Recommended music: Tony Bennett and Johnny Fiama – Shaking the Blues Away
It’s #SomethingElseSunday, and we’re still celebrating 70 years of the Muppets! Today, from the Palisades Toys Muppets line, it’s Johnny Fiama!
Johnny Fiama first appeared in 1996 with a quick cameo in episode 103 of Muppets Tonight. Just a week later, he became a regular, showing up in 16 out of 22 episodes over the show’s two seasons. The New Jersey-born crooner sings in the style of Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett, and even performed a duet with Bennett in episode 106 for a recurring sketch called The Johnny Fiama Show. Johnny is usually seen with his primate bodyguard, Sal Minella, who is always ready to protect him if anyone interrupts his singing. I think my favorite Johnny Fiama moment is in episode 204, when Pierce Brosnan is the guest. Johnny sings “A cheap knock-off of a James Bond song” to the tune of Goldfinger with Sal on the trumpet.
After Muppets Tonight, Johnny Fiama showed up in several other Muppet projects, such as Muppets from Space, It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, and The Muppets’ Wizard of Oz. Bill Baretta played Johnny for 25 years, but the character hasn’t appeared since Muppets Haunted Mansion in 2021.
Palisades Toys made one of the few Johnny Fiama collectibles by including him in wave seven of their Muppets action figure line. The figure has detailed sculpting, 16 points of articulation, and a nice paint job. I’ve already shown the signature pinstripe-suit version from episode 105 of Muppets Tonight, but today I’m focusing on the burgundy-jacket variant. This casual suit version keeps the bar stool from the main release and the microphone (now painted gold), but swaps the record album for a different title and replaces Johnny’s framed photo with one of Mama Fiama.
Yes, I know the 70th anniversary of The Muppets has already passed, but I still have plenty of characters left to feature on the blog. Also, don’t miss the special event for The Muppet Show’s 50th anniversary, airing this Wednesday on Disney+ and ABC, February 4!
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