SNL Muppet Appearances!

As most fans know, before heading off to make The Muppet Show, Jim Henson's Muppets were featured on Saturday Night Live's first season.

New characters were created for a series sketches called The Land of Gorch. While those characters wouldn't be used again, The Muppet Show and Sesame Street Muppets have made sporadic appearances on SNL since. 

Below are a few:

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A Song From SNL: A Christmas Song With The Muppets:

   

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Jason Segel and the Muppets Monologue:

  

SNL50: The Anniversary Special airs Sunday at 8pm EST on NBC.

SNL Muppet Parodies!

The Muppets have a long history with Saturday Night Live, literally going all the way back to the very first episode. 

For almost as long, SNL has been parodying our favorite fuzzy friends. As SNL celebrates it's 50th anniversary, here are a few of their Muppet parodies.

Be sure to watch NBC's 3-hour SNL50: The Anniversary Special Sunday at 8pm EST on NBC.

NBC to Re-Air SNL's First Episode with The Muppets!

As part of SNL's 50th Anniversary Celebration, NBC will air the show's very first episode. 

The episode was hosted by comedian George Carlin with musical guests Billy Preston and Janis Ian.

As we know, SNL made stars of John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman,  as well as future Muppet Show guest Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase who made a cameo in Follow That Bird, and Andy Kaufman, who's alter ego Tony Clifton appeared in The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show. 

The Muppets were also part of the SNL's first season in the recurring The Land of Gorch sketches, which the SNL writers famously hated to work on. Sadly, while the sketch wouldn't last beyond the first season, during their time at SNL, the Muppets got a deal for their own show. 

 
You can watch SNL's first episode, featuring The Land of Gorch Saturday, February 15 at 10PM on NBC.

Be sure to watch NBC's 3-hour SNL50: The Anniversary Special the following evening to see if the Muppets return to studio 8H!

RIP Raquel Welch (1940-2023)

Sad news to report as Raquel Welch has died.

Welch famously appeared in the 3rd season of The Muppet Show in what is easily one of the most memorial episodes of the series.

She played up her images as a Hollywood sex symbol, as she danced with an oversized spider:

 

 

Flirted with Fozzie:

 

And sang about women's empowerment with Miss Piggy:

 

The Muppet Show wasn't the first time Rachel first worked with the Muppets though as she appeared in a "Land of Gorch" sketch on the April 24, 1976 episode of SNL:

 

Welch also appeared on the cover of the November 28, 1978 issue of US magazine with Kermit and made a brief appearance in The Muppets Go Hollywood. 

Welch is best known for her roles in the films “One Million Years B.C.” and “Fantastic Voyage."

You can read more about her life and career here. 

Welch died after a “brief illness” at 82.

SNL Shows Us the Gritty Origin of the GROUCH!

Last night, Saturday Night Live brought us a Joker parody starring David Harbour in the dark, gritty, origin story of Oscar... the GROUCH. 

Below see our favorite Sesame Street residents as you've never seen them before. Warning: may not be appropriate for all ages.

Happy Birthday Dave Goelz!

You may know Dave Goelz as the performer under such Muppets as Gonzo the Great, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Boober and Zoot. 

But did you know he started his career an industrial designer, then became a puppet builder and occasional performer with the Henson Company?

Here he is building Wisss from Saturday Night Live's "Land of Gorch" sketches.