5 times the Muppets met Massachusetts
As the series premieres, we take a look at celebrities from the Bay State who have appeared with America’s favorite puppet friends throughout the years.
The Muppets premieres on ABC tonight, reuniting America with Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, and the whole gang. The Muppets first entered primetime television in 1976, and haven’t left the public eye since, starring in eight wide-release movies and providing good, clean fun for more than four decades.
Throughout the course of The Muppet Show, several Massachusetts personalities have sat in the hosting chair. Whether they were born in the Bay State or refined their craft here, all of them brought a bit of Boston flavor to the Muppets set. The new series will be no different, as Pittsfield native Elizabeth Banks, Haverhill’s Tom Bergeron, and Cambridge’s Jere Burns will all appear in the first couple of episodes.
Here’s a brief look at local guest hosts of Muppets past:
1. Madeline Kahn – Series 2, Episode 27
[fragment number=0]
The Academy Award winning actress was born in Boston and went on to star in a number of Mel Brooks films, including Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety. In her Muppets appearance, Gonzo develops a crush on her, which culminates in the tender duet, “Wishing Song.’’
2. Dom DeLuise – Series 2, Episode 29
[fragment number=1]
The actor and comedian, who also attended Tufts University, starred on a season two episode of The Muppet Show, singing “We Got Us’’ with Miss Piggy. DeLuise also made a cameo in The Muppet Movie as a Hollywood agent who stumbles upon Kermit the Frog singing “The Rainbow Connection’’ at the beginning of the film.
3. Arlo Guthrie – Series 4, Episode 79
[fragment number=2]
The stage is transformed into a farmhouse as Arlo Guthrie, who calls western Massachusetts his home, hosts an episode. While the Swedish Chef spends all episode trying to catch and prepare a turkey, Guthrie closes the show with a rendition of Pete Seeger’s “Sailing Down This Golden River.’’
4. Joan Baez – Series 5, Episode 102
[fragment number=3]
Baez, who got her start performing in clubs and cafes in Cambridge, hosted The Muppet Show in 1980, doing a Marlon Brando impersonation and closing with a rendition of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken?’’ Here, she sings a cover of “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down.’’
5. Jason Alexander – Muppets Tonight, Episode 8
[fragment number=4]
The Muppets were back in action in the ‘90s with Muppets Tonight, which ran for two seasons. Jason Alexander, who got his start at Boston University’s School of Fine Arts, appeared on the first season of the show, but has a falling out with his old college pal Gonzo (that college not being B.U., but South Bay Regional Polytechnic Institute for the Performing and Industrial Arts Night School Downtown Campus). By the end of the episode, they are friends once again, but not before Alexander dances on Muppets Bandstand with Miss Piggy.
Other fall TV premieres:
[bdc-gallery id=”113498″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com