Jim Henson¿s Original Kermit Donated to Smithsonian

WASHINGTON - For years, Kermit the Frog has been part of the "popular culture" collection at the Smithsonian Institution's American History Museum . Now, there are two.

An older, prototype Kermit has now been donated by Jane Henson, the widow of master puppeteer Jim Henson and a puppeteer in her own right. The older Kermit appeared on TV shows in Washington, D.C. in the 1950's.

The newer Kermit is bright green. The older Kermit was put together from faded material from the very beginning.

"We used to work from Jim's mother's rag bag," explained Jane Henson to reporters at the museum. "One of the fabrics was an old coat. And this," gesturing to the older Kermit, "is made from a coat."

Radio and TV personality Willard Scott, who was at the ceremony, recalled working with the early Muppets on a local children's show on WRC-TV called Barn Party. "It was on for three years. And it was a [ratings] winner, because nobody else was on at 9:00 a.m. [on Saturday] morning," recalled Scott to an audience that broke into big laughs. "It was us or overseas radio."

Later, the Hensons worked on another local TV show called "Sam And Friends." Sam and the other early Muppets were also donated to the Smithsonian. "What a wonderful place to be," explained Jane Henson. "Otherwise [they're] stored away in boxes. They're much happier to be here."

Other early Muppets being donated to the museum include the precursors to Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch, as well as Sam from "Sam and Friends" who would lip-sync to popular music.

These characters include Henson's oldest surviving puppet, Pierre the French Rat, which was created in a comic strip that Henson drew for his high school yearbook in 1954; Yorick, the purple skull with the big appetite that was a precursor to hungry monsters like Cookie Monster; Mushmellon, a yellow monster-type creature whose wide face and grouchy eyes bear resemblance to Oscar the Grouch; and Sam, the main character from Sam and Friends who never spoke but would lip-sync to popular music and comedy records of the time.

The early Muppet puppets are expected to go on public display at the American History Museum sometime in November.

LINKS: www.henson.com/  
Smithsonian-Kermit the Frog Comes Home to Washington