Hop on the Kermit bandwagon

MUPPET creator Jim Henson and his amphibious friend have inspired a 'green' tourist attraction in the flatlands of the Mississippi Delta, reports Kathy Hanrahan.

Legend ... Jim Henson's first and most famous Muppet, Kermit with his banjo, have inspired an unlikely tourist attraction

ROAD signs of a flipper-waving Kermit the Frog attract thousands of visitors annually through the flatlands of the Mississippi Delta to the home town of the famous amphibian and his equally renowned creator, Jim Henson.

The city of Leland (population 5500) was where Henson lived from 1936 to '48. His childhood home was torn down years before he became famous.

But a permanent exhibit about Kermit called Birthplace Of The Frog: An Exhibit Of Jim Henson's Delta Boyhood, was created here after Henson's death in 1990. The exhibit was a gift to Leland from the Jim Henson Company.

Kermit, the original Muppet, sprang from Henson's childhood and memories of playing along nearby Deer Creek with childhood friend Theodore Kermit Scott, who is believed to be the inspiration for the frog's name.

"My wife says my smile looks just like the frog," said Scott, now a 70-year-old retired philosophy professor who lives in Monroe, Virginia.

Scott said that, as children, he and Henson used to play at Deer Creek and catch frogs.

The Kermit exhibit, in a three-room building along the banks of Deer Creek, features childhood photos of Henson and an actual Kermit puppet, with his banjo, sitting in a swamp-like setting.

"Everyone seems to know the work of Jim Henson and it just appeals to them," said Ashley Zepponi, the exhibit's director. "Most people are charmed by it."

Visitors from around the world are routinely among the 10,000 people who find their way here each year, Zepponi said.

Leland lies about 13km east of the Mississippi River and Greenville, where Henson was born, and it is only a short 2.4km from US61, otherwise known as Mississippi's Blues Highway.

Connor Ahearn, 26, and his brother Sean, 24, stopped over while on a cross-country road trip from Raymond, New Hampshire. A book of roadside attractions tipped them off to the exhibit.

"We both liked the Muppets growing up," Connor Ahearn said, while looking at a photo of the original Kermit puppet, sitting alongside his more modern counterpart.

Not many differences exist, except for original Kermit's more lizard-like appearance and paler skin tone.

The main room features the Swamp Kermit scene from the original Muppet Movie, a gift from the Jim Henson Foundation, enclosed in a glass case, and a viewing area showcasing episodes of The Muppet Show and other Henson works.

Recent additions to the exhibit are several puppets from Henson's The Song Of The Cloud Forest, a segment from one of his TV shows, about the importance of preserving South American rain forests and habitat. The brightly-coloured frogs and alligators are on loan from the Jim Henson Foundation.

Visitors can pause for a quick photo-op with an oversized stuffed Kermit, propped in front of a rainbow scene, and then wander into a Muppet memorabilia room, which features hundreds of donated items.

"It's just amazing the people who come in and they are all a part of it," said Zepponi.

Two shelves of Muppet items, including a plush Animal doll, were provided by San Diego resident Kevin Watson. "He contacted us to let us know that he absolutely had to have a part of his collection be a part of this exhibit," Zepponi said.

Zepponi said visitors often send items by mail.

The items on display include McDonald's Happy Meal toys, plush Kermit and Miss Piggy dolls, and vintage Muppet lunch boxes. There is also a special case devoted to Muppet Babies and Sesame Street.

Dorothy Dixon, 18, of Leland, grew up with Sesame Street and the Muppets. Her favourite movie was Muppets From Space.

For the true Muppets fanatic, the exhibit also has a gift shop with hand-puppets, T-shirts and all things Kermit – the top seller, of course, being "anything with Kermit on it," said Emily Kearney, a tour guide at the exhibit.

Kermit made his debut in a 1955 television comedy called Sam And Friends. The first puppet was fashioned from an old coat belonging to Henson's mother.

Henson and his 60-centimetre tall puppet joined Sesame Street in 1969. The Muppet Show followed in 1976 and ended its run in 1982. Henson's puppets moved to the big screen in 1979 with The Muppet Movie, followed by hit movies including The Great Muppet Caper and The Muppets Take Manhattan.

Henson gave Kermit a voice and a life for 35 years. After Henson's sudden death at age 53 from pneumonia and a strep infection, Kermit's voice and movements were done by Steve Whitmire, who started working for Henson in 1978.

Whitmire was a Kermit fan from the time he was a child – just like most of the people who stop by the exhibit in Leland.

The Sunday Telegraph