News Update: September 28, 2013

NEWS UPDATE: September 28, 2013

Jim Henson's birthday was on Tuesday this week and it saw the release of Jim Henson: The Biography as well as many rememberances and tributes across the internet. But perhaps the biggest tribute to Jim's legacy came from the Henson family themselves and the Smithsonian Museum of American History, who together announced the donation of over 20 Muppets for display in the museum. These include Fozzie Bear, Scooter, the Count, Cookie Monster, Elmo, and many more. Going on permanent display with the already-donated Kermit the Frog is the one and only Miss Piggy. Check out the video below for the entie donation presentation featuring Cheryl Henson and Bonnie Erickson!



Author of Jim Henson: The Biography Brian Jay Jones has appeared all over the place promoting the book this week. One of my favorite appearances was an audio interview for NPR on The Diane Rehm Show. The hour-long appearance is informative and fun and includes a special appearance from our friend Dave Goelz. Take a listen to the appearance and learn more about the process of writing the biography.

Also making the rounds this week are the Muppets of Sesame Street, appearing on two of the most popular late night shows on TV. On Wednesday, Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Grover, Zoe, Cookie Monster, the Count, Murray, Big Bird, and Snuffy appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon playing and singing the "Sesame Street Theme" with Jimmy and The Roots on classroom instruments. This appearance was spectacular and you've got to watch it below!



Straight on the heels of this magnificent appearance, Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch made a big appearance on The Colbert Report Thursday night. The Caroll Spinney duo appeared as part of Colbert's new "Pointless/Counterpointless" segment, where Colbert hoped they would argue with each other. Of course, this didn't go according to plan, so Colbert's frustration and Big Bird's innocence take center stage. It's a hilarious, wonderful appearance that will make you go "How'd they do that?!" when you realize Caroll is providing the voice for both characters at once. Watch below!









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

The Muppets Appear Everywhere This Week

With the premiere of their fantastic new "All I Need is Love" video with CeeLo Green earlier this week, the Muppets have been all over the place since Monday promoting the heck out of it. Rather than hitting you over the head with the videos day after day this week, we've decided to just collect it all in one convenient post! So enjoy clips from Muppets on Good Morning America, The Voice, Christmas at Rockefeller Center, plus Kermit and Pepe at Disney Store Times Square and Frank Oz on The Colbert Report!

The Muppets (and LoCo) sing "All I Need is Love" LIVE on GMA

Kermit and Dolly Parton sing a brief "Islands in the Stream" with Chickens on GMA

Pepe Flirts with GMA co-host Lara Spencer


Kermit the Frog and CeeLo Green perform "Bein' Green" on The Voice, with appearances by Gonzo, Fozzie, Janice, Animal, Statler, and Waldorf


The Muppets and CeeLo Green perform "All I Need is Love" LIVE during NBC's Christmas at Rockefeller Center


Kermit and Pepe answer questions at the Times Square Disney Store (video courtesy of our friends at StitchKingdom.com)


Frank Oz stops by The Colbert Report to discuss the Blu-ray release of Little Shop of Horrors and some Muppety chit-chat

The Colbert Report

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

News Update: May 3, 2012

NEWS UPDATE: May 3, 2012

Later this week yours truly, Ryan Dosier, will be appearing on a radio show called The DJ Bob Show hosted by friend of the blog Bob Runkel. I am appearing on the show as part of their upcoming Jim Henson Tribute Show. Bob is looking for Muppet fans to share their thoughts and stories and memories about Jim Henson or Jim's work. If you are interested in sharing and appearing on the radio show to talk about Jim, head over to Facebook and leave a message on The DJ Bob Show's page or email Bob at djbobrunkel@gmail.com. Thanks, Muppet fans!

Yesterday Twitter was all a-twitter (how many times has THAT joke been made?) over a brand new, official account from Sesame Street for Count von Count! Currently the Count (@countvoncount) has merely been counting his tweets (he's up to 11), but my favorite was his tweet for 10, "Ten! 10! In, binary, that's 2!" I can't wait to see how many tweets the Count counts to! Go ahead and give him a follow. I'm sure he loves counting his followers too.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, star of Inception, 500 Days of Summer, and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises, consistently proves that he is hip, awesome, and an all-around cool guy. Yesterday, in a video shared by ToughPigs.com, JGL proved that he's also hip to Muppet fan culture as well. In the video below you can check out Joseph Gordon-Levitt's incredibly heartfelt and moving rendition of Ernie's Sesame Street classic "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon." It's wonderful.



Over at the popular Den of Geek website, friend of the blog Neil McNally wrote a fantastic article called "Looking back at Jim Henson's The Storyteller." The article is truly insightful, funny, and heartfelt--clearly coming from a true fan of the show. We don't often discuss The Storyteller on The Muppet Mindset, but as another facet of Jim Henson's impeccable career it is clearly worth noting and discussing. In the article, Neil discusses how some of the episodes of the show are the best things Jim Henson ever did. How can you pass that up?

Late last night, Stephen Colbert once again proved that he's a champion of Muppets. After hosting both Cookie Monster and Kermit the Frog on his show, The Colbert Report, plus putting countless Muppet and Sesame Street references into his news reporting, Colbert has shown his adoration for the Muppets numerous times. On The Colbert Report last night he proved it again when he dedicated an entire segment to tackling the recent press about Kermit's legal trouble with German TV. Stephen will explain the news better than I would, so check out the hysterical video below as Colbert brings in a German ambassador and loses his soul in the process.

The Colbert Report

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