I stumbled across this online while doing some research earlier this month; it’s an excerpt from a CBC interview with Jim Henson taped on the set of Fraggle Rock in 1983. In it Jim discusses his family, working in television and mentions the then-yet-to-be-released Muppets Take Manhattan and Labyrinth, which Jim describes as “his next fantasy movie.”
This is a nearly 50 year old film produced by Jim Henson that was recently rediscovered and released online by AT&T. Robot is one Jim Henson’s business films from the 1960s, it was shot in 1963 for an elite seminar organized for business owners on the then-brand-new topic of Data Communications.
From the video’s YouTube description:
The seminar itself involved a lot of films and multimedia presentations, and took place in Chicago. A lengthy description of the planning of the Bell Data Communications Seminar — sans a mention of the Henson involvement — is on the blog of Inpro co-founder Jack Byrne. It later was renamed the Bell Business Communications Seminar.
The organizers of the seminar, Inpro, actually set the tone for the film in a three-page memo from one of Inpro’s principals, Ted Mills to Henson. Mills outlined the nascent, but growing relationship between man and machine: a relationship not without tension and resentment: “He [the robot] is sure that All Men Basically Want to Play Golf, and not run businesses — if he can do it better.” (Mills also later designed the ride for the Bell System at the 1964 World’s Fair.) Henson’s execution is not only true to Mills’ vision, but he also puts his own unique, irreverent spin on the material.
The robot narrator used in this film had previously starred in a skit for a food fair in Germany (video is silent), in 1961. It also may be the same robot that appeared on the Mike Douglas Show in 1966. Henson created a different — but similar — robot for the SKF Industries pavilion at the 1964 World’s Fair.
Kudos to AT&T for releasing this fascinating little piece of Muppet/Henson history!
Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year and the beginning of the Chinese Spring Festival. Lion and Dragon dances featuring giant puppets are always a staple of the new year festivities in Chinese communities around the world, but to celebrate the Year of the Water Dragon children at a Bangkok aquarium were recently treated to this special, unique underwater Dragon Dance performed by a team of divers.
Underwater Dragon Dances seem to be a thing this year; another team of divers is also planning to perform one in Singapore.
Tough Pigs recently sat down for an exclusive interview with Bonnie Erickson. If you don’t already know Bonnie’s name, you should; she headed the Muppet Workshop for many years during the Muppet Show era (she is credited as as the designer and builder of Miss Piggy, the Muppet Newsman, Statler and Waldorf among many, many other famous characters) and is currently the Executive Director of the Jim Henson Legacy.
Here are links to all four parts of the interview:
It’s a great interview and a must-read for Muppet fans and anyone els curious about what it was like to work in the Muppet workshop in the heyday of the `70s and `80s.
