The Muppets to Receive Star on Walk of Fame

The Muppets will receive the 2,466th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Tuesday, honoring their more than 50 years of entertaining the public on television and in movies.

Lisa Henson, the oldest child of the Muppets' late creator, Jim Henson, and the chief executive officer of The Jim Henson Co., and Walt Disney Studios President Rich Ross are scheduled to speak at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony in front of the El Capitan Theatre.

The ceremony comes on the same day as The Muppets becomes available on DVD, Blu-ray, Digital Download and On-Demand.

Initially created by Henson in the mid-1950s for the Washington, D.C., local television series, Sam and Friends, the Muppets' 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 most famous Muppet, 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 eight 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 will join 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.

Kermit the Frog and Big Bird from Sesame Street have their own stars, as does Henson.

— City News Service