Muppet performers over the course of the show include Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Fran Brill, Eren Ozker, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, Kathryn Mullen, Karen Prell, Brian Muehl, Bob Payne, and John Lovelady.

A hallmark of these sketches was the improvisation between Jim Henson, who performed the Chef's head and voice, and Frank Oz, who was his hands.

Films produced by current Disney subsidiary The Jim Henson Company have also aired on Disney Channel in the past, although most of them are not presently owned by Disney, including The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, Buddy, The Muppet Movie, The Muppets Take Manhattan, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, Muppets From Space, The Muppets ' Wizard of Oz and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

Oz has performed as a Muppeteer in over 75 movies including Labyrinth, video releases, and television specials, as well as countless other public appearances, episodes of Sesame Street, and other Jim Henson series.

Oz began his behind-the-camera work when he co-directed the fantasy film The Dark Crystal with long-time collaborator Jim Henson.

" The act featured a small ball of fur growing into the Rock and Roll Monster ( performed by Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz ) with three heads and six arms lip-syncing to the song " Rock It to Me " by The Bruthers.

Kermit ( performed by Jim Henson ) teaches Grump ( performed by Frank Oz and voiced by Jerry Juhl ) about the Art of Visual Thinking.

Mert from the La Choy commercials and Fred from the Kern's Bakery commercials appear as Amanda's friends where they were performed by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl ( who also voices the narrator ) while Frank Oz does the puppeteering.

* Santa Claus Routine with Arthur Godfrey ( December 24, 1967 ) – Arthur Godfrey plays Santa Claus and gets a visit from a group of monsters consisting of Thudge ( performed by Jim Henson ), Gleep ( a protoype of Grover performed by Frank Oz ), Scudge ( performed by Jerry Juhl ), Snerk, and Snork ( performed by Frank Oz ).

Dasher and Donner were performed by Jim Henson, Prancer was performed by Frank Oz, Blitzen was performed by Jerry Juhl, and Dancer was performed by Bob Payne.

* Octopus's Garden ( March 1, 1970 ) – An octopus ( performed by Frank Oz ) constantly interrupts the singing of " Octopus ' Garden " by a diver ( performed by Jim Henson ) by giving out a bunch of bad puns until he receives comeuppance from a giant clam ( performed by Jerry Nelson ).

* The Wild String Quartet ( January 17, 1971 ) – Mahna Mahna ( performed by Jim Henson ) fills in for a violinist named Beagleman but ends up playing the drums instead much to the dismay of Twill ( performed by Jerry Nelson ), Harrison ( performed by Richard Hunt ), and Grump ( performed by Frank Oz ).

* The Glutton ( February 12, 1971 ) – An incredibly fat man called The Glutton ( performed by Jim Henson and assisted by Frank Oz ) kept eating things, before being shrunken by a small purple creature and then eaten by a duplicate of himself.

Jim Henson is one of the best known of modern recent puppeteers who with his associates Jerry Juhl and Frank Oz developed The Muppets for television.

Oz helped Jim Henson develop the Muppets.

Veteran performers Frank Oz and Dave Goelz operated various puppets in the film, as did Karen Prell, Ron Mueck and Rob Mills who had all worked with Henson on Fraggle Rock.

They are " Yip Yipped " by multiple muppeteers including Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Martin P. Robinson, and Kevin Clash.

After learning that the Muppets were used on Sesame Street, he rejoined Henson and Oz as a puppeteer, beginning in the second season.

Frank Oz did not perform on Fraggle Rock, and Jim Henson and Richard Hunt limited their time on the show, so they performed supporting characters.

Bert and Ernie were played by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, who in real life were, like the puppets they played, colleagues and friends.

The Dark Crystal is a 1982 British-American fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz.

Froud also collaborated with Henson and Oz for their next project, the 1986 film Labyrinth, which was notably more light-hearted than The Dark Crystal.

He was originally operated by Jim Henson and Frank Oz simultaneously, and is now puppeteered by Bill Barretta.

He also appeared as Jareth, the Goblin King, in the 1986 Jim Henson film Labyrinth, for which he wrote five songs.

He was also an Oscar-nominated film director, Emmy Award-winning television producer, and the founder of The Jim Henson Company, the Jim Henson Foundation, and Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Emmet Otter's Jug-band Christmas ( 1971 ), a children's storybook by Russell Hoban later adapted into a television special by Jim Henson, also contains similar plot themes.

Denver was also a guest star on The Muppet Show, the beginning of the lifelong friendship between Denver and Jim Henson that spawned two television specials with The Muppets.

" Oscar also appeared in the Jim Henson holiday special, A Muppet Family Christmas, when the Sesame Street Gang comes to the Grizzly Farm House for the holidays, in the film he befriends Rizzo the Rat ( whose name parodies that of the Midnight Cowboy character Ratso Rizzo ) who asks the Grouch if he could stay in his trash can for the night.

He also worked with the puppets on several of Henson's films ( both produced and directed by Henson ), including Labyrinth, starring David Bowie.

* I Feel Pretty ( April 30, 1967 ) – The story of an ugly girl named Amanda ( performed by Jim Henson ) who tries to become beautiful and tries to change her looks using a self-help book in order to gain the affection of Conrad Love ( also performed by Jim Henson ).

Another factor is his children-a son with his girlfriend Yvette ( Taraji P. Henson ) and a daughter with a girl named Peanut, who also lives with her mother.

Innovatory puppeteers such as Tony Sarg, Waldo Lanchester, John Wright, Bil Baird, Joan Baixas, Sergei Obratsov, Philipe Genty, Peter Schumann, Dattatreya Aralikatte, Jim Henson, Dadi Pudumjee, and Julie Taymor have also continued to develop the forms and content of puppetry, so that the phrase ' puppet theatre ' is no longer limited to traditional forms of marionettes, glove, or rod puppets.

The film also features an end credit stating that " Jim Henson acknowledges his debt to the works of Maurice Sendak ".

Members of Henson's family also worked on the production, including son Brian Henson and daughter Cheryl Henson.

Although he may be best known today as the creator of the Jimmy Dean sausage brand, he became a national television personality starting in 1957, rising to fame for his 1961 country crossover hit " Big Bad John " and his television series, The Jimmy Dean Show, which also gave puppeteer Jim Henson his first national media exposure.

Danson also appeared as Sam Malone in guest-starring roles on other sitcoms, such as Frasier ( a Cheers spin-off ), The Jim Henson Hour, and The Simpsons.

With the Muppets she also did Saturday Night Live, The Muppet Show, The Jim Henson Hour, Dog City, and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

In February 2011, Ginuwine co-starred in the Gospel Music Channel's debut of John Ruffin's stage play The Ideal Hustband which also stars Darrin Dewitt Henson, Jackée Harry, Clifton Powell, Shirley Murdock, Shanti Lowry and Erica Hubbard.

Henson also became an active Methodist preacher, and spoke as an abolitionist on routes between Tennessee and Ontario.

In this sketch, " Mr Smiley " ( as Grover calls him ) is also voiced by Jim Henson, but with a different voice to his game show personality.

Jim Henson and the other Muppeteers also created their own Muppetesque laugh track for their new Muppet Show, which sounded realistic and convincing by critics, fans, and even the guest stars they invited during its five-year run.

When Jerry Nelson left the Muppets citing health reasons, Muppeteer Steve Whitmire ( also a puppeteer for Sesame Street ) took over adding yet another new role to his credits ; his first two were that of Kermit the Frog ( Jim Henson ) and Beaker ( Richard Hunt ).