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TV Animals

This month TV Acres goes Hollywood with

                  ...Miss Piggy
     
     Miss Piggy, the Muppet's leading lady, has blue eyes, blond hair, a will of iron and, of course, the most beautiful pinkish complexion. A background biography of Miss Piggy revealed that she was born in Hog Springs, Iowa; educated at Miss Worthington's Conservatory for Piglets; and had the shapely measurements of 27-20-32. When confronted with someone who doesn't agree with her, Miss Piggy simply uses her martial arts training and disposes of them with a resounding "Hi-Yah!" karate chop.  

     The New York Times Magazine reported "She grew up in a small town; her father died when she was young; her mother wasn't that nice to her. She had to enter beauty contests to survive, as many single women do. She has a lot of vulnerability which she has to hide, because of her need to be a superstar." Asked if all this fame has changed her, she replied "I am still just little 'Moi,' the same gorgeous and supremely talented pig." Continuing, she sighed "Beauty is my curse."

     Piggy's sweetheart is Kermit the Frog, the shy, philosophical emcee/manager of the Muppet show who is reluctant to accept her advances. He isn't sure he wants to be the father of a bunch of "Pogs."

     Besides starring role on the TV series THE MUPPET SHOW/SYN/1976-81 Miss Piggy's starred in the box office hit The Muppet Movie (1979), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984). In addition to her screen roles Miss Piggy published a self-help volume entitled Miss Piggy's Guide To Life (1981). Miss Piggy also starred in The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show, a variety special that aired 9/17/82. Foo-Foo is the name of Miss Piggy's French Poodle.

     The "Pigs in Space" segment of the syndicated puppet series THE MUPPETS/SYN/1976-81 starred Miss Piggy as the First Mate on the starship "Swinetrek," a jug-shaped spacecraft resembling a pig that drifted aimlessly through space. The end of each serial episode concluded with the announcer echoing "Tune in next week for another adventure of PIGS IN S-P-A-C-C-E!" This parody of STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69 was revived on MUPPETS TONIGHT/ABC/1996 in a new sketch called "Pigs in Space: Deep Dish Nine! The Next Generation of Pigs...in Space!" starring Miss Piggy and the new crew of the Swinetrek II. 

    Miss Piggy's most recent films include Muppet Classic Theater (1994); Muppets Treasure Island (1996); Muppets From Space (1999) and Muppet Race Mania (2000)

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TRIVIA NOTE: A forerunner to Miss Piggy was Shirley Swine (a.k.a. "Penny Pig"), a sexy, blond pig on BARNYARDVILLE VARIETIES/SYN/1951, a 15-minute puppet series produced by Puppet Plays, Inc. that featured the marionettes of Sue Hastings.  Reportedly, the Miss Piggy character (created in 1976) was modeled after Loretta Swit character, "Hot Lips" from the military comedy series M*A*S*H/CBS/1972-83. Piggy's voice is provided by Frank Oz.