Memories...

Duncan Kenworthy

"Jim was single-minded about the real reason for doing this series. It was for the world, for the audience in all those different countries that had been joined together by the Muppet Show.' We're not doing this to make money or to be back on television, ' he insisted. 'Its got to have an idea.' He was talking a lot at that time about the arms race and how crazy it was.

By the time, later on, when it came down to five of us creating the series, he knew exactly what the idea was. He sat us down in his front room in Hampstead and said our task was to create a series that was going to stop war in the world.

"When everyone had stopped laughing, picked themselves up off the floor, and saw that Jim was serious, we started to talk about what it meant. Obviously, if you were going to change the world's ideas about how to resolve conflict, You had to start with children. And so we begun."

- Duncan Kenworthy (creative consultant), Jim Henson: The Works



Jocelyn Stevenson

"Jim, Jerry Juhl, Duncan Kenworthy, Michael Frith, and I spent most of the day trying to come up with names for the characters for the project we were calling 'The International Children's Show.'

At that point, it was definitely on its way to becoming Fraggle Rock, but it wasn’t there yet. And we hadn't been able to think of a good name for the little guys who worked all the time. Workalots? Too obvious. Drudgies? Too much attitude. Rgllmzaxoops? Too hard to spell.

"It was a lovely day, so we decided to clear our minds with a walk on Hampstead Heath. Jim and I walked together, deep in thought. He occasionally said 'Hmmm…' but that was about it until we reached the bench which Jim had dedicated to Don Sahlin, a Heath-lover himself.

"'Want to sit on Don's bench?' asked Jim. So we did. At the same time. And the minute we both touched wood, we said, out loud, simultaneously - Doozers! Perfect name! 'I knew Don would figure out a way to work on this show,' said Jim. So we thanked him and went back to work."

- Jocelyn Stevenson (writer & creative consultant), Jim Henson: The Works 



Robert Mills

Attached is a photo of myself and Steve Whitmire shooting an episode of Fraggle (Episode 86: The Voice Inside) where Sprocket braves a sand storm with a Doozer. In the photo you can see Steve holding up just the legs of Sprocket; it's a close shot of the Doozer character, which I am performing. The "sand storm" was created using high speed fans, smoke machines and (believe it or not) Rice Krispies. The filter mask I'm wearing is against the smoke. The safety goggles are for protection from the high speed rice krispies ... which really hurt when they are flung at you like that. The brave and dangerous world of puppeteering.

Most of us were very young and silly in those days (some of us still are) and this was especially true on Fridays. Almost every Friday we went into overtime. Late overtime. Into the wee hours of the morning overtime. This was sometimes due to the complexities involved in shooting with Doozers or if it was a heavy Gorg show.

One Friday stands out because we had a lot of dry ice fog used in a lengthy night scene around the Gorg's castle. Tim McElcheran, our special effects wizard, left a big box of dry ice and a heating unit out in the studio hall. Gord Robertson (still wearing his Pa Gorg bottoms) and I were very punch drunk with fatigue. We got the idea to fill the toilets with dry ice. Lots of fun as the fog rolled out over the rim and across the floor. But why stop there?

We filled the hallway with fog. Almost three feet deep. That's when we heard someone coming. Quick, let's down and hide in the fog! The footsteps approached and stopped. We heard a voice say: "What the - ?" and that's when Gord and I suddenly sat up ... scaring the crap out of Jerry Juhl. 

Just another Friday night at Fraggle Rock. Then there was the time we escaped from the studio in our costumes and hailed a taxi out on the street ... but that's another story.

- Rob Mills (puppeteer)



Jerry Juhl

From the beginning we knew that music had to be an important part of the show. We also knew that we were going to shoot in Toronto, so we put out the word that we were accepting audition tapes from Canadian children's composers.

Two weeks later I walked into an office that was knee deep in cassettes and resumes. I spent a week listening to tapes. Now I have to tell you, most song writers, when they decide to work for children, get really cliche-ridden and really condescending. I heard hundreds of songs about teddy bears at bedtime and ice cream and mommy's hugs.

Then someone gave me a tape from two guys named Phil Balsam and Dennis Lee. Phil was a laid-back musician who liked to get together once in awhile with one of his neighbors, Dennis Lee, to have a couple of beers and fool around with music. Dennis was one of Canada's most prominent poets, who published serious adult work but had also done a couple of volumes of goofy children's verse. Just for fun, he and Phil had turned those poems into songs.

I put the cassette on one morning in my hotel room while I was brushing my teeth. And then I stood, unmoving, foaming at the mouth, listening to these amazing songs that managed to be absolutely "hip" (that being the cool word of the day) and quirkily innocent all at the same time.

Two days later I had a meeting with Dennis, who sat in my office for half an hour, smoking his pipe, and quietly, seriously explaining to me why I should NOT hire him! But I did anyway. Phil and Dennis wrote the music for 90-95% of all the episodes, doing three songs per show, defining the soul of the Rock.

- Jerry Juhl, (creative producer & writer)



click the image above to hear Jerry!