Title: Heat rub

Date: 1982

Description: Dan tries to soothe Orson’s stiff neck.

Comments:

It’s considered bad form to break character, so after taping this bit I was really angry with myself and wanted to do it over.  Wallace said, “No—who’ll remember in 25 years?”

Looking back at these old videos, I’m really struck by how natty and dirty the original Orson looked—like a moldy gym sock found in a flea market parking lot.  When I made him in 1978, my goal was to make him look old; he was supposed to be 91.  But, I was 19 then and what did I know about making puppets?  The end result wasn’t “old” so much as “spent.”  He really looked like he’d been dragged behind a truck down a dirt road.  A few months or so after taping this bit I made Orson #2 (thus far there have been 5).  #2 is the one I used the rest of my time on the show and the one on display at the Arizona Historical Society museum.  The new puppet looked a little cleaner but still resembled a Muppet Show reject as my puppet making skills hadn’t improved much in the four years since making the first one.  (Ears seemed to pose a problem for me so neither Orson #1 or #2 had any—his hearing aid was just stuck to the side of his head.  I don’t think you can get lower budget than that.)  Today my original Orson is in a box in my garage.  I’ll never use him again but can’t part with him either.  Someday someone will open that box and wonder, why would anyone keep such a gamey old oven mitt?