Rowlf - Rowlf, a talkative, brown puppet dog with floppy ears, and fur (that resembled cheap shaggy motel carpeting) seen on the musical variety program THE JIMMY DEAN SHOW/CBS/1957-66. On a weekly basis, Rowlf joked with country singer star Jimmy Dean. who referred to Rowlf as "My Ol' Buddy." In 1976, Rowlf starred on the syndicated puppet series THE MUPPETS where he played a piano amidst the confusion created by other zany muppet characters like Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy and Fozzy the Bear. Once on THE MUPPET SHOW, Rowlf said to guest pianist Victor Borge. "I play ragtime, or Liszt but not Offenbach." The Rowlf puppet character (voice of Jim Henson) frequently appeared on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW and with Johnny Carson on THE TONIGHT SHOW. On the variety program THE MUPPET SHOW/SYN/1976-81, Rowlf resurfaced in a skit entitled "Veterinary Hospital" where Rowlf played a surgeon assisted by Miss Piggy and Janice, a California surfer girl. The skit began "and now Veterinary Hospital, the continuing story of a former orthopedic surgeon gone to the dogs." The puppet Ralph was originally created by Jim Henson's assistant, Don Sahlin for a dog food commercial in the 1950s.