Recommended music: The Muppet Show Episode 306: Jean Stapleton – “I’m Just Wild About Harry”
Coming in hot this #SomethingElseSunday, we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! Here’s a Muppet character you’ve seen many times who always ends the scene with the bang. From the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s Crazy Harry!
Harry made his debut in the 1974 Muppet Show pilot “The Muppets Valentine Show.” He was originally called Crazy Donald. This name referred to Don Sahlin, the Muppet builder who created the Muppets’ special effects explosions at the time. For his appearance in the next pilot, “The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence,” the name was changed to Crazy Harry
The character appeared in more than 20 episodes of The Muppet Show during its run and dozens of other Muppet productions since. He is known for popping up when any character makes the smallest mention of anything explosion-related, repeats what was stated as a question, and then sets off an explosion himself. In 2007, Muppets writer Jim Lewis was asked why Harry was seen less frequently. He replied, “A combination of things. First, Jerry Nelson performs Crazy Harry, and his availability is one factor. Second, Crazy Harry is always punctuation, so the scene has to fit his personality and his unique talent for blowing things up. And third, unofficially, I find that in a post-9/11 world, blowing stuff up—even in foolish fun—isn’t as funny as it once was. But again, that’s my personal opinion.”
In the Palisades toy line, Harry made his debut in series 2 and was the only Crazy Harry toy available until being included in Disney’s Vinylmation line. The figure came well armed with two sticks of dynamite, a barrel of gun powder, a bomb, and a spring-loaded plunger. The cannon here was borrowed from another line but fits perfectly for the season two sketch where the Great Gonzo attempts to catch a cannonball with Harry as his assistant.
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Recommended video: The Muppet Show Episode 223 Gonzo & Crazy Harry Sketch
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