Statler and Waldorf are a pair of Muppet The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson. Individually, a Muppet is one of the puppets made by Jim Henson or his company's workshop. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show the term is both an informal name and legal trademark linked to the characters characters. They are two ornery, disagreeable old men who first appeared in the television series A television program or television show is a segment of content broadcast on television. It may be a one-off broadcast or part of a periodically recurring television series The Muppet Show The Muppet Show was a television program featuring a cast of Muppets, which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Sesame Street. The show stars Kermit the Frog as a showrunner who tries to keep control of the antics of the other Muppet characters , as well as keep the human guest stars happy and secure. The television show depicts a heckling The term originates from the textile trade, where to heckle was to tease or comb out flax or hemp fibres. The additional meaning, to interrupt speakers with awkward or embarrassing questions, was added in Scotland, and specifically perhaps in early nineteenth century Dundee, a famously radical town where the hecklers who combed the flax had the rest of the cast from their balcony seats. They appeared in every episode of the show, except for one.[1] In The Muppet Show, the two were always trashing Fozzie Bear Fozzie Bear is a Muppet, originally created by Jim Henson. He is an orange, particularly fuzzy bear who tells bad jokes and has a catch phrase, "Wocka Wocka Wocka". Shortly after telling the joke, he is constantly the target of rotten tomatoes and ridicule, especially from hecklers Statler and Waldorf's poor jokes, except for one occasion where Fozzie, with help from Bruce Forsyth, heckled them back. It is later revealed in the Muppet Family Christmas A Muppet Family Christmas is a 1987 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets special that the two hecklers were friends with Fozzie's mother, Emily Bear. Despite constantly complaining about the show and how terrible some acts were, they would always be back the following week in the best seats in the house.
They also had a penchant for breaking the fourth wall The fourth wall refers to the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play. The term, which was made explicit by Denis Diderot and spread in nineteenth century theatre with the advent of theatrical realism, is. At the end of one episode, they looked at the camera and asked "Why do you watch it?", and in another one, Waldorf stated that he didn't care for puppets, not finding them believable. Statler responded with "I don't believe you!"
Statler and Waldorf are named after two New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over global commerce, finance, media, culture, art, fashion, research, education, and entertainment. As host of the hotels, The Statler Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is a famous luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a 47 story, 625 ft. Art Deco landmark,.[2]
Contents |
Performers
In the pilot episode of The Muppet Show, Statler and Waldorf were performed by Jerry Nelson and Jim Henson James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer. He was one of the most widely known puppeteers in history and was the creator of The Muppets. He was the leading source behind their long run in the television series Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and films such as The Muppet Movie (1979) and creator of advanced puppets for projects; subsequently they were performed by Richard Hunt Richard Hunt was an American puppeteer and Muppet performer. He was best known for characters including Scooter, Beaker, Janice, Statler, and Sweetums and Jim Henson James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer. He was one of the most widely known puppeteers in history and was the creator of The Muppets. He was the leading source behind their long run in the television series Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and films such as The Muppet Movie (1979) and creator of advanced puppets for projects. Beginning with The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), they were performed by Jerry Nelson and Dave Goelz. When Jerry Nelson left the Muppets to work for Sesame Street Sesame Street is an American children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment. Sesame Street is well known for its Muppets characters created by Jim Henson. It premiered on November 10, 1969, making it one of the longest running children's programs on, muppeteer Steve Whitmire (also a puppeteer for Sesame Street) took over adding yet another new role to his credits; his first two were that of Kermit the Frog Kermit The Frog is puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous Muppet creation, first introduced in 1955. He is the main protagonist of many Muppet projects, most notably as the host of The Muppet Show. Kermit was performed by Henson until his death in 1990. Since then Kermit has been performed by Steve Whitmire. He was voiced by Frank Welker in Muppet (Jim Henson James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer. He was one of the most widely known puppeteers in history and was the creator of The Muppets. He was the leading source behind their long run in the television series Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and films such as The Muppet Movie (1979) and creator of advanced puppets for projects) and Beaker (Richard Hunt Richard Hunt was an American puppeteer and Muppet performer. He was best known for characters including Scooter, Beaker, Janice, Statler, and Sweetums).
Later appearances
In the 1996 series Muppets Tonight, based around a television show rather than a theatre, Statler and Waldorf were shown watching the show at an assisted living Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living (ADLs); coordination of services by outside health care providers; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being. Assistance may include the administration or supervision of facility, but still making disparaging comments.
Statler and Waldorf also appeared (as adults) in the Saturday morning animated television series This is a list of animated television series. Animated television series are television programs produced by means of animation. This list does not feature animated theatrical short series as those were produced for theaters. This list includes compilation series of theatrical shorts such as The Bugs Bunny Show since they often feature new wrap- Jim Henson's Muppet Babies.[episode needed] Both characters were voiced by Dave Coulier. Unlike all[citation needed] other adults who visit the nursery in that series, Statler and Waldorf's faces are shown. The two were more friendly and jovial, and only occasionally grumpy, compared to their appearances on The Muppet Show.[original research?]
A joke was made about the duo's nature in The Muppet Christmas Carol, where they played the ghosts of Jacob Jacob Marley is a fictional character whose ghost appears in the Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol and Robert Marley. When Ebenezer Scrooge Ebenezer Scrooge is the principal character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novel, A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the novel, Scrooge is a cold-hearted, tight-fisted and greedy man, who despises Christmas and all things which engender happiness. Dickens describes him thus: "The cold within him froze his old features, nipped his pointed nose, accuses them of always criticizing him, they reply "We were always heckling you." "It's good to be heckling again." "It's good to be doing anything again!" During multiple sequences there is a shop called "Statler and Waldorf". In a nod to their role on The Muppet Show, when Scrooge chalks their appearance up to indigestion-- "There's more of gravy than the grave about you"- they retort with "What a terrible pun!" and "Leave comedy to the bears, Ebenezer!"
In one episode[3] of The Muppet Show they started heckling the opening number before it even started. Kermit decided to cancel it when Waldorf (sarcastically) guessed what it was: a Chinese gorilla dancing ballet. They were then allowed to perform an opening number of their own. After performing it, they were suddenly sitting on their usual balcony. Waldorf then asked "Why can't they do numbers like that?" When Kermit remarked that they just did, the duo started to criticize it.
The duo are featured characters in Disney's Jim Henson's Muppet*Vision 3D in Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s. The third park built at the resort, it opened on May 1, 1989 as Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's California Adventure Park. They also make a cameo appearance in Pixar's short film Presto, where they can be seen in their theater box.
The Muppet Newsflash: A Jim Henson News Blog announced on Sept. 17, 2009, that Statler and Waldorf will release a book titled From the Balcony in 2010.[4]
From the Balcony
In popular fiction
- Both made an appearance in Marvel Team-Up #74. In this issue, Spider-Man Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 . Lee and Ditko conceived of the character as an orphan being raised by his Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and as a teenager, having to deal with the normal struggles of youth in teams up with the cast of Saturday Night Live Saturday Night Live is a live late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. It premiered on NBC, a terrestrial television network in the United States, on October 11, 1975, under the title NBC's Saturday Night. The show's sketches often parody contemporary American popular culture and politics to battle the Silver Samurai. Statler and Waldorf appear in typical style as hecklers on a balcony.
- They also made an appearance on the animated television show Family Guy Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian. The show uses frequent cutaway gags, often in the form of. In the episode "Petergeist", they watch Lost Lost is an American live-action television series. It follows the lives of plane crash survivors on a mysterious tropical island, after a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles crashes somewhere in the South Pacific. Each episode typically features a primary storyline on the island as well as a secondary storyline from with Peter Peter Griffin is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Fox animated comedy series Family Guy. He is the patriarch of the Griffin family, married to Lois Pewterschmidt and the father of Meg, Chris and Stewie; he also has a dog named Brian. He's also the father of Bertram, who is currently Stewie's enemy. He is voiced by the show's and Lois Lois Griffin is a fictional character from the animated series Family Guy. She is the wife of Peter Griffin and the mother of Meg, Chris, and Stewie. She is voiced by former MADtv cast member Alex Borstein from a balcony. After Peter comments on the great episode they just watched, Waldorf says "Well, at least the show's got the right name." Statler replies "Yeah, I couldn't follow any of it!" and the two burst into laughter. Peter then remarks that "they don't care for most things." In another episode[episode needed], Statler is seen without Waldorf and claims he actually likes the show.
- They appear at the end of Weezer's Weezer is an American alternative rock band that formed in Los Angeles in 1992. The band now consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson (drums, backing vocals), Brian Bell (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards), and Scott Shriner (bass, backing vocals, keyboards). The band has changed lineups several times since its formation in 1992. They have video for the song "'Keep Fishin'". They comment that the performance wasn't half bad, before adding that it was all bad.
- In the Teen Titans Teen Titans is an American animated television series based on the DC Comics characters of the same name. The show was created by Glen Murakami, developed by David Slack, and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on Cartoon Network on July 19, 2003, and the final episode "Things Change" aired on January 16, 2006. Two comic episode "Bunny Raven", the Titans are trapped in Mumbo's hat in a theater filled with Mumbo look-alikes. Among them are two eldery men sitting in a lodge who, like Statler and Waldorf, make fun of certain features of the show.
- On the song "The Black Hole" by HORSE the band, the track ends with Statler and Waldorf celebrating the song and then talking themselves into decrying it as "terrible".
- On September 18, 2009, Statler and Waldorf were shown in a routine on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show on NBC, which premiered on June 1, 2009. It is the replacement for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and part of NBC's long running Tonight Show franchise. The show's host, Conan O'Brien, previously hosted NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien, which followed The Tonight Show for 16 called "Statler and Waldorf Heckle Obama", consisting of a video recording of President Barack Obama A native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he was the president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney in Chicago and taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 at a health care rally, with old Muppet Show clips of Statler and Waldorf interspersed within it.[5]
- The Linux Linux refers to the family of Unix-like computer operating systems using the Linux kernel. Linux can be installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from mobile phones, tablet computers and video game consoles, to mainframes and supercomputers. Linux is predominantly known for its use in servers; in 2009 it held a server market share distribution called Crunchbang added the codename Statler to one of their releases.[6]
- In an episode of "The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, first airing on September 20, 1984 and running for eight seasons on the NBC television network, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an affluent African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York", Statler is seated beside an elderly gentleman (Bill Cosby William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the situation comedy The Bill Cosby Show, in 1969), who has replaced Waldorf, mustache A moustache is facial hair grown on the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a beard, hair around the entire face and all. The two heckle an act that includes Cliff (also played by Cosby) and other Muppets. The sequence is part of a dream caused by Cliff's poor eating habits. Several Muppets appear throughout Cliff's dream.
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a private research university located in Troy, New York, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer for the "application of science to the common purposes of life", and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world. Built on a hillside, RPI's 275- has a literary magazine named Statler & Waldorf--the ampersand therein being strictly an ampersand.
References
- ^ A The Muppet Show episode guide, Season 4's episode 13, at Wikia.com's Muppet Wiki
- ^ The Stories Behind 20 Muppet Favorites, mental floss
- ^ A The Muppet Show episode guide, Season 4's episode 09, at Wikia.com's Muppet Wiki
- ^ "Statler & Waldorf Book". The Muppet Newsflash: A Jim Henson News Blog, Sept. 17, 2009. http://www.muppetnewsflash.com/search/label/From%20the%20Balcony.
- ^ "Statler & Waldorf Heckle Obama". NBC.com. http://www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com/video/clips/statler-and-waldorf-heckle-obama-091809/1158890.
- ^ Download page for Linux Crunchbag , Linux Crunchbag
|
Fri, 11 Jun 2010 10:57:46 GMT+00:00
TV Squad (blog) A kindred spirit to 'The Muppet Show' balcony-dwellers Statler and Waldorf , she could give acclaimed actors lessons on how to be funny at awards shows. ...
372px x 499px | 58.30kB
[source page]
Wake up ya old fool you slept through the last five LoL pictures Who s the fool You read them Statler and Waldorf picture dunno source via our
D.R. Odekirk
Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:30:00 GM
Dear Critic Section, Thank you for your observations and comments related to my (lack of) weekend activities. Let me remind you that today will mark the completion of two weeks away from home. This last weekend was my second since I ...
