True Love Reunited: Miss Piggy and Kermit Together Again
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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — One of the most famous television couples of all time was reunited Tuesday at the Smithsonian. Miss Piggy will finally be joining her beloved Kermit the Frog, thanks to a donation of 20 puppets to the National Museum of American History by Jim Henson’s family.
Other famous faces include Bert and Ernie, Elmo, the Swedish Chef, and characters from Fraggle Rock. The museum already has the first Kermit, as well as a more recognizable Kermit the Frog from Sesame Street, as well as Oscar the Grouch.
Miss Piggy’s designer and builder, Connie Erickson, said she knows the most famous pig in the world is “very happy” to be reunited with her love, but noted, tongue-in-cheek, “I’m not sure how Kermit feels.”
Cheryl Henson, Jim and Jane Henson’s second child, said they are “really touched” that the Smithsonian wants the puppets, which were being housed in boxes previously. They unveiled them Tuesday, which would have been Jim Henson’s 77th birthday.
“To have my dad’s work placed in the context of American culture, that’s just the coolest thing,” Henson said, adding that she feels as though the puppets are members of her family.
“When I look at this table of puppets they are each one such a strong personality and I look at them and I can hear them talking,” Henson said. “I hope that new generations will find the heart and the soul and the humor and the wackiness that was my father’s work.”
Erickson, who is also the executive director of the Jim Henson Legacy, said she is most pleased that they will now be taken care of “in a way that we have never been able to until now.”
“I just can’t even express how pleased I am to have them here knowing they are in such good hands, the conservators here, the curators here are going to tell the story,” Erickson said.
Miss Piggy will be part of the museum’s permanent “American Stories” exhibit beginning next March. Several other puppets will go on display this November.
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