Fozzie Bear
| Fozzie Bear | |
|---|---|
| The Muppets character | |
 |
|
| First appearance | The Muppet Show (1976) |
| Created by | Jim Henson |
| Voiced by | Greg Berg (Muppet Babies) |
| Performed by |
|
| Information | |
| Species | Muppet bear |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Stand-up comedian |
| Family | Emily Bear (mother) |
| Nationality | American |
Fozzie Bear is a Muppet character known for his lacking of innate and effective comedy skills. Fozzie is an orange-brown bear who often wears a brown pork pie hat and a red-and-white polka-dot necktie. The character debuted on The Muppet Show, as the show's stand-up comic, a role where he constantly employed his catchphrase, "Wocka Wocka Wocka!" Shortly after telling the joke, he was usually the target of ridicule, particularly from balcony hecklers Statler and Waldorf. Fozzie's characterization was developed by Frank Oz, who performed Fozzie until 2000. Eric Jacobson has since become the character's principal performer.
Though it is often thought that Fozzie's name is a pun of Frank Oz (F.Oz), the character was actually named after Al Fuzzie, the mascot of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority in the mid-1970s. Henson's wife, Jane, was a member of the sorority.
Fozzie Bear was originally Oz's main character. The popularity of Miss Piggy overtook Fozzie's, but he remained popular. One of his largest roles ever was in A Muppet Family Christmas, where he took all of his friends to his mother's farm for Christmas.
In 1988, a video titled Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear! was released, and was intended to help kids develop comedic talent.
During the 1990s, his roles became much smaller, due to the fact that Oz had turned his focus to directing non-Muppet films and reduced his time with the Muppets. Fozzie was only a supporting character in the Muppet films of that decade and only appeared in six episodes of Muppets Tonight. However, he returned to prominence when Eric Jacobson took over beginning with It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, in which Fozzie was the focus of a number of scenes.
...
Wikipedia