, he has only had a couple of supporting roles, minor roles and cameo appearances.
Marvin Suggs • Performed by
Frank Oz (1976–1981),
Eric Jacobson (2011–present)
Marvin Suggs is a flamboyant musician that wears a frilly, multicolored shirt. He is best known for playing an instrument known as a Muppaphone, The act has been compared to the sketch from ''
Monty Python's Flying Circus called "Arthur Ewing and His Musical Mice." He was designed by Rollie Krewson. He was created to be the bassist for Solid Foam, the band on The Jim Henson Hour'' (1989). When
The Jim Henson Hour was canceled, Clifford was the only major character (beyond the classic
Muppet Show characters) to make further appearances. In 1990, he appeared as a member of
The Electric Mayhem in
The Muppets at Walt Disney World television special. In that special, Clifford played
glockenspiel,
tambourine, and
cowbells. Months later, he then appeared in
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson, in which he read one of the fan letters about
Jim Henson's death. Clifford also made appearances on
The Arsenio Hall Show (alongside Henson in his last television appearance) and
VH1. He also co-starred with Kermit in a sing-along video and appeared in a music video. In 1996, Clifford became the host of
Muppets Tonight. In addition to being the host, his appearance was changed as well. When
Muppets Tonight ended in 1998, Clifford was returned to his original sunglasses look for his last two appearances in
Muppets from Space which released in 1999 and ''
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' which released in 2005. ==Other characters==