Scooter (Muppet)

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Scooter is a bespectacled character from The Muppet Show who was the troupe's backstage "gofer". He was originally performed by Richard Hunt.

1 Characteristics
2 Roles
3 Casting History
4 References
5 External links

Characteristics

He is orange with a darker orange sprout of hair. In keeping with the jokes about bespectacled Muppets such as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Scooter's eyes are actually the lenses of his glasses. Behind the glasses frames, there's nothing but his orange skin (although unlike Bunsen, whose glasses were transparent Scooter had actual "eyes" with pupils that were attached to the glasses' lenses). Hunt based Scooter's personality on his own self from when he was younger.

A few things have been revealed about Scooter's family. As cited in Of Muppets and Men, when pressed about his family, he explained that his mother was a parrot but he didn't know about his father. However, this is not necessary canonical. Scooter's uncle J.P. Grosse is clearly a humanoid Muppet, suggesting that Scooter is meant to be one as well.

In the Muppet Babies animated series, he was redesigned as a brainy, computer-knowledgeable child and given a tomboyish twin sister named Skeeter (who does not appear in any other Muppets-related projects, other than the Muppet Kids books, which were really a tie-in to the cartoon).

Roles

Originally, Scooter got his job as a "gofer" because his uncle had the theatre, and he maintained it through a combination of efficiency and nepotism. Scooter's rich uncle J. P. Grosse owned the theater where Kermit the Frog and company performed their shows. Originally, Scooter would often use his family connection to his advantage, making unreasonable demands on his uncle's behalf.

His antagonistic role was gradually discarded, and he became a legitimate assistant to Kermit, with the two becoming friends. Eventually, his job was often closer to that of a stage manager, or even that of a subordinate producer, and he would do whatever he could to help Kermit to (albeit unsuccessfully) keep order among the Muppets.

In the second through fourth seasons, Scooter featured in the cold openings, where he would enter the guest star's dressing room to tell them "fifteen seconds to curtain." In the dressing room, a gag or short comical sketch would occur before the opening theme song. For the fifth season, a new style of cold opening featuring Pops replaced this format.

Scooter sometimes helped Miss Piggy to get Kermit to be romantically interested in her. He was also on good terms with Fozzie Bear, being less annoyed with his jokes than most people, and they performed a duet or double act onstage in a few episodes.

His relationship with Floyd Pepper, who frequently appeared backstage, may be comparable to Hunt's relationship with Jerry Nelson. The two puppeteers frequently collaborated, with the elder Nelson helping the younger Hunt to develop his performing abilities from the start. Hunt and Nelson were also known for being vocally talented, and Scooter sat in with the band on occasion (as a vocalist or guest musician). Scooter and Floyd's rendition of "Mr. Bass Man" symbolizes Hunt and Nelson's relationship.

Scooter has appeared in most Muppet films. In The Muppet Movie, Scooter acts as The Electric Mayhem's manager. In The Great Muppet Caper, he was a resident of the Happiness Hotel. In The Muppets Take Manhattan, he was among the core group who attended college and struggled to put their show on. In this appearance, he took a leadership role in Kermit's absence, making decisions for the group to follow. Also, Scooter makes an appearance in the queue line TV's in the Disney Theme Parks show "Jim Hensons's Muppet Vision 3D" in Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's California Adventure.

Following the original performer's death in 1992, Scooter was retired until 1999 when he had a cameo in Muppets From Space, with one line of dialogue. He had somewhat larger roles in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) and the The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) (in the latter he played the assistant to the Wizard). He was last seen in the second Studio DC: Almost Live special (2008).

Casting History

Unlike most major Muppets, Scooter has been performed by a total of seven different people. Despite remaining a consistent member of the cast since his return in 1999, he has yet to find a permanent performer.