News Update: September 20, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: September 20, 2012

Yesterday morning, Good Morning America played host to a very special group of friends: the Muppets of Sesame Street! Yes, the whole gang, Big Bird, Elmo, Oscar, Grover, Cookie Monster, Abby Cadabby, Rosita, Murray, and Bert, all stopped in to take over the show. Poor Bert was locked out of the studio for the entire show, but everyone else got to have a lot of fun with the (not-as-fun) GMA hosts. You can watch the entire episode (I think, not even I want to sit through all of that again) on this website, but if you don't feel like that, enjoy this big group rewrite of the "Sesame Street Theme" tailored for GMA right here!



This week is very big for Sesame Street appearances on other TV shows, with the 43rd season of the show debuting on Monday, September 24th. We'll have a full breakdown of all the appearances this week below, but one that happened last night was Elmo appearing, again, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Elmo and Jimmy are always hysterical together, and last night's appearance was no exception. Enjoy!



As for other Sesame appearances this week, read the list below. Special thanks to our friends at ToughPigs.com for collecting all of these!

• TODAY: Elmo on The Talk
• TODAY: Elmo and Grover on EXTRA! with Mario Lopez
• Tomorrow: Big Bird and Roscoe Orman (Gordon) on The Wendy Williams Show
• Tomorrow: Elmo on The Chew
• Tomorrow: Elmo on E! News 

Elmo and friends aren't the only ones appearing on TV this week, as Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy featured prominently in the Barbara Walters 20/20 special: "The Best in TV." The duo both made it into the top 5 non-human characters of all-time, with Piggy at number five and Kermit at number one. The special featured brand new interviews with both Kermit and Piggy, so check out the video below and enjoy!



In sadder news, friend of the blog Muppeteer Michael Earl is in need of our help, Muppet fans. Michael was recently diagnosed with cancer. Friends of Michael have started a fund for his treatment on YouCaring.com. Here's the official "About" section from the site... "Our beloved friend Michael Earl was recently diagnosed with colon cancer. Michael is currently doing everything he can to find the best treatment available to him and will be taking a leave of absence from Puppet School to concentrate on getting well--but he could use our help. So many of us have been touched by Michael in some way. In our youth, many of us watched him perform on Sesame Street as Mr. Snuffleupagus and Forgetful Jones. Then, we saw his amazing puppetry skills in Muppet movies and several TV shows. Now, Michael is a great friend and mentor to many, and has shared his love of puppetry with thousands of followers. His students are forever changed, inspired by his unbelievable talent. Now we can all be inspired by his strength and courage as he takes on the fight against cancer. For those of us who have been given so much by Michael, we finally have a chance to give back. Please consider donating to Michael's fund so that he can focus all his energy on getting well and not on expenses. Any amount will help and be immensely appreciated!" If you can, please consider donating to help out our friend Michael Earl!

To end this on a lighter note, once again we present the brand new music video from the Ben Folds Five featuring THE FRAGGLES!!









The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com