Page 14
^ J J n rtla n b (Dhseruer
September I. 2010
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' V ENTERTAINMENT
FNTFD1
Original Muppets Find a Home
Collection
donated to the
Smithsonian
The original Kerm it the Frog, his
body created w ith an old dull-green
coat and his eyes m ade o f pingpong
balls, has returned hom e to the
nation's capital, w here the puppet
got his start.
The first Kermit creation from J im
H enson's M uppet's collection ap
peared in 1955 on the early TV show
"Sam and Friends," produced at
W ashington's W R C -TV . H enson's
w idow Jane H enson donated 10
characters from the show A ug. 25 to
the Sm ithsonian's N ational M useum
o f A m erican History.
She said the original characters
provided five m inutes o f fun each
night after the local new s.
"1 think people realized that if
you put K erm it's face up there, it
was ju st as pow erful," Jane H enson,
76, said. "W e w ere m ostly ju st d o
ing it to entertain ourselves."
The H ensons attended the U ni
versity o f M aryland and got into the
TV business w ith W illard Scott and
other pioneers while incollege. Their
connection to the area m akes the
S m ithsonian a perfect hom e for
H enson’s original puppets, friends
said.
"It's not ju s t the puppets com ing
hom e, but in a w ay it's Jane and Jim
com ing hom e," said A rthur N ovell,
executive director o f the nonprofit
Jim H enson L egacy in N ew Y ork
City. "They started their careers,
their lives in W ashington."
Harry the Hipster (left) and the original Kermit, along with other
early puppets o f Jim Henson, are donated to the Smithsonian
Institution, during an Aug. 2 5 ceremony at the National Museum
o f American History, in Washington, D.C. (AP photo)
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F
e c t o
T he S m ithsonian already has a
familiar Kermit the Frog puppet made
fam ous on "S esam e Street" and
"The M uppet Show ." B ut the o rigi
nal K erm it w as m ore lizard-like, and
a d u ller green. His body w as m ade
from an old coat throw n out by
H enson's m other.
Som e o f the o th er early M uppets
donated to the m useum include the
puppets that inspired C ookie M on
ster and O scar the G rouch, as wel 1 as
Sam from "Sam and Friends." The
group also includes H enson's old
est su rv iv in g p u p p et, P ierre the
French Rat. T he puppets m ostly
m im ed on the show and w ould lip-
sync to p o p u lar m usic.
C u rato r D w ight B locker Bow ers
said the M uppets w ill be a boon for
the m useu m 's collection.
"It certain ly show s the M uppets
at the begin n in g o f the career o f a
large fam ily o f entertainers," he said.
"M ore than anything, I think it shows
the genius o f Jim H enson."
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