Rizzo the Rat is a

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...

character, created and originally performed by

Steve Whitmire Steven Lawrence Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work on ''The Muppets'' and ''Sesame Street''. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire inherited the roles of Ernie and Kerm ...

. He is a fictional rat who appeared on ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...

'' and numerous films, with a starring role in the 1992 film ''

The Muppet Christmas Carol ''The Muppet Christmas Carol'' is a 1992 American Christmas musical comedy drama film directed by Brian Henson (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella '' A Christmas Carol'' by Charles D ...

''. The character is particularly associated with

Gonzo the Great Gonzo, also known as The Great Gonzo or Gonzo the Great, is a Muppet. Aside from his trademark enthusiasm for performance art, another defining trait of Gonzo is the ambiguity of his species, which has become a running gag in the franchise. He has ...

, with the two sharing a double act since 1992. Whitmire based the character on Ratso Rizzo in ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller ...

'' and performed him until 2016.

Character

Rizzo is a streetwise and sarcastic rat with a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

accent. He is a self-proclaimed acrophobe. His humor can be risqué, as in the TV series ''

The Muppets The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety- sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses ...

'' he was given the line, "Is

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

going to be OK with '

Mother Teresa Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was ...

on a stick'?" To avoid potential difficulty with real-life censors, alternative lines were filmed. Rizzo's family has been mentioned in Muppet media. He has 1,274 brothers and sisters, as told to Gonzo in ''

''. In 2016, Disney announced Rizzo came from a family that traditionally cooked pizzas. This addition to his story was in light of a new pizzeria at

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...

dedicated to Rizzo, called PizzeRizzo.

History

Rizzo's name is derived from

Dustin Hoffman Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters. He is ...

's Ratso Rizzo character in ''

''.

created the character, based on rats he had previously made out of bottles. Rizzo first appeared in episode 418 of ''

'', as one of many rats following

Christopher Reeve Christopher D'Olier Reeve (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004) was an American actor, best known for playing the title character in the film '' Superman'' (1978) and three sequels. Born in New York City and raised in Princeton, New Jersey ...

backstage. He can be seen mugging and reacting to practically every line of dialogue. He remained a scene-stealing background figure through the final season, occasionally performing with Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem. By the time of ''The Muppet Christmas Carol'', Whitmire had been performing Rizzo for around 12 years. After the series, he appeared in ''

The Great Muppet Caper ''The Great Muppet Caper'' is a 1981 British-American musical heist comedy film directed by Jim Henson (in his feature directorial debut). It is the second theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performers, the ...

'' as a bellboy in a fleabag London hotel. He has appeared in most later Muppet projects, including ''

The Muppets Take Manhattan ''The Muppets Take Manhattan'' is a 1984 American musical comedy drama film directed by Frank Oz. It is the third theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. In addition to the Muppet performance, the film features special appearances by Ar ...

'' and ''

Muppets Tonight ''Muppets Tonight'' is an American live-action/puppet family-oriented television series created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. Much like the "MuppeTelevision" segment of ''The Jim Henson Hour'' (1989), the show was a contin ...

''. In ''The Muppet Christmas Carol'', he developed a double act with

Gonzo Gonzo may refer to: People * Gonzo (nickname), a list of people with the nickname * Radislav Jovanov Gonzo (born 1964), Croatian music video director Radislav Jovanov, also known as Gonzo * Matthias Röhr (born 1962), German musician whose sta ...

, with director

Brian Henson Brian Henson (born November 3, 1963) is an American puppeteer, director, producer, voice actor and the chairman of The Jim Henson Company. He is the son of puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson. Early life Henson was born on November 3, 1963, in Ne ...

and the crew envisioning Rizzo as "pain-in-the-neck sidekick." The characters narrate, break the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

, and Rizzo challenges Gonzo's claims to be

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

. The Gonzo and Rizzo partnership was continued in ''

Muppet Treasure Island ''Muppet Treasure Island'' is a 1996 American musical swashbuckler comedy film directed by Brian Henson. It is the fifth theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' franchise. Adapted from the 1883 novel ''Treasure Island'' by Robert Louis Stevenson, ...

'', with Rizzo again offering a humorous critique of the handling of the story, and in ''

Muppets from Space ''Muppets from Space'' is a 1999 American science-fiction comedy film directed by Tim Hill (in his feature film directorial debut) and written by Jerry Juhl, Joseph Mazzarino, and Ken Kaufman. The sixth theatrical film in ''The Muppets'' fran ...

''. Along with Kermit and Gonzo, Rizzo gave an

audio commentary An audio commentary is an additional audio track, usually digital, consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with a video. Commentaries can be serious or entertaining in nature, and can add informatio ...

for the ''Muppets from Space''

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

. Rizzo appears as a background character in the 2011 film ''

'', without a spoken dialogue, although he is seen singing along during the finale, as well as the scene in which

Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...

addresses a large crowd of Muppets. In ''

Muppets Most Wanted ''Muppets Most Wanted'' is a 2014 American musical crime comedy film and the eighth theatrical film featuring the Muppets. Directed by James Bobin and written by Bobin and Nicholas Stoller, the film is a sequel to ''The Muppets'' (2011) and sta ...

'' (2014), and the short feature ''Rizzo's Biggest Fan'' on the

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

release, the character calls for more screentime. Rizzo returned to prominence in the TV series ''

'', where he was on a writing crew with Gonzo and

Pepe the King Prawn Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales, better known as Pepe the King Prawn, is a Muppet character created for ''Muppets Tonight'' and performed by Bill Barretta, originally as part of a vaudeville double act with Seymour the Elephant. Overview Pepe ...

. In 2017, it was announced Whitmire departed from the ''Muppets'' franchise, including the part of Rizzo, after being dismissed from the part of

in October 2016. Disney has not since announced a new performer for Rizzo, though Matt Vogel was cast as Kermit.

Appearances

* ''

'' (1980–1981) (TV) * '' The Muppets Go to the Movies'' (1981) * ''

'' (1981) * ''

The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show ''The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show'' is a one-hour television special that aired on ABC on September 17, 1982. It guest stars John Ritter, George Hamilton and Andy Kaufman as Tony Clifton. The special was taped in Toronto between August 9 and 24, 1 ...

'' (1982) * '' Rocky Mountain Holiday'' (1983) * ''

'' (1984) * '' The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years'' (1986, background character) * ''

A Muppet Family Christmas ''A Muppet Family Christmas'' is a Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired on December 16, 1987, on the ABC television network in the United States. Shot in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, its teleplay was conceived ...

'' (1987) * ''

The Jim Henson Hour ''The Jim Henson Hour'' is a television series that aired on NBC in 1989. It was developed as a showcase for The Jim Henson Company's various puppet creations, including the Muppet characters. Nine of the twelve episodes produced aired on NBC bef ...

'' (1989, background character) * '' The Muppets at Walt Disney World'' (1990) * ''

The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson ''The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson'' is a one-hour special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infecti ...

'' (1990) * ''

Muppet*Vision 3D ''Muppet*Vision 3D'' is a 3D film attraction located at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The attraction also formerly operated at Disney California Adventure. Directed by Jim Henson, the attraction consists of a pre-show which then leads into Kermit ...

'' (1991, pre-show only) * ''

'' (1992) – Appearance as Himself * ''

Muppet Classic Theater ''Muppet Classic Theater'' (also known as ''Muppet Family Theater'' in the Republic of Ireland and ''Muppet Fairy Tales'' in the United Kingdom) is a direct-to-video musical comedy film featuring The Muppets. It is the first direct-to-video featur ...

'' (1994) * ''

'' (1996) – Appearance as Himself * ''

'' (1996–1998) (TV) * ''

'' (1999) * ''

Disneyland Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

'' (2001) * ''

It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie ''It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie'' is a 2002 American musical fantasy comedy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher and written by Tom Martin and Jim Lewis. The film premiered November 29, 2002 on NBC and the first film to be ...

'' (2002) (TV) * ''

The Muppets' Wizard of Oz ''The Muppets' Wizard of Oz'' is a 2005 musical fantasy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher. It is the second film to be made for television in ''The Muppets'' franchise. The film stars Ashanti, Jeffrey Tambor, Quentin Tarantino, Davi ...

'' (2005) (TV) – Appearance as Himself and the Mayor of Munchkinland * '' Studio DC: Almost Live'' (2008) (TV) * '' A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa'' (2008) (TV) * ''

'' (2011, background character) * ''

Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular ''Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular'' is a Thanksgiving television special with American singer Lady Gaga and the Muppets. The 90-minute program aired on ABC on November 28, 2013, with guest stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elton John a ...

'' (2013) (TV) * ''

'' (2014) * ''

'' (2015–2016) (TV) * '' Muppet Babies'' (2018–2022) (TV) * ''

Muppets Haunted Mansion ''Muppets Haunted Mansion'' is a 2021 American puppet supernatural comedy Halloween special based on the Disney properties The Muppets and The Haunted Mansion. It was released on October 8, 2021, via Disney+. It is the Muppets' first Halloween s ...

'' (2021, silent cameo) (Streaming)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Fictional characters who break the fourth wall Fictional mice and rats Television characters introduced in 1980 The Muppets characters de:Die Muppet Show#Rizzo