Clifford (Muppet)
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Clifford is a Muppet character, performed by Kevin Clash. He is a violet-colored creature with orange dreadlocks and big lips. Like many other muppets, it is never specified what kind of creature he is, but it is speculated that he is in fact a catfish.
He was created to be part of the Solid Foam band on The Jim Henson Hour . In that series, Clifford usually wore Hawaiian shirts and always wore sunglasses. He played bass guitar. When the show got cancelled, Clifford was one of the only characters to appear after the end of The Jim Henson Hour. He appeared as part of the Electric Mayhem in The Muppets at Walt Disney World. In that special, he didn't play bass guitar; he did, however play glockenspiel, tambourine and cowbells. Clifford also made appearances on The Arsenio Hall Show and VH1.
In 1996, his star began to rise when he became the host of Muppets Tonight, but he wasn't the Clifford everyone was used to. This new Clifford had eyes and gave up Hawaiian shirts for sweaters and neck ties. The puppet's head was also built slightly differently. But after the show's end, he vanished once again. He had a small part in Muppets from Space, wearing sunglasses again but now wearing a brown leather jacket and striped shirt. While he was treated as a part of the Muppet family in the movie, his screen time was minimal and he was not part of the movie's main plot, a quest to rescue Gonzo. At MuppetFest (a Muppet fan convention held in 2001), Kevin Clash revealed that he hated the eyes and is happy Clifford is wearing sunglasses again. He made a brief cameo in The Muppets' Wizard of Oz as the manager of the nightclub Poppyfields.
