By Mitch Cohen
When it comes to fiction, one of its strongest aspects is the ability to create iconic characters. From Jack Sparrow to Darth Vader, these characters resonate with audiences because of their charming personalities, iconic catchphrases and their impact on pop culture as a whole. Some of the most iconic characters to embody all three traits are The Muppets. Created by Jim Henson, The Muppets are best known for “The Muppet Show,” a variety show that allowed each character to put their unique personalities on display. Over the years, they have garnered a strong following, spawning movies, video games and countless merchandise. Adelphi senior Reid Taub, a theater major, started his own blog in 2018 detailing how these legendary characters came to life.
Before a fictional character can resonate with someone, it’s important to be introduced to them first. In Taub’s case, he was first introduced to “The Muppets” through its sister series, “Sesame Street.”
“I started off with ‘Sesame Street’ before moving up to the ‘Muppets’,” said Taub.
For many children, “Sesame Street” was also their introduction to the Muppet characters, as it focused on educational elements like counting and the alphabet. Count von Count was a rather popular character who taught children about numbers. What is particularly impressive about this series is that 54 years later, new episodes are still in production, meaning new generations will be exposed to these iconic characters who will impact them for years to come. As for why this franchise resonates with Taub, he liked the versatility of the puppeteers.
“I was always impressed with the way each performer performed their own character, not to mention how many they’ve done over the years,” he said, adding that watching these shows allowed him to create a blog documenting the creation of these characters.
Taub created this blog in September 2018 during his time at a transfer program in New London, Connecticut. In one class he had an assignment where he had to create a blog based on his interests. “The first thing that came to mind was The Muppets, so I decided to make one about the people behind them,” he said.
With each blog post, Taub focuses on a different performer who worked with the Muppet characters. For example, his September 1, 2022 post focuses on puppeteer and voice actor Mona Marshall. While most people recognize her as the voice of Sheila Broflovski from the adult cartoon “South Park,” she also voiced Mokey Fraggle in the “Fraggle Rock” animated series.
In the past six years, Taub has researched and written about several performers and puppeteers. He currently has 366 viewers of his Muppet blog. A post that Taub is particularly proud of writing is of Matt Vogel, who is the current voice of characters like Big Bird and The Count. “He is someone who gets their voices and accents and keeps them alive today,” Taub said.
Since “The Muppets” have been synonymous with pop culture, the voice actors and puppeteers have changed over the years. According to Taub’s blog post, Vogel was responsible for revoicing characters played by late puppeteer Jerry Nelson. While it’s unfortunate that Nelson passed away, replacing him with Vogel was a smart decision because he was familiar with the characters Nelson voiced. This meant he could easily portray the characters without messing up the characters’ personalities or voices.
As for what the future holds, Taub plans to continue researching and writing about various performers on his Muppet blog. Later on, he plans on showing this blog to fans of “The Muppets” franchise.
“Hopefully I’ll be able to show it to fans and use that knowledge to work up to my dream of being a puppeteer myself,” he said.
Ultimately, Reid’s Muppet blog is a prime example of how fictional characters continue to resonate with audiences because by documenting various performers, it gives readers an idea of the creative process behind the Muppets franchise. Readers can visit Reid’s Muppet blog, visit http://reidsmuppets.blogspot.com.
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