Marvin Suggs
| Marvin Suggs | |
|---|---|
| The Muppets character | |
| First appearance | The Muppet Show |
| Performed by |
|
| Information | |
| Species | Muppet whatnot |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | musician |
| Nationality | Italian |
Marvin Suggs is a recurring Muppet character, that usually appears during musical acts, starting with The Muppet Show, and most recently in the 2011's The Muppets.
Marvin is a blue "whatnot" Muppet that wears a frilly, multicolored shirt. He is best known for "playing" an instrument known as a muppephone[1] or Muppaphone,[2] a group of small, round, furry pink and orange Muppets that emit a tonal "ow" (voiced by Henson and Jerry Nelson[3]) when Marvin strikes them on the head with his mallet. During the third season of The Muppet Show, Suggs and the Muppaphone were part of an "explicit criticism of violence" with Suggs being explicitly punished for his violence in an episode where a witchdoctor turns Suggs into a Muppaphone.[2]
On the The Muppet Show 25th Anniversary Collection, Oz stated, "I don't recall where Marvin Suggs came from... probably from one of the writer's meetings. But the accent came from my French friend Phillippe Gentry - I just exaggerated it and made it really annoying. I've always felt Marvin lived in a scuzzy trailer park with his put-upon wife, and he kept the Muppaphones in a cage and would beat them regularly." The act has been compared to the sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus called "Arthur Ewing and His Musical Mice".[3]
See also
References
- ↑ Blumenthal, Eileen. Puppetry and Puppets. Thames & Hudson. p. 155. ISBN 0-500-51226-4.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (2009-01-01). Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets. McFarland. pp. 151–. ISBN 9780786453757. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Childs, T. Mike (2004-11-06). The Rocklopedia Fakebandica. St. Martin's Press. pp. 3–. ISBN 9780312329440. Retrieved 21 April 2013.