The Muppets Receive Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame honoring The Muppets was unveiled Tuesday in front of the by the large, hairy ogre Sweetums and Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer Leron Gubler amid a burst of confetti.

"We are just really happy to be on Hollywood Boulevard today, joining some of the greatest names in show biz," said the most famous Muppet, Kermit the Frog.

Fellow Muppets Fozzie Bear, Gonzo the Great, Animal, Pepe the King Prawn and the newest Muppet, Walter, then uttered names of fellow Walk of Fame honorees — Milton Berle, Don Knotts, Edgar Bergen and Judge Judy — with Miss Piggy mentioning Joan Crawford, Bette Davis and Norma Desmond.

Kermit than corrected her, saying "Norma Desmond is a fictional star."

Miss Piggy responded, "Aren't they all?"

Desmond was a faded star of silent movies portrayed by Gloria Swanson in the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard.

Miss Piggy then asked Gubler, "Is it time now for moi to do my medley of every song ever written from every great movie musical ever made?"

Kermit responded, "We'll see if we can get to that later in the show."

Earlier, Lisa Henson, the oldest child of The Muppets' late creator Jim Henson and the chief executive officer of The Jim Henson Co., said, "Now The Muppets have truly arrived with their own star on Hollywood Boulevard in this amazing location which also happens to be very near my father's star and Kermit's star.

"As The Muppets once sang, 'Look at us, here we are, right where we belong.' Yes they do belong, thanks to the lovers, the dreamers and you the fans," paraphrasing lyrics from the sentimental ballad "The Rainbow Connection" from The Muppet Movie.

The unveiling of the 2,466th Walk of Fame star came on the same day as the 2011 film The Muppets became available on DVD, Blu-ray, Digital Download and On-Demand.

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Initially created by Henson in the mid-1950s for the Washington, D.C., local television series, Sam and Friends, their popularity grew in the 1960s through appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jimmy Dean Show.

The Muppets have been an integral part of Sesame Street since the Public Broadcasting Service children's educational series' 1969 debut.

From 1976-81, The Muppets had their own syndicated comedy-variety series, The Muppet Show, which was hosted by the Kermit the Frog and introduced Miss Piggy.

The Muppet Show won four Emmys, including as the outstanding comedy- variety or music series in 1978, the same year it received a Peabody Award.

There have been seven Muppet films, beginning with The Muppet Movie in 1979. The Muppets, the first Muppets film since Muppets in Space in 1999, became the first to win an Academy Award, receiving the best original song Oscar for "Man or Muppet."

Other projects include record albums, books, television specials, a comic strip and a magazine.

Although the bulk of Walk of Fame stars honor people, The Muppets joined Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck, Godzilla, Mickey Mouse, Rugrats, Shrek, The Simpsons, Snow White, Tinker Bell, Winnie-the-Pooh and Woody Woodpecker as characters having stars.

The Muppets are also represented on the Walk of Fame by Big Bird from Sesame Street.

— City News Service