Sam and Friends
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sam and Friends | |
|---|---|
| Image:Tv sam and friends.jpg In this scene from an episode of Sam and Friends, the screen portrays a sketch in which Kermit and Harry make their thoughts appear above their heads. "Watch!" | |
| Format | comedy television series |
| Created by | Jim Henson Jane Henson |
| Starring | Jim Henson Jane Henson Bob Payne Jerry Juhl |
| Country of origin | Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States |
| No. of episodes | Unknown |
| Production | |
| Running time | 5 minutes per sketch (and episode) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | WRC-TV (NBC's owned-and-operated station in Washington, D.C.) |
| Original run | May 9, 1955 – December 8, 1961 |
Sam and Friends was an early live-action/puppet television show created by puppeteer Jim Henson and his eventual wife Jane. It was taped and aired locally in Washington, D.C. on WRC-TV in black and white[citation needed] between 1955 and 1961.
Sam was a bald human-looking puppet with wide eyes, large ears, and a big nose; his Friends included Yorick, Harry the Hipster, and a lizard-like creature called Kermit who later evolved into Kermit the Frog.
Early in its run the show mostly featured the puppets lip-synching to popular songs of the day (if the song was by a female performer, the puppet would wear a wig while singing). Later, formal sketches were drawn up, many spoofing well-known television shows at the time, including Sam and Friends' lead-in show in the Washington market, The Huntley-Brinkley Report.
A popular early sketch that would be used often in subsequent Henson productions was "Inchworm", 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 a monster, who would devour him.
Jerry Juhl also worked on the show toward the end of its run.
[edit] External links
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since February 2007 | 1950s American television series | 1960s American television series | American comedy television series | Muppet series | Television programs featuring puppetry | Television series by The Jim Henson Company | United States television program stubs
