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Fozzie Bear

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For the heavy metal band fronted by Chris Jericho, see Fozzy

Fozzie Bear is a fictional character, originally created by Jim Henson as a member of The Muppets. He is an orange, fuzzy Muppet bear who tells bad jokes and ends each joke with his catch phrase "Wocka Wocka Wocka". Shortly after telling the joke, he is constantly the target of rotten tomatoes and ridicule, especially from hecklers Statler & Waldorf.

History

Fozzie is very good natured and loves his friends. He was originally performed by puppeteer Frank Oz, although in recent years he has been performed by Eric Jacobson. In Muppet Babies, his voice was provided by Greg Berg, who also voiced Baby Scooter (Muppet) Berg also voiced him in the ill-fated Little Muppet Monsters. There are a number of stories as to the origin of his name; either he was named after puppet builder muppet:Fozzie's Name, who created the mechanism that allowed Fozzie to wiggle his ears or it was a play on Frank Oz's name (F.Oz).

Fozzie's mother Emily Bear (performed by Jerry Nelson) appeared in A Muppet Family Christmas film. In The Great Muppet Caper, Kermit and Fozzie are questionable news reporters and apparently twin brothers. Fozzie also has a cousin who appeared in the first season of The Muppet Show, also performed by Frank Oz.

In the late '80s a children's video was released called Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear! which was to help kids develop comedic talent.

Since the early days of The Muppet Show, Fozzie has often interacted with Kermit. Fozzie got Kermit to reluctantly assist him for one of his best-known monologues, "Good Grief! The Comedian's a Bear!", and has also had quite a bit of interaction with Kermit backstage.

In episode 115, Fozzie constantly annoyed Kermit with a running gag, delivering a number of pun items, such as a "wire" and a "letter" for Kermit the Frog which turned out to be a clothes wire and the letter R, respectively.

Another running gag is Fozzie's hat - as a bear, he is naturally covered with fur, all over. However, upon remving his hat, it is clear that his head shape is modeled on the pate of a bald headed man - thus, the juxtaposition of being both furred and bald simultaneously.

Kermit and Fozzie have also frequently been paired together in countless movies, books, and specials. In The Muppet Movie, Fozzie was the first Muppet Kermit met on his journey. After Fozzie's unsuccessful comedy performance at the El Sleezo Cafe, Kermit invited Fozzie to come to Hollywood with him. The two friends sang the duet "Movin' Right Along" in the same film.

Fozzie was also frequently teamed up with Rowlf the Dog. In episode 101, Fozzie played a western bandit to Rowlf's role as a western hero. Fozzie also appeared in two Veterinarian's Hospital sketches, in which Rowlf starred as Dr. Bob.

In episode 218, Rowlf learned that Fozzie could play the piano, and they played the piano together in a performance of "English Country Garden". Rowlf has also played back-up to Fozzie's renditions of "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life for Me)" and "I've Got Rhythm." During the latter number, Rowlf attempted to help Fozzie with his singing.

The young incarnations of Fozzie and Rowlf were also frequently paired together on Muppet Babies.

He was the character most noticeably absent from the short-lived Muppets Tonight.

The character now belongs to The Walt Disney Company after Disney bought the franchise from The Jim Henson Company. The original puppet is kept in the teddy bear museum in Stratford-upon-Avon, founded by Gyles Brandreth.

Fozzie Bear's Roles

Fozzie Bear has been in every Muppet Movie. Here are some of the roles that he has played:

External links



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Last updated on Tuesday March 04, 2008 at 14:05:11 PST (GMT -0800)
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