Kenneth Cohen

Our Kermit the Frog is certainly one of the first ones, if not the first. Kermit the Frog sort of premieres in 1955 on a very short program called Sam and Friends that Jim Henson led. It was a five minute show on Washington DC's NBC affiliate station that ran in the evenings. There were all kinds of crazy characters in there. There was a snake named Icy Gunk.

Our Kermit the Frog is certainly one of the first ones, if not the first. Kermit the Frog sort of premieres in 1955 on a very short program called Sam and Friends that Jim Henson led. It was a five minute show on Washington DC's NBC affiliate station that ran in the evenings. There were all kinds of crazy characters in there. There was a snake named Icy Gunk.

There was a French rat, spoke in a French accent named Pierre. You know, and so there were these little short segments of these guys sort of doing wacky things or having wacky conversations. The original Kermit has split ping pong ball for eyes. The green comes from one of his mother's discarded jackets. And there's a sleeve because sort of operated the early Kermit like a sock puppet.

There was a French rat, spoke in a French accent named Pierre. You know, and so there were these little short segments of these guys sort of doing wacky things or having wacky conversations. The original Kermit has split ping pong ball for eyes. The green comes from one of his mother's discarded jackets. And there's a sleeve because sort of operated the early Kermit like a sock puppet.

There was a French rat, spoke in a French accent named Pierre. You know, and so there were these little short segments of these guys sort of doing wacky things or having wacky conversations. The original Kermit has split ping pong ball for eyes. The green comes from one of his mother's discarded jackets. And there's a sleeve because sort of operated the early Kermit like a sock puppet.

And the sleeve is made from a leg of Jim Henson's jeans. the muppets which evolved from salmon friends these are a group of oddballs um and and over time henson really became very conscious and intentional in embracing that characterization his shows become a lot about being accepted for who you are no matter what you look like

And the sleeve is made from a leg of Jim Henson's jeans. the muppets which evolved from salmon friends these are a group of oddballs um and and over time henson really became very conscious and intentional in embracing that characterization his shows become a lot about being accepted for who you are no matter what you look like

And the sleeve is made from a leg of Jim Henson's jeans. the muppets which evolved from salmon friends these are a group of oddballs um and and over time henson really became very conscious and intentional in embracing that characterization his shows become a lot about being accepted for who you are no matter what you look like

It's a great question because, you know, I think the way entertainment museums have evolved, they often get viewed as sort of halls of fame where really what you're enshrining is the celebrity or the accomplishments of the performer, whether it's an athlete or a musician or an actor. And that's not how we go about building the collection at the Smithsonian.

It's a great question because, you know, I think the way entertainment museums have evolved, they often get viewed as sort of halls of fame where really what you're enshrining is the celebrity or the accomplishments of the performer, whether it's an athlete or a musician or an actor. And that's not how we go about building the collection at the Smithsonian.

It's a great question because, you know, I think the way entertainment museums have evolved, they often get viewed as sort of halls of fame where really what you're enshrining is the celebrity or the accomplishments of the performer, whether it's an athlete or a musician or an actor. And that's not how we go about building the collection at the Smithsonian.

We are looking for things that sort of reflect broader American history. Now that might be an amazing accomplishment or achievement. You know, we also have a soccer jersey from the US Olympic soccer team in 1948 that lost by a larger margin than any other Olympic soccer team ever.

We are looking for things that sort of reflect broader American history. Now that might be an amazing accomplishment or achievement. You know, we also have a soccer jersey from the US Olympic soccer team in 1948 that lost by a larger margin than any other Olympic soccer team ever.

We are looking for things that sort of reflect broader American history. Now that might be an amazing accomplishment or achievement. You know, we also have a soccer jersey from the US Olympic soccer team in 1948 that lost by a larger margin than any other Olympic soccer team ever.

because that item sort of tells a story about American history and the place of soccer and American culture in a particular point of time. And so the same sort of rules can be applied to the puffy shirt. I mean, Seinfeld, the show, often gets famously tagged as being a show about nothing, right? Have you ever, have you heard that? In fact, that comes from a line in the first episode

because that item sort of tells a story about American history and the place of soccer and American culture in a particular point of time. And so the same sort of rules can be applied to the puffy shirt. I mean, Seinfeld, the show, often gets famously tagged as being a show about nothing, right? Have you ever, have you heard that? In fact, that comes from a line in the first episode

because that item sort of tells a story about American history and the place of soccer and American culture in a particular point of time. And so the same sort of rules can be applied to the puffy shirt. I mean, Seinfeld, the show, often gets famously tagged as being a show about nothing, right? Have you ever, have you heard that? In fact, that comes from a line in the first episode

The show actually, it's a misnomer because the show actually mined human foibles and frailty for like comic gold. You think about the puffy shirt for an example, it's about Jerry's hubris that episode really. He's trying to look the part of somebody famous when he goes on the Today Show. He's trying to be a big shot, right? And trying to make a statement.

The show actually, it's a misnomer because the show actually mined human foibles and frailty for like comic gold. You think about the puffy shirt for an example, it's about Jerry's hubris that episode really. He's trying to look the part of somebody famous when he goes on the Today Show. He's trying to be a big shot, right? And trying to make a statement.

The show actually, it's a misnomer because the show actually mined human foibles and frailty for like comic gold. You think about the puffy shirt for an example, it's about Jerry's hubris that episode really. He's trying to look the part of somebody famous when he goes on the Today Show. He's trying to be a big shot, right? And trying to make a statement.