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Muppet Performers
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, slapstick, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Musical theatre, musical Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, the eponymous media franchise encompasses films, television, music, and other media associated with the characters. Owned by the Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the Muppets were acquired by the Walt Disney Company in 2004. The Muppets originated in the short-form television series ''Sam and Friends'', which aired on WRC-TV and in syndication from 1955 to 1961. Following appearances on late-night talk shows and in advertising during the 1960s, the Muppets began appearing on ''Sesame Street'' (1969–present) during their formative years in the early-mid 1970s and attained Celebrity, celebrity status and international recognition through ''The Muppet Show'' (1976–1981), their flagship sketch comedy t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Henson
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and as the director of ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Labyrinth (1986 film), Labyrinth'' (1986). Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in both Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland, Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created ''Sam and Friends'' (1955–1961), a short-form comedy television program on WRC-TV, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with fellow student Jane Henson, Jane Nebel. Henson and Nebel co-founded The Jim Henson Company, Muppets, Inc. – now The Jim Henson Company – in 1958, and married less than a year later in 1959. Henson graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics. In 1969, Henson join ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slapstick
Slapstick is a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy. Slapstick may involve both intentional violence and violence by mishap, often resulting from inept use of props such as saws and ladders. The term arises from a device developed for use in the broad, physical comedy style known as ''commedia dell'arte'' in 16th-century Italy. The "Clapper (musical instrument), slap stick" consists of two thin slats of wood, which makes a "slap" when striking another actor, with little force needed to make a loud—and comical—sound. The physical slap stick remains a key component of the plot in the traditional and popular Punch and Judy puppet show. More contemporary examples of slapstick humor include ''The Three Stooges'', ''The Naked Gun'' and ''Mr. Bean (character), Mr. Bean''. Origins The name "slapstick" originates from the Italian ''batacchio'' or ''bataccio''—called the "Clapper (musical instrument), slap sti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime Emmys are presented in recognition of excellence in American prime time, primetime Television in the United States, television programming. The award categories are divided into three classes: the regular Primetime Emmy Awards, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards to honor technical and other similar behind-the-scenes achievements, and the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards for recognizing significant contributions to the engineering and technological aspects of television. First presented in 1st Primetime Emmy Awards, 1949, the award was originally referred to as simply the "Emmy Award" until the International Emmy Award and the Daytime Emmy Award were created in the early 1970s to expand the Emmy to o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with running gags taking place backstage and in other areas of the venue. ''The Muppet Show'' is known for its uniquely designed characters, burlesque nature, slapstick, sometimes absurdist and surreal humour, and parodies. Within its context, Kermit the Frog (performed by Henson) acts as showrunner and host, who tries to maintain control of the overwhelming antics of the other Muppet characters as well as appease the rotating slate of guest stars. As ''The Muppet Show'' became popular, many celebrities were eager to perform with the Muppets on television and in subsequent films. Henson produced two pilot episodes for ABC in 1974 and 1975, but neither went forward as a series. While other networks in the United States rejected Henson's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great wealth, participation in sports or the entertainment industry, their position as a political figure, or even their connection to another celebrity. 'Celebrity' usually implies a favorable public image, as opposed to the neutrals 'famous' or 'notable', or the negatives 'infamous' and 'notorious'. History In his 2020 book ''Dead Famous: An Unexpected History Of Celebrity'', British historian Greg Jenner uses the definition: Although his book is subtitled "from Bronze Age to Silver Screen", and despite the fact that "Until very recently, sociologists argued that ''celebrity'' was invented just over 100 years ago, in the flickering glimmer of early Hollywood" and the suggestion that some medieval saints might qualify, Jenner asserts that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) and was created by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett. It is known for its images communicated through the use of Jim Henson's The Muppets, Muppets, and includes short films, with humor and cultural references. It premiered on November 10, 1969, to positive reviews, some controversy, and high viewership. It has aired on the United States national Public broadcasting, public television provider PBS since its debut, with its first run moving to Pay television, premium channel HBO on January 16, 2016, then its sister streaming service Max (streaming service), HBO Max in 2020, and most recently Netflix in 2025. The show's format consists of a combination of Commercial broadcasting, commercial television production element ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WRC-TV
WRC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Washington, D.C., serving as the market's NBC outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Class A television service, Class A Telemundo outlet WZDC-CD (channel 44). WRC-TV and WZDC-CD share studios on Nebraska Avenue in the Tenleytown neighborhood of Northwest Washington. Through a channel sharing agreement, the stations transmit using WRC-TV's spectrum from a tower adjacent to their studios. History The station traces its roots to experimental television station W3XNB, which was put on the air by the Radio Corporation of America, the then-parent company of NBC, in 1939. A construction permit with the commercial call signs in North America, callsign WNBW (standing for "NBC Washington") was first issued on channel 3 (60–66 MHz, numbered channel 2 prior to 1946) on December 23, 1941. NBC requested this permit to be cancelled on June 29, 1942; channel 3 was reassigned to Harr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, as an animation studio, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Oliver Disney as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio; it later operated under the names Walt Disney Studio and Walt Disney Productions before adopting its current name in 1986. In 1928, Disney established itself as a leader in the animation industry with the short film ''Steamboat Willie.'' The film used synchronized sound to become the first post-produced sound cartoon, and popularized Mickey Mouse, who became Disney's mascot and corporate icon. After becoming a success by the early 1940s, Disney diversified into live-action films, television, and theme parks in the 1950s. However, following Walt Disney's death in 1966, the company's profits, especially in the animation sector, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Jim Henson Company
The Jim Henson Company, Inc., formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc. (commonly referred to as Henson), is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters. Brian Henson is chairman and Lisa Henson is CEO. Since 2000, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered at the Jim Henson Company Lot, the historic former Charlie Chaplin Studios, in Hollywood. The company was established in November 1958 by puppeteers Jim and Jane Henson, and is currently independently owned and operated by their children. Henson has produced many successful television series, including ''The Muppet Show'' (1976–1981), ''Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987), and ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' (1997–2006); as well, the company designed the Muppet characters for ''Sesame Street'' (1969–present ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Media Franchise
A media franchise, also known as a multimedia franchise, is a collection of related media in which several derivative works have been produced from an original creative work of fiction, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, or a video game. Bob Iger, chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, defined the word ''franchise'' as "something that creates value across multiple businesses and across multiple territories over a long period of time." Transmedia franchise A media franchise often consists of cross-marketing across more than one medium. For the owners, the goal of increasing profit through diversity can extend the commercial profitability of the franchise and create strong feelings of identity and ownership in its consumers. Those large groups of dedicated consumers create the franchise's fandom, which is the community of fans that indulge in many of its media and are committed to interacting with and keeping up with other consumers. Large franchis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sketch Comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in music hall in Britain and vaudeville in North America, today it is used widely in variety shows, as well as in late night talk shows and even some sitcoms. While sketch comedy is now associated mostly with adult entertainment, certain children's television series such have used it, too. The sketches may be improvised live by the performers, developed through improvisation before public performance, or scripted and rehearsed in advance like a play. History Sketch comedy has its origins in music hall and vaudeville, where many brief humorous acts were strung together to form a larger programme. In the 1890s, music hall impresario Fred Karno developed a form of sketch comedy without dialogue, and in 1904 he produced a sketch called ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Variety Show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère (master of ceremonies) or host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s. While the format is still widespread in some parts of the world, such as in the United Kingdom with the '' Royal Variety Performance'', the Philippines with ''Eat Bulaga!'' and '' It's Showtime'', and South Korea with '' Running Man'', the proliferation of multichannel television and evolving viewer tastes have affected the popularity of variety shows in the United States. Despite this, their influence has still had a major effect on late night television whose late-night talk shows and NBC's vari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
