Sam and Friends


Sam and Friends is an American live-action and puppet sketch comedy television series and a lead-in to The Tonight Show created by puppeteer Jim Henson and his eventual wife Jane Henson. It marks the debut of The Muppets franchise, particularly Kermit the Frog.
The show aired live twice daily as a local series in Washington, D.C., on WRC-TV in black and white, and later color, on weeknights from May 9, 1955, to December 15, 1961. However, due to network budget issues, most of the original episodes were never preserved to film/kinescope and are considered lost.
A few of the show's surviving episodes can be viewed at the Paley Center for Media, but many can also be found on video websites like YouTube, such as those digitally archived by the [Jim Henson Company]. Some have also been documented by either the Henson Archives or newspaper articles published while the show was still on air.

Plot

The series centers around Sam, a bald-headed, big-eared man who escaped the harshness of everyday life with the help of abstract friends that he created based on parts of his life. His friends included Yorick, Professor Madcliffe, Chicken Liver, Harry the Hipster, and Kermit.
Early in its run, the show mostly featured the puppets lip-syncing to popular songs of the day. Later, formal sketches were drawn up, many spoofing well-known television shows at the time, including the series which followed Sam and Friends in the Washington market, The Huntley–Brinkley Report.
A popular early sketch that was used often in subsequent Henson productions was "Glow-Worm", in which a character, often Kermit, would nibble on what looked like a worm, but would ultimately turn out to be the tongue or nose of the monster Big V, who would devour him.
Bob Payne once substituted for Jim Henson while he was in Europe. Jerry Juhl also worked on the show toward the end of its run where he substituted for Jane Henson. Starting in 1959, advertisements for Esskay Meats would appear at the end of the show, as well as Wilkins Coffee.
While Payne, Juhl, and Jane Henson all puppeteered in the series alongside him, Jim Henson provided all of the voices himself.

Broadcast time

Characters

  • Sam – A bald-headed man who is the main character. Only footage of him lip-syncing to a song currently survives. His head was made from papier-mâché.
  • Kermit – A lizard-like creature. He was prominently featured in many sketches that led him to popularity, though he would not be referred to as a frog until a decade later.
  • Harry the Hipster – A black sock puppet. Harry was one of the first Muppets designed and built by Jim Henson.
  • Yorick – A voracious puppet that resembled a rock head. Yorick has been known for appearing with supporting Muppets, whom he would attempt to eat. His puppet was made of papier-mâché with a tube in his mouth that allowed him to swallow things.
  • Professor Madcliffe – A tall-headed professor with big eyes and a mustache. He had a loud and energetic personality. He made most of his appearances in commercials.
  • Chicken Liver – A humanoid character with a tall head and a big nose. He has been described as "a dramatic storyteller", and believed that the show lacked culture.
  • Hank and Frank – Two bald humanoids that served as the show's bit players. They took on the roles of Chet Huntley and David Brinkley in a spoof interview with Kermit.
  • Mushmellon – A small yellow monster with a permanent grimace. He was a favorite among younger audiences.
  • Icky Gunk – A green snake sporting a pair of arms.
  • Henrietta – A pink female creature of indeterminable species.
  • Moldy Hay – A humanoid character with orange-red skin, a big nose, and hair over his eyes.
  • Omar – A beaked humanoid with a papier-mâché face. He was described as "the nomadic type".
  • Pierre the French Rat – A French rat. He was one of Jim Henson's first puppets built and was embodied as a puppet made from plastic wood.
  • Bernice - A female humanoid.

    Cast

Episodes

Surviving episodes

  • Powder-Burn : A pun-filled Gunsmoke parody with Marshall Dilly preparing for a showdown with Black Bart which results in a game of chess.
  • Poison to Poison : Lip-synching to the Spike Jones track "Poisen to Poisen", Harry the Hipster interviews Chicken Liver in his rather horrifying home.
  • The Westerners : Lip-synching to a recording of Bob and Ray's act The Westerners, Kermit and Chicken Liver play two cowboys who are having a little trouble getting off their horses.
  • Huntley and Brinkley : In a parody of The Huntley-Brinkley Report, Kermit hosts an interview with NBC News anchormen Chet Huntley and David Brinkley.
  • Visual Thinking : In a mix of puppetry and animation, Harry demonstrates the Art of Visual Thinking to Kermit—and what it does to you once it gets out of control.
  • Weather Warehouse : Harry demonstrates to a skeptical Kermit his new business for selling weather, and gives him a tour of the warehouse.
  • Chef Omar : Omar prepares a chef salad, which blows up in his face when he serves it flaming.
  • Last Sam Show : Kermit and Harry sing a song about the show's sponsor, Esskay Meats, then Kermit lip-syncs to Bob Gibson’s recording of "I Come for to Sing". After both songs, Kermit discusses the end of the series with Harry—who blows up all the scenery and equipment since they won't need it anymore.

    Episode list

Muppets First Appearance

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Season 1 - Part 1 (''Sam and Friends'')

1st performance.
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Season 1 - Part 2 (''Afternoon'')

1st performance.
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''Footlight Theater'' season

This is the only known Louis Looselid adventure confirmed to have been presented. As this predated Jim Henson’s performances of vocals, the voices on this recording were most likely provided by Paul Arnold.
Paul Arnold was absent from this week of broadcasts as he couldn't make it to the Golden Gate city, likely due to schedule conflicts.
Judging by the squirrel skull puppet seen in the surviving set photos taking place on the Footlight Theater set, it is possible that this song was first performed during the Footlight Theater season of the show.
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Season 2 (''Sam and Friends with Paul Arnold'')

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Season 3 - Part 1

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Season 3 - Part 2

1st performance. Earliest known survivng recording of Jim Henson voicing Kermit, Harry and other characters besides Professor Madcliffe.
This is the first Sam and Friends episode to be broadcast in Baltimore on WBAL-TV.
Due to a technical problem with transmitting audio or video during December 19, the episode was re-performed on Monday, December 22, adding in an ending with Harry explaining that the show may seem repetitious. “Leave us say that on Friday, the technicians discovered to their great dismay that chewing gum is not a good conductor of electricity. We hope that we’ll be back tomorrow for Esskay—audio and video.”
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Season 4

According to the year stated by Jeffrey Goodwin, this may be another performance of the song and the first.
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Season 5

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Season 6

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Undated episodes

According to Jeffrey Goodwin, who recounted seeing this episode on TV while Sam and Friends was still on the air back in the day, this skit was broadcast in color.
No materials or documentation for this episode survive; As there are two known programs from September 1959 and May 1961 that dealt with Professor Madcliffe looking for a hammer to use on a rocket or spaceship, it is unknown which of these programs this episode was part of, but given that the Friday episode that aired on May 5, 1961 has no surviving materials and marks a gap between the May 4 and 8, 1961 episodes in documentation, it is possible that this episode may be a lead-in to the plot from the May 8, 1961 episode "Space Launch".

Unknown Episodes

Unknown episodes that lack documentation, have confusing script materials or have only surviving photos with no identifiable episode info. It is unknown what episodes the unidentified photos may be related to. None of these unknown episodes have any surviving recordings as well.
TitlePlot
Anything You Can Do Kermit performs a parody of "Anything You Can Do" with prerecorded footage of himself. An excerpt of the revised lyrics follows:
Kermit 1: I can be on TV, where the people see me.
Kermit 2: I can be in person, and without rehearsin'.
Kermit 1: Lots of people know my face.
Kermit 2: That face there?
Kermit 1: Yes.
Kermit 2: I don't care.
Documents for this sketch were found in visit to the Jim Henson Archives via Toughpigs, Pantalones, and Scarecroe; whether this specific parody of the song performed by Kermit was done on Sam and Friends is unknown, and Kermit's own parody of the song with said revised lyrics could just be a script for the performance and may not be the final broadcast version, as surviving audio recordings of the Sam and Friends broadcasts used the Ethel Merman recording of the song as lip-sync material.

Songs

  • That Old Black Magic : Kermit and Sam lip-synch to a recording of "That Old Black Magic" by Louis Prima and Keely Smith. To date, this is the only surviving Sam and Friends episode to feature Sam himself.
  • I've [Got You Under My Skin] : Icky Gunk, and Hank and Frank serve as chorus singers in a lip-synched rendition of Stan Freberg's "I've Got You Under My Skin" while Kermit, in spoken dialogue, messes up the lyrics.
  • C'est Si Bon : In a French village setting, Moldy Hay lip-synchs to Stan Freberg's rendition of "C'est Si Bon", with Hank and Frank repeating his dialogue too literally as a backup choir.
  • Singin' in the Rain : A little girl Muppet lip-synchs to a sped-up version of Edie Adams’s rendition of "Singin' in the Rain" as water begins to pour. Eventually, she is submerged in a water-filled bucket.
  • Hunger Is From : Lip-synching to Ken Nordine and the Fred Katz Group's "Hunger Is From", Yorick details his midnight snacking while eating a plate full of food.
  • A Horse Named Bill : Kermit lip-synchs and plays the banjo to Bob Gibson’s rendition of "A Horse Named Bill."
  • Miss Cone : An animated episode made with cutouts and synced to the titular song by Ken Nordine and the Fred Katz Group.
  • Glow Worm : Humming along to "The Glow-Worm", Kermit is bugged by some inchworm-like fingers and is later met with a human hand.

    In popular culture

Sam and Friends is mentioned in chapter 2 of Kermit the Frog's book Before You Leap, under the heading of "My First Big Splash".
Yorick made a cameo appearance in a Sesame Street sketch from Season 1 in which he eats the letter R.
Henrietta appeared in The Muppets on Puppets during Rowlf the Dog's mixed-up fairy tale sketch portraying the fairy godmother. In this appearance, Henrietta was also performed by Jerry Juhl.
Sam, Harry the Hipster, and Yorick made an appearance in The Muppets: [A Celebration of 30 Years]. Sam and Harry can be seen at a table together as Harry questions Kermit's modern appearance while Yorick is hiding next to him. The three later reappear at a table with Jim Henson as he is handed a bill by Grover.
In Spring 2010, early puppet characters were rejoined in Henson Alternative's Stuffed and Unstrung, for two musical pieces.
In August 2010, Jane Henson donated ten puppets from the show to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. The Omar puppet not included in the ten that were donated later ended up at the Center for Puppetry Arts as part of the Jim Henson Collection exhibit.
In July 2016, Hyattsville, Maryland, installed a memorial to Jim Henson in the city's Magruder Park, featuring a large planter embossed with images of characters from Sam and Friends and benches inscribed with quotes from Henson.
Yorick made a visual appearance in the 2021 Muppet Babies episode "Summer's Disaster-Piece", where he replaces the head on Thomas Gainsborough's painting The Blue Boy.