M is for Miss Piggy

In one rehearsal, I was working as Miss Piggy with Jim, who was doing Kermit, and the script called for her to slap him. Instead of a slap, I gave him a funny karate hit. Suddenly, that hit crystallized her character for me — the coyness hiding the aggression; the conflict of that love with her desire for a career; her hunger for a glamour image; her tremendous out-and-out ego — all those things are great fun to explore in a character.” — Frank Oz in The New York Times Magazine, June 10, 1979.

I have to admit I love all the Muppets, but one of my absolute favorites has to be Miss Piggy. Miss Piggy is a prima-donna pig who is absolutely convinced that she’s destined for stardom, and nothing is going to stand in her way. Her public face is the soul of feminine charm, but she can instantly fly into a violent rage whenever she thinks she’s insulted or thwarted. Kermit the Frog has learned this all too well; when she isn’t smothering him in kisses, she’s sending him flying through the air with a karate-chop. She’s pink and sparkly and can be as tough as nails.

The first known appearance of Miss Piggy was on the Herb Alpert TV special Herb Alpert and the TJB, broadcast on October 13, 1974, on ABC.  Since then, in addition to The Muppet Show, she has appeared in each of the Muppet movies and made for TV specials.She’s truly a three dimensional character, and is it any wonder everyone loves her? She’s gorgeous and strong. She can act, sing and dance. She can play a few instuments such as the trumpet and kazoo. She can bend metal, like the jail bars in The Great Muppet Caper. She can model, tap dance, swim, drive a truck, and ride a motorcycle. She just an all-around amazing pig.

I can’t show you my entire Muppet collection, because that might just make me seem crazy. Here are a few of my Miss Piggy things though.

 

And, since this is usually a book-related blog, I should add that she is also an author and has had several books published, including The Diva Code. I haven’t read it, but it looks fun.

The A to Z Challenge is hosted at its own blog.