Gonzo (Muppet)
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Gonzo (aka Gonzo the Great or the Great Gonzo) is a puppet character, one of Jim Henson's Muppets. He was developed and performed by Dave Goelz. The character made his first appearance in a 1970 Christmas special entitled "The Great Santa Claus Switch". Known as a whatever (or a weirdo on Muppet Babies), he is considered one of The Frackles. Since his character lived in a cigar box, he was called the "Cigar Box Frackle".
Unlike most of the central Muppets characters, Gonzo is not meant to represent a human being or an anthropomorphized animal, but sports a bizarre, non-human appearance, which includes blue fur, bug-eyes, and a long, bendy, phallic nose, thought to be inspired by the acorn weevil. On The Muppet Show he performed as a performance artist, stuntman and daredevil under the name "The Great Gonzo" (or "Gonzo the Great"). He takes pride in his iconoclasm, all the while romantically pursuing Camilla the chicken. In fact, Gonzo is friend to all chickens and is considered the show's expert on the species. In his early performances, Gonzo often complained about the people who did not appreciate his "art".
A running gag related to Gonzo is that it is not clear what species he is supposed to be, though some say he resembles a buzzard. John Cleese, in his appearance on the show, referred to him as "the ugly, disgusting little blue creature who catches cannonballs." In The Muppet Movie Kermit, while having his inner conversation, says "And Gonzo, I don't know what he is. Looks a little like a turkey.", to which his inner self replied "Yeah, a little, but not much." In the film The Great Muppet Caper, he is shipped to England in a crate labeled "Whatever" (while Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are respectively labeled "Frog" and "Bear"). In Muppet Babies Gonzo (voice of Russi Taylor) was simply referred to as a "weirdo" or "blue weirdo." He has referred to himself as a "whatever," resigned to ignorance of his actual species. In one episode, he dreams that he is an anteater (most fans believe he was intended to be one). In Muppets from Space it is revealed that Gonzo is an alien. It is not clear whether this is to be considered a canonical statement of Gonzo's origins.
Originally in the first season of The Muppet Show, the character had sad and immobile eyes. The producers noticed that he worked better in a more energetic form and modified the eyes to have movable eyelids which helped make him a more active character. As such, he became one of the principal characters in the series. Gonzo is known for his wild-eyed, optimistic attitude, yet he is also something of an intellectual. In his revised incarnation, Gonzo, rather than feeling misunderstood by the audience, was dedicated to performing for its own sake, regardless of audience reaction. In one episode, after Kermit decides to cancel a jousting sketch, Gonzo, in armor for the sketch, forces Kermit, at lance-point, to reverse the decision. Floyd Pepper, also in armor for the sketch, observes the exchange with amusement, then asks Gonzo, regarding the sketch, "Do you really think this will work?" Gonzo's reply: "No! Isn't it great?!"
His most well-known running gag is playing the final trumpet note of the opening Muppet Show theme and having some strange thing happen--the bell of the instrument explodes, sprays water, has an inflating balloon in it, et cetera. In the first season, Gonzo did not use a trumpet, but instead attempted to hit the white space within the "O" in the "Muppet Show" sign like a gong, usually with bad results. (Gonzo did finally hit that trumpet note - in the final episode of the series)
He has several memorable performances such as his song from The Muppet Movie, "I'm Going to Go Back There Some Day", or his rendition of "My Way". Gonzo fans would also recognise this quote: "I shall now eat a rubber tire to the music of The Flight of the Bumblebee...music, maestro!" Another famous performance is best summed up by his quote, "I shall now defuse this highly explosive bomb while simultaneously, and at the same time, reciting from the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley." Other acts include: tap-dancing "Top Hat" in a vat of oatmeal, hypnotizing chickens, catching cannonballs (Waldorf: "I've seen a lot of cannonball catching acts, but that one had something different. A survivor!") and being hammered feet first into a railway tie by two American Gladiators. He also played the part of narrator in The Muppet Christmas Carol, where he said "damn" at one point, though this is generally over-looked, ignored, or not known, as it was partialy censored.
In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Gonzo played a Tin Man-ish character primarily known as the "Tin Thing."
[edit] Gonzo's Friends And Family
Gonzo is good friends with Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. Gonzo's original love interest was Miss Piggy, though he also is romantically interested in Camilla the Chicken. It should be noted, however, that Gonzo's romantic escapades with chickens have virtually disappeared since Jim Henson's death, and Gonzo now spends most of his time with roommate and friend Rizzo the Rat. Gonzo has family in outer space, including his relative Ubergonzo, who appears in Muppets from Space, he is also known to have a cousin from Whitechapel. The two are indistinguishable, save for the latter's Cockney accent.
