#Danny Seagren

[ariel-seagull-wings]

DANIEL 'DANNY' SEAGREN WORKING ON SESAME STREET

[deacblues]

i stumbled across two spider-man costumes from the 70's that are just totally perfect! the first picture is dated 1972, and while i'm not totally sure, it looks like the second is from the 70's too.

the first costume is all ditko with its cramped, messy web pattern, and the underarm webbing. his pose is perfect, all fraught and contemplative. meanwhile, photo two is all romita sr. clean webing and friendly, open body language.

maybe the best part isn't even the costumes, but that these guys are clearly in new york. it's hard to see these and not imagine spider-man as a real guy!

below are some more pictures of the eaves-brooks spider-man costume (which i've posted about before). a performer is doing some sweet fucking flips at a six flags and frankly i just think that's badass.

[thealmightyemprex]

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie

@theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @countesspetofi

@amalthea9 @filmcityworld1 @barbossas-wench

[countesspetofi]

Spidey Super Stories - Spidey Meets the Spoiler

There’s been a lot of Spider-Man coming across my dash lately, and it’s reminded me that my first introduction to Spider-Man as a kid was these shorts on The Electric Company, with Danny Seagren as a silent Spidey, a bangin’ disco-era theme song by Gary William Friedman, and narration by cast members such as young Morgan Freeman.

[marvelevreni]

Spidey Super Stories (1974 - 1977)

Spidey Super Stories (1974 – 1977)

Marvel‘in ilk TV dizisi sayılan Spidey Super Stories PBS kanalında yayınlanmış 5’er dakikalık bölümlerden oluşuyor. Aslında The Electric Company isimli programın bir parçası. 74 – 77 yılları arasında yayınlanmış toplam 29 bölümden müteşekkil dizide Spider-Man‘i dansçı ve kuklacı Danny Seagren canlandırıyor. Her iki mesleği de Seagren için büyük avantaj sağlamış. Çünkü dizide kahramanımız hiç…

[wadewilson-parker]

Spider-Man : Danny Seagren

Narrated by Morgan Freeman

[animeman08]

Spider-Man

Spider-Man is a fictional superhero created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in the anthology comic book Amazing Fantasy #15 (Aug. 1962) in the Silver Age of Comic Books. He appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, as well as in a number of movies, television shows, and video game adaptations set in the Marvel Universe. In the stories, Spider-Man is the alias of Peter Parker, an orphan raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben in New York City after his parents Richard and Mary Parker died in a plane crash. Lee and Ditko had the character deal with the struggles of adolescence and financial issues, and accompanied him with many supporting characters, such as J. Jonah Jameson, Harry Osborn, Max Modell, romantic interests Gwen Stacy and Mary Jane Watson, and foes such as Doctor Octopus, the Green Goblin and Venom. His origin story has him acquiring spider-related abilities after a bite from a radioactive spider; these include clinging to surfaces, superhuman strength and agility, and detecting danger with his "spider-sense." He then builds wrist-mounted "web-shooter" devices that shoot artificial spider-webbing of his own design.

When Spider-Man first appeared in the early 1960s, teenagers in superhero comic books were usually relegated to the role of sidekick to the protagonist. The Spider-Man series broke ground by featuring Peter Parker, a high school student from Queens behind Spider-Man's secret identity and with whose "self-obsessions with rejection, inadequacy, and loneliness" young readers could relate. While Spider-Man had all the makings of a sidekick, unlike previous teen heroes such as Bucky and Robin, Spider-Man had no superhero mentor like Captain America and Batman; he thus had to learn for himself that "with great power there must also come great responsibility"—a line included in a text box in the final panel of the first Spider-Man story but later retroactively attributed to his guardian, the late Uncle Ben Parker.

Marvel has featured Spider-Man in several comic book series, the first and longest-lasting of which is The Amazing Spider-Man. Over the years, the Peter Parker character developed from a shy, nerdy New York City high school student to troubled but outgoing college student, to married high school teacher to, in the late 2000s, a single freelance photographer. In the 2010s, he joins the Avengers. Spider-Man's nemesis Doctor Octopus also took on the identity for a story arc spanning 2012–2014, following a body swap plot in which Peter appears to die. Marvel has also published books featuring alternate versions of Spider-Man, including Spider-Man 2099, which features the adventures of Miguel O'Hara, the Spider-Man of the future; Ultimate Spider-Man, which features the adventures of a teenaged Peter Parker in an alternate universe; and Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, which depicts the teenager Miles Morales, who takes up the mantle of Spider-Man after Ultimate Peter Parker's supposed death. Miles is later brought into mainstream continuity, where he sometimes works alongside Peter.

Spider-Man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes. He has appeared in countless forms of media, including several animated and live action television series, syndicated newspaper comic strips, and in a series of films. The character was first portrayed in live action by Danny Seagren in Spidey Super Stories, a The Electric Company skit which ran from 1974 to 1977. In films, Spider-Man has been portrayed by actors Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Tom Holland. He was voiced by Chris Pine and Jake Johnson in the animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Reeve Carney starred originally as Spider-Man in the 2010 Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Spider-Man has been well received as a superhero and comic book character, and he is often ranked as one of the most popular and iconic comic book characters of all time and one of the most popular characters in all fiction.

> Powers, skills, and equipment

A bite from a radioactive spider triggers mutations in Peter Parker's body, granting him superpowers. Since the original Lee-Ditko stories, Spider-Man has had the ability to cling to walls. This has been speculated to be based on a distance-dependent interaction between his body and surfaces, known as the van der Waals force, but other sources, such as the 2002 Spider-Man film, suggest instead that his hands and feet are lined with tiny clinging cilia in the manner of a real spider's feet. Spider-Man's other powers include significantly superhuman strength, a precognitive sixth sense famously referred to as his "spider-sense" or "spidey-sense" that alerts him to danger, perfect balance and equilibrium, as well as superhuman speed and agility. The character was originally conceived by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko as intellectually gifted, but later writers have depicted his intellect at genius level. Academically brilliant, Parker has expertise in the fields of applied science, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering, mathematics, and mechanics. With his talents, he sews his own costume to conceal his identity, and he constructs many devices that complement his powers, most notably mechanical web-shooters, to help navigate and trap his enemies along with a spider-signal as a flashlight and a warning beacon to criminals.

[jimhenson-themuppetmaster]

Bert and Ernie 1969 on Sesame Street with Jim, Frank and Danny Seagren.

[ariel-seagull-wings]

PUPPETEER, ACTOR AND DANCER DANIEL SEAGREN, THE ELECTRIC COMPANY'S SPIDER MAN

@thealmightyemprex @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie

[youneednoremotehere]

One of my favorite show’s as a kid. I remember every morning class started at school with “The Electric Company” playing on a television at the front of the room. 1st grade through the 4th , every room and every teacher had this show tuned in for their students. I remember moving from Ohio to Tennessee the summer before I started the 5th grade. My first day at the new school, I ask the teacher , where is your TV ? Don’t we watch “The Electric Company” ? The teacher looked at me as if I had some type of mental defect, when I was standing there thinking the same thing about her ! Hick school.. :( No more Electric Company for the city girl, I was now a country girl , who learnt at the age of about 10 that the world was not all tuned in to the same channel. :( 

The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series created by Paul Dooley and directed by Robert Schwarz (1971 & 1977), Henry Behar (1972–1975), John Tracy (1975–1976); written by Dooley, Christopher Cerf (1971–1973), Jeremy Steven (1972–1974) and John Boni/Amy Ephron (1972–1973); and produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now called Sesame Workshop) for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971, to April 15, 1977 (in many areas, a preview special, Here Comes The Electric Company [pilot episode], was seen in syndication through sponsor Johnson Wax on many local commercial stations during the week before its 1971 debut). After it ceased production in 1977, the program continued in reruns until October 4, 1985, as the result of a decision made in 1975 to produce two final seasons for perpetual use. The Workshop produced the show at Second Stage, located within the Reeves Teletape Studios (Teletape), in Manhattan, which had been the first home of Sesame Street.

The Electric Company employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills. Since it was intended for children who had graduated from CTW's flagship program, Sesame Street, the humor was more mature than what was seen there.

The original cast included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, < Both shown in the photos above,  Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin and Skip Hinnant. Most of the cast had done stage, repertory, and improvisational work, with Cosby and Moreno already well-established performers on film and television. Ken Roberts (1971–1973), best known as a soap opera announcer (Love of Life; The Secret Storm), was the narrator of some segments during season one, most notably the parody of the genre that had given him prominence, Love of Chair.

Jim Boyd, who was strictly an off-camera voice actor and puppeteer during the first season, began appearing on-camera in the second season, mostly in the role of J. Arthur Crank. Luis Ávalos also joined the cast at that time.

Cosby was a regular in season one, and occasionally appeared in new segments during season two, but left afterward. Nevertheless, segments that Cosby had taped during seasons one and two were repeatedly used for the rest of the run, and Cosby was billed as a cast member throughout. Similarly, Chamberlin also left after season two, but many of her segments were also repeatedly reused; consequently, she was also billed as a cast member for the rest of the show's run.

Added to the cast at the beginning of season three (1973–1974) was Hattie Winston, an actress and singer who later appeared on the show Becker. Beginning in season four (1974–1975), Danny Seagren, a puppeteer who had worked on Sesame Street and also as a professional dancer, appeared in the role of Spider-Man; Marvel Comics published a title,Spidey Super Stories, that tied into Seagren's appearances as Spider-Man, in character as whom he never spoke aloud or unmasked himself.

It would be wonderful if PBS would show more of the “Classic” show’s that once made PBS so wonderful. The Electric Company,  Zoom, Sesame Street before guest like Katy Perry , back when no one looked at Puppet’s or Muppet’s who shared an apartment and bed implied anything, back before sickening Elmo emerged, Back when a damn Cookie Monster was allowed to eat cookies. WTF has happened to television anyway ? :( 

[thealmightyemprex]

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie

@theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @countesspetofi

@barbossas-wench @filmcityworld1 @amalthea9

[aion-rsa]

The Actors Who Have Played Spider-Man

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

With great power comes great responsibility. And the power of getting to don Peter Parker’s beloved red and blue tights has been bestowed only on a few. Despite it seeming like a new Spider-Man movie is coming to theaters every year—and to be fair that’s not too far from the truth—just three actors have played the character in live-action on the big screen. When the web is slightly widened to encompass television, the number of live-action Parkers increases, but they’re comparatively obscure.

Truth be told, there have only been a handful of Spider-Men, and each has left a strikingly distinct and unique spin on the old Web-Head. For that reason, we’ve decided to look back at the most renowned wallcrawlers and reexamine what each one brought to the table.

Danny Seagren

The first live action Spider-Man came from a place you might not expect: an educational series from the same people behind Sesame Street. The Children’s Television Workshop created The Electric Company in 1971, a show meant for kids who had outgrown Sesame Street but could still benefit from learning about reading skills in fun ways. In 1974, they acquired the rights to Spider-Man from Marvel Comics, and used him for a series of comedic skits called Spidey Super Stories.

Told in live action comic book style, Spidey Super Stories was meant to further the show’s mission of helping pre-teens learn to read. Played by puppeteer and dancer Danny Seagren in a comics accurate costume, Spidey was never shown as Peter Parker, and never spoke a single word, instead communicating via onscreen thought bubbles for the audience to read.

“I had a number of Spider-Man poses and a distinctive way I would shoot the web (that resembles an underhand pitch),” Seagren recalled in an interview with 13th Dimension. “I was a fan of Spider-Man and I had seen the animated series, a lot. Plus, I was a professionally trained dancer. So I had some moves and a grace, which is important because Spider-Man has a grace about him, slinking around. Before the first show, I had spent some time trying some things to do with my body so that I would have a repertoire of Spider-Man moves.”

While Spidey Super Stories might not be the first thing that fans associate with the wall-crawler in live action, and the shorts are a curiosity for modern audiences, Seagren deserves his place in history.

Nicholas Hammond (and Fred Waugh)

Maybe you know him as Friedrich Von Trapp in 1965’s The Sound of Music. Or perhaps sitcom fans of a certain generation know him as Doug Simpson, the big man on campus who Marcia Brady has her eyes on before a football mishap involving her nose in a 1973 Brady Bunch episode. Or maybe you were just really drawn to his brief performance as Sam Wanamaker in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Nah, we all love Nicholas Hammond as the first live action Peter Parker in 1977’s far too short-lived The Amazing Spider-Man TV series.

In his late 20s when he was cast, Hammond’s Peter was a grad student and freelance photographer who felt very much in line with the Spider-Man comics of his era. Hammond gave us a charming, even dignified Peter, who still had to deal with the “ol’ Parker luck” even though he never had to battle any of the comics’ costumed baddies. He cut a trim and athletic figure in the suit, too. And yes, Hammond DID wear the costume when stunts weren’t required. “I always wore the suit if there was a scene interacting with other actors,” he recently told The Hollywood Reporter. “I didn’t think it was fair for the other actors to work with nonactors.”

But one stuntman in particular stands out as one of the great Spidey performers: Fred Waugh. The show’s stunt coordinator was the one who made the series’ limited network TV budget go the furthest. The Amazing Spider-Man is famous (perhaps infamous) for its lo-fi special effects, with Spidey relying on rope web-shooters or casting nets at his opponents. But it also featured some absolutely eye-popping stunts. No CGI here, Waugh would literally swing between buildings, balance on high ledges, and scale skyscrapers …in one case quite literally scaling the side of the Empire State Building for a scene. And he occasionally did all this with a camera rig on his head for some dizzying POV shots.

The Amazing Spider-Man has never been given an official DVD, Blu-ray, or streaming release, a travesty we wrote more about here. And if you can look past some of the ’70s stock TV plots and occasionally shoddy production values, there’s a truly special performance by Hammond and some genuinely Spider-Man worthy stunt work by Waugh.

Shinji Tōdō (and Hirofumi Koga)

The Japanese Spider-Man live action TV series, Supaidāman, shares almost nothing in common with the Marvel Comics character other than a name and a costume. But just because this ain’t Peter Parker, it doesn’t mean that it ain’t Spidey! As Into the Spider-Verse and No Way Home prove, there’s room for infinite Spideys in the multiverse, and Shinji Tōdō’s Takuya Yamashiro is as valid as any of them. Screw getting bitten by a radioactive spider, Yamashiro gets his powers (and some killer tech, like a Spider-Mobile and an awesome giant robot called Leopardon) from a dying alien from the planet Spider who gives him a blood transfusion.

If the idea of a teen who transforms into a tech-assisted superhero to fight an assortment of nameless alien foes commanded by a single big bad each episode sounds like a forerunner of the Power Rangers franchise, that’s because it is. And while Yamashiro is a motocross racer by trade rather than a freelance photographer, there’s a bit of hapless Peter Parker comedy in Tōdō’s performance, as well as the appropriate amount of melodrama and angst when called for.

Running from 1978-1979 and 41 episodes, Supaidāman is unlike any version of the Spidey legend you’ve ever seen, but it’s colorful, fun, and like The Amazing Spider-Man above, full of some tremendous stunts and fight choreography. Some of the best, most convincing wall-crawling ever put on film is here, thanks in no small part to Hirofumi Koga, a gymnast who often performed stunts up to 40 meters in the air without a safety rope attached!

The series is currently unavailable by conventional means in the US and UK, but there’s a wonderful episode of the Marvel documentary series, Marvel’s 616 that details the complete history of the series with plenty of fun footage available to watch on Disney+ (we wrote about it here). Here’s hoping Disney sees sense and puts the entire series up on there soon, too.

Tobey Maguire

Ah, here’s the sentimental favorite for anyone between the ages of 20 and 35. Tobey Maguire, the first Spider-Man to swing on to cinema screens, and in some respects still the best.

When Maguire was cast in his now most famed role, it seemed like an odd choice to typical industry watchers. Many more traditional “leading men” in his generation, at least in the then-thriving teen movie market, were considered by the studio, and Freddie Prinze Jr. even publicly campaigned for the role.

But Tobey Maguire? The sensitive and introspective performer who brought poignancy to Ang Lee dramas like The Ice Storm (1997) and Ride with the Devil (1999)? He was a serious actor (and far from a superhero given the reputation of his and best buddy Leonardo DiCaprio’s teen entourage in the ‘90s). Even his most commercial fare saw the young actor play oddballs who are obsessed with syndicated TV (1998’s Pleasantville) or are literary savants (2000’s Wonder Boys).

Yet that poignancy and oddness is what director Sam Raimi wanted. Together, the filmmaker and star keyed into Peter Parker’s perpetual sense of self-sacrifice. If Spider-Man stories are, as comic book artist John Romita Sr. mused, a soap opera where a fight breaks out, then Maguire would make audiences acutely feel the pain of that soapiness. Here’s a young man who just wants to do the right thing, and to be with the girl next door, and he is constantly denied happiness due to making the hard choice. At a time where superhero movies still weren’t taken particularly seriously, here was one that imagined how unglamorous such a lifestyle could be.

Fans of the comic book character are justified to note that Maguire never really captured Peter’s motormouth snark when he puts on the mask. But purely through his doleful blue eyes, he articulated with a glance the character’s innate nobility better than anyone else.

Andrew Garfield

What could have been. On paper, Andrew Garfield should be the definitive Spider-Man. As a classically trained British stage and screen actor who grew up adoring the webslinger, here was a renowned thespian who won a Tony for doing Death of a Salesman on Broadway in the same year he first played Spidey.

Yet due to a multitude of factors, Garfield’s Spidey duology of The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) are generally considered to be the weakest cinematic incarnations of the character. Even so, Garfield’s passion unmistakably comes through. Playing the role fresh off his Hollywood breakthrough in David Fincher’s The Social Network (2010), Garfield, director Marc Webb, and likely a legion of Sony executives attempted to differentiate his Peter from Maguire’s.

If fans were unhappy about the character’s lack of wit or playfulness in Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, Garfield would be dropping putdowns on criminals as rapidly as his punches. And if Maguire portrayed Peter as a bit of a sad sack, then Garfield’s Peter would be hip, moody, and ride a skateboard.

The truth, however, is the character had so many dissonant elements thrown into the script that it was hard to get a good read on who really was breathing behind the mask. Even that aforementioned sense of humor came off as more cruel and condescending than fun and lighthearted. Similarly, his motivations for becoming Spider-Man are muddled since he starts wearing the mask out of a sense of revenge and then inexplicably becomes a superhero.

And yet, Garfield’s own personal joy could break through both scripts’ multitude of problems, and Garfield could exude a physical giddiness at playing the character—plus a genuine sense of romantic longing. Indeed, his palpable chemistry Garfield shared with Emma Stone, who played Gwen Stacy, might make this still the best romance ever told in a Spider-Man movie.

Tom Holland

When James Gunn first saw early footage of Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War (2016), he said, “[Holland] is to Spidey as Downey is to Iron Man, Ledger was to Joker, Pratt is to Star-Lord.” It’s high praise, but in the sense of making the role entirely his own and defining it for the next generation, well Gunn’s not whistling “Itsy Bitsy Spider.”

Holland, who made his acting debut at London’s West End and in the coveted title role of Billy Elliot the Musical, is an extremely gifted actor, dancer, and even gymnast. Indeed, it was his own ability to perform Spider-Man-like acrobatics on audition tapes that helped land him the part. Before playing Spidey, he was still fresh out of the BRIT school for Performing Arts and had broken through on-screen by earning major critical raves for his turn in The Impossible (2012).

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Nevertheless, Holland was more unknown than Maguire and Garfield, even in the industry, when he was cast as the most youthful Spider-Man to date. Whereas the previous Spidey actors were in their late 20s when they played Peter as a kid about to graduate high school, Holland was just 19 when cameras rolled on Civil War. Over the course of six films, he’s thus depicted Pete as an honest-to-Thor teenager who’s perpetually in over his head.

Holland’s Parker also captures the happy-go-lucky joy that eluded the previous two actors. In fact, there’s very little of the tragic (yet) to his interpretation. Neither Uncle Ben nor Peter’s missing parents are mentioned, he rarely suffers social consequences for his adventuring, and the kid’s even on the fast-track to become a billionaire with Tony Stark willing Peter the most expensive drone program in the world. It’s certainly a different interpretation of the character, but a welcome one given Holland’s irresistible rascality.

Animated Spider-Man(s)

As perhaps the single most animated superhero in history, it would take a whole ‘nother article to detail all of the amazing, spectacular talent who have given voice to the web-head across countless cartoons and dozens of video games (and if you’d like to see that article, let us know in the comments!). But there are a some who practically defined the character for their generations, and deserve special recognition.

Paul Soles was the first actor to give voice to Spider-Man, in the famous Grantray-Lawrence Spider-Man animated series that ran between 1967-1970 that gave us the most iconic music associated with the web-slinger.

For ’80s kids, Dan Gilvezan is the definitive Spidey thanks to his work on Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends which ran from 1981-1983. Gilvezan’s Peter and Spidey are arguably the first in ANY screen incarnation to truly capture the full spirit of the comics character.

Christopher Daniel Barnes is the Spider-Man of the 1990s, playing Peter across 5 seasons and 65 episodes of Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Like Gilvezan, this is one of the most definitive Spidey performances of all time.

Josh Keaton deserves a place on Spidey Mount Rushmore, even though the brilliant Spectacular Spider-Man had its web line cut after only 26 episodes, but he also voiced the character in several video games.

And while this article is primarily Peter-focused, Shameik Moore deserves a special mention for bringing Miles Morales to perfect life in the flawless Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It’s only a matter of time before Miles swings over to live action, and in a few years we may need one of these articles chronicling all of Miles’ various screen incarnations, too!

Who are your favorite screen Spideys? Let us know in the comments!

The post The Actors Who Have Played Spider-Man appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3II8BC8

[thecastingcircle]

The Electric Company - Spidey Meets the Yeti

Narrated by Todd Graff, with Danny Seagren as Spidey, Jim Boyd as the Yeti, and Morgan Freeman as the policeman who wants to end the Yeti's squashing spree. The groovy Spider Man theme song was composed by Gary William Friedman, and the vocals on this version were performed by the fourth lineup of the Short Circus.

No “Into The Spiderverse” sequel could every possibly be complete without Electric Company Spiderman who mimes all his actions, speaks in thought bubbles, and has an unseen narrator.  

[jimhenson-themuppetmaster]

TV Guide December 1970 Article on The Great Santa Claus Switch with Ed Sullivan

The Great Santa Claus Switch was a Muppet television special that first aired on CBS on December 20, 1970.

The show, narrated by Ed Sullivan, begins at the North Pole with Santa Claus and his elves getting ready for another Christmas. However, Cosmo Scam has hatched a plan to kidnap Santa and take his place. As part of the plan, Cosmo plans to abduct Santa's elves (one at a time) and replace them with his evil henchmen.

DEVELOPMENT

The idea for this Christmas special had been developed by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl for several years, and had a long evolution. Notes and sketches date as far back as 1963, when the project was originally titled The Witch Who Stole Santa Claus, and later The Sinister Santa Claus Switch. The story revolved around a failed plot to kidnap and impersonate Santa Claus in order to rob every home in the world. Taminella Grinderfall, the witch from the unsold Tales of the Tinkerdee pilot was to play a starring role. Henson and Juhl reworked the script numerous times, and the title changed as well. To help sell the project to television executives, Henson created watercolor illustrations to accompany a written proposal. The concept circulated for several years before Ed Sullivan, based on the response to the Muppets' frequent appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, agreed to produce the special and air it in his regular Sunday evening time slot.

By 1970, Henson's Muppets had made nearly two dozen successful guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Great Santa Claus Switch was a full Henson production – written by Juhl, with music by Joe Raposo and puppets by Don Sahlin. The production marks the first time Henson worked with Richard Hunt and Fran Brill.

The special was taped in late August 1970 at CFTO Toronto.

NOTES

This special includes the very first appearance of the puppet that would later become Gonzo. He was then known as Snarl (or the Cigar Box Frackle) and would be remodeled and reused for The Muppet Show.

The Great Santa Claus Switch is currently available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media.

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CAST

Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Danny Seagren, John Lovelady, Richard Hunt, Marilyn Sokol, Fran Brill, Byron Whiting, Greg Antonacchi, Cary Antebi, John Byrum

Characters

Fred, Lothar, Gloat, Thig, Hoppity, Boppity, Thog, Zippity, Snivelly, Snarl, Snerf, Bong, Snake Frackle, Scoff, Alarm Frackle, Bing, Frackle with a match, Guard Frackle

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CREDITS

Produced by Bob Precht

Directed by John Moffitt

Book and lyrics written by Jerry Juhl

Music composed and conducted by Joe Raposo

Settings designed by Bill Bohnert

Puppet construction supervised by Donald Sahlin with Kermit Love and Caroly Wilcox

Associate producer for the Muppets: Diana Birkenfield

Conceived and executed for the Muppets by Jim Henson

Produced in Association with Henson Associates, Inc.

[muppetmayhem]

John Lovelady, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Danny Seagren, Caroly Wilcox, and Don Sahlin performing marionettes for The Great Santa Claus Switch, 1970.

I think Frank is trying to say something... But I just can't be sure.