Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Weekly Muppeteer Wednesdays: Fozzie Bear (No, Really)

 Today's article was written by Tom Stroud.

FOZZIE BEAR

Puppet characters...
Chuckie, Smedley, Andy Ross (OK Go)

Not much is known about Fozzie Bear's life before the Muppets. He was raised by his beloved mother, Emily Bear. Although Fozzie and Emily do not practice hibernation, though his uncle does, and while hibernating, he left Fozzie his favorite car, his Studebaker. Shortly after receiving his Uncle’s car, he began to work at The El Sleezo Cafe, filling in for the El Sleezo Dancing Girls. His comedy act received bad reviews. It was at this job that he met his best friend, and founder of the Muppets, Kermit the Frog. Mr. the Frog saved Fozzie from the angry drunks at the cafe, and together they went to Hollywood, where they, along with several other people met on their journeys, founded the Muppets, and began work on their first project.

In 1976, The Muppet Show began and led to many successes for Fozzie. Working as a performer, he was most notably the resident comedian of the show. Although he is most known as a performer, he also worked as a puppeteer several times. First with a ventriloquist dummy named Chuckie, made to impress guest star Edgar Bergen. He started off with a rough patch, not understanding that one must talk for their puppet. Fozzie would not return to puppetry until November of 2007, a total of 20 years after his first puppet. Fozzie's new puppet Smedley, had a very short career ended in disaster, as Smedley erupted into flames, possibly to free himself from the horrors of Fozzie’s performance. One would think that after these disasters Fozzie would stick to his (albeit almost as bad) comedy routines, but the bear did not stop.

In the recent OK Go music video for their cover of "The Muppet Show Theme Song," our favorite comedian once again puppeteered alongside Kermit, Gonzo, and Animal. Fozzie performed a member of OK Go, Andy Ross, the guitarist and keyboardist for the band. The vocal performance was much better than his other puppet acts, mainly because the band members themselves dubbed the vocals. It is unknown when, if ever, Fozzie will return to puppetry. Perhaps as a member of The Moopets, he will perform in The Muppets this November, although it is unlikely. Whether or not this is for the better can be debated.








The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, ryguy102390@gmail.com