In Loving Memory: Jack Parnell, Danny Epstein, Lorene Yarnell

Lots of sad news in the past few weeks as the world lost three Muppet-related individuals whose careers span The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and beyond.

First, it was Lorene Yarnell, of the mime duo of Shields and Yarnell, who appeared on The Muppet Show in Season 4, who passed away two weeks ago at the age of 66. Although a moment of silence would be eerily appropriate to remember a mime, after all the laughter Yarnell brought the world, it seems even more appropriate to continue the laughter with a clip of Shields and Yarnell's appearance on The Muppet Show.



We then lost the bandleader of The Muppet Show, Jack Parnell, this Monday at the age of 87. Parnell was the man responsible for most of the show's iconic musical sound--be it Animal's drums or Floyd's bass guitar, Parnell's leadership of his orchestra was behind all of the music on The Muppet Show. For more information on Jack Parnell's life and career, check out this article from HitFix. Here is a fine example of Parnell's fantastic musical conducting at work. His music will always live on!



Finally, on August 4th, Danny Epstein, former musical director for Sesame Street, passed away at the age of 84. Epstein worked for Sesame Street since 1969 in Joe Raposo's band as a percussionist, eventually working his way up to musical director, a title he held until his retirement in 2009. Muppet Wiki has much more information on Epstein, including three interviews with the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, and SesameStreet.org has an entire playlist dedicated to his memory featuring Danny's favorite songs.

Thankfully the world will forever have the memory of Lorene Yarnell, Jack Parnell, and Danny Epstein available thanks to the internet and DVDs in order to allow their memories to live on. Rest In Peace.









The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

News Update: May 11, 2010

NEWS UPDATE: May 11, 2010
Doesn't it feel like just a few days ago that we had a News Update? Well, that's 'cause it was just a few days ago. But somehow the news gods (Dan Rather?) have blessed us with a plethora of new news in the past few days that simply must be shared!

• Yesterday, our friends at TVShowsonDVD.com announced that Lionsgate, the fine folks who have brought us Song of the Cloud Forest and The Animal Show and are bringing us Dog City: The Movie Sesame Street: 20 Years and Still Counting, are releasing the 1984 documentary Henson's Place on DVD August 3. This special documentary chronicles Jim Henson's entire career up to 1984, which was just before Labyrinth was released. It is also being billed as "the first-ever documentary to tell the story of Jim Henson." This is an extremely exciting release (just look at that DVD cover art!) so be sure to pick it up when it's released!
• Everyone knows by now that the Muppets won four Webby Awards this year for "Bohemian Rhapsody." Well, now everyone also knows that Animal loves his Mama and loves to call her cell phone and tell her good news. Check out the new video from Muppets Studio!

• Frequent Sesame Street and The Muppet Show guest star Lena Horne passed away this weekend. Horne was a groundbreaking film, television, and music star who broke down racial barriers and was just an all-around fantastic performer. The world has truly lost a treasure who will be very much missed by Muppet fans and the world at large. To pay tribute to Ms. Horne's incredible talent, enjoy some fantastic videos of her with the Muppets.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier

Remembering Alaina Reed ("Olivia")

Earlier today, it was reported that Sesame Street's Alaina Reed, who played Olivia, Gordon's younger sister, passed away. This news is incredibly sad for fans of the show, who will remember Alaina appearing on Sesame Street from 1976 to 1988, as well as starring in two of Sesame Street's most famous productions, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and Follow That Bird.

We wish our deepest condolences to Alaina's family and friends and we hope she has found peace.

If you wish to offer your condolences as well, feel free to leave a comment on the article. Be sure to visit ToughPigs to see some of their favorite Olivia moments. Here are some of mine:

• "One Little Star" with Big Bird and Snuffy
  
• "Sing" with Linda Bove
• "It Feels Good When You Sing a Song" with Northern Calloway
• "Listen to the Wind Blow"
• "Children of the World"
• "A True Blue Miracle"

Rest in peace, Alaina Reed, you will be missed and remembered for all the love and happiness you brought children all over the world.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier.