Sam and Friends

Sam and Friends was the first TV show created by puppeteer Jim Henson and his wife Jane that was filmed in Washington, D.C. The show ran from May 9, 1955 to December 15, 1961 and had a total of 86 episodes. Some of the episodes that have been taped have been shown at the Paley Center for Media, others have been shown at screening events at venues like the Museum of the Moving Image. The remaining episodes have been erased, and some remaining are possibly stored in archives in Long Island.

Existing
A handful of episodes that have been taped have been shown at the Paley Center for Media; others have been shown at screening events at venues like the Museum of the Moving Image. A compilation of the show's episodes can be found on YouTube, but does not include all the episodes.


 * C'est Si Bon: In a French village setting, Moldy Hay lipsynchs to Stan Freberg's rendition of "C'est Si Bon," with Hank and Frank repeating his dialogue too literally as backup choir.


 * Chef Omar: Omar prepares a chef salad, which blows up in his face when he serves it flaming.


 * Glow Worm: Humming along to "The Glow-Worm", Kermit is bugged by some inchworm-like fingers and is later met with a human hand.


 * A Horse Named Bill: Kermit lipsynchs and plays the banjo to a recording of "A Horse Named Bill". This sketch is sometimes called "Loona" (referencing the singer's object of affection, Luna) when featured in exhibits.


 * Hawk's Bacon (Esskay Meats commercial): Kermit and Harry sing the Esskay Meats song.


 * Hunger is From: Lipsynching to "Hunger is From", Yorick details his midnight snacking while eating a plate full of food.


 * Huntley and Brinkley: In a parody of The Huntley-Brinkley Report, Kermit hosts an interview with NBC News anchormen Chet Huntley and David Brinkley (as played by Hank and Frank).


 * I've Got You Under My Skin: Icky Gunk, and Hank and Frank serve as chorus singers in a lipsynched rendition of Stan Freberg's "I've Got You Under My Skin" while Kermit, in spoken dialogue, messes up the lyrics.


 * Poison to Poison: Lipsynching to the Spike Jones track "Poisen to Poisen", Harry the Hipster (as "Ed Burrow") interviews Chicken Liver (as Alfred Hitchcock) in his rather horrifying home.


 * Powder-Burn: A pun-filled Gunsmoke parody with Marshall Dilly (Chicken Liver) preparing for a showdown with Black Bart (Yorick) which results in a game of chess.


 * Singin' in the Rain: A little girl Muppet lipsynchs to a double-speed version of "Singin' in the Rain". The scene ends with her submerged in a bucket of water.


 * That Old Black Magic (1957): Kermit and Sam lipsynch to a recording of "That Old Black Magic" by Louis Prima and Keely Smith. This was also performed on The Today Show.


 * Visual Thinking (1959): In a mix of puppetry and animation, Harry demonstrates the art of Visual Thinking to Kermit -- and what it does to you once it gets out of control.


 * The Westerners: Lipsynching to the Bob and Ray recording The Westerners, Kermit and Chicken Liver are two cowboys who are having a little trouble getting off their horses. This sketch is sometimes called "Riding Horses Backwards" in exhibitions.


 * Weather Warehouse: Harry demonstrates to a skeptical Kermit his new business for selling weather, and gives him a tour of the warehouse. Only a brief footage of the skit is found, but the full sketch has not surfaced.


 * The Yellow Rose of Texas: Kermit lipsynchs to a Stan Freberg recording of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" and deals with an out-of-control drummer. Only a brief footage of the skit is found, but the full sketch has not surfaced.


 * Final Episode (December 15, 1961): Kermit sings a song, then discusses the end of the series with Harry -- who blows up all the scenery and equipment since they won't need it anymore. (This sketch is not generally available for viewing, although the footage is known to still exist.)

Documented
While video footage for some segments do exist, some other episodes have been documented by either the Henson Archives or some published newspaper articles while Sam and Friends was still on television during the timeframe from 1955-1961.


 * The Muppets made regular appearances on Today beginning in 1961. Some of these segments were performed from their Sam and Friends set, communicating with Today hosts via satellite. A clip of one such performance of "Yes! We Have No Bananas" is found in an NBC special for Time and Again.


 * Hank, Sam, and Moldy Hay in a car by a roadside sign. Video footage is not known to exist, but a photo appears in Jim Henson: The Works.


 * Kermit and Harry the Hipster with Professor Madcliffe in a factory. Video footage is not known to exist, but a photo of the sketch is pictured on the right.


 * Kermit performs a parody of "Anything You Can Do" with prerecorded footage of himself.


 * Stan Freberg himself pops his head into frame and criticizes the Muppets for using his records without giving him credit. Kermit says "here's a little credit" and pounds him back out of frame with a mallet.


 * Henson used a puppet made from the skull of a squirrel to lipsynch to a recording of "There's a New Sound."


 * In The Muppet Show episode 218, Kermit introduces "Tweedle Dee" as "the very first piece of material the Muppets ever did ... about 23 years ago."


 * Elvis Presley recordings were used as satire.


 * A sad love song is sung by a Muppet who holds a picture of his lady-love upside-down.


 * One segment involves a character running around frantically looking for a hammer to use on his rocket.

Memory-known lost episodes
This is a list for any of the wiped/lost episodes known from memories of those who grew up watching Sam and Friends while it was still on the air. However, Muppet Wiki cannot trust memories for their articles, so they cannot add these memory-known episodes to the Sam and Friends article. A YouTuber has posted a comment on the YouTube video for That Old Black Magic, stating some of the lost Sam and Friends episodes he remembers from memory as he watched the show on TV during his childhood.


 * Banana Boat (Day-O): Kermit and Sam lipsynch to a Stan Freberg recording of "Banana Boat (Day-O)." This was filmed in color.


 * Yes! We Have No Bananas: Kermit, Chicken Liver, Moldy Hay, and Harry lipsynch to "Yes! We Have No Bananas."


 * Magical Sam (1960): Sam performs some magic tricks, including the famous rabbit hat trick, card stick to the wall, and a long rope in the mouth-- some tricks work and some don't (accompanied by small amounts of claps and gasps from the audience). An echoing voice says "Any volunteers?" Then Harry steps up as a volunteer to turn into a dog, but Sam accidentally uses the wrong spell and the trick goes awry, turning Harry into a monster. Sam becomes terrified and runs away as the now monster Harry just waves goodbye.﻿ Video footage is not known to exist, but a photo of the sketch is pictured on the right.


 * Little Blue Riding Hood: With characters lipsynching to a Stan Freberg recording, the skit opens with a title card that says "Muppet News," featuring Sam as the news anchor. The scene then cuts to Omar (playing the detective, sporting a detective suit and fedora), and Henrietta (playing the girl in the blue hood). The scene then cuts to Omar ringing the doorbell to talk to Henrietta's grandma (played by Mushmellon wearing glasses and an old lady wig). Omar was on the bed, whereas Henrietta walks in and tells Omar that her grandma has a mustache and she doesn't. The skit ends with Sam and Omar talking. This skit was filmed in color.


 * That's What I Like About the South: Sam, sporting a tuxedo, lipsynchs to a Phil Harris recording.


 * Jailhouse Rock (stated in the Documented episodes above): Hank, Frank, Pierre, and Yorick in prisoner outfits (with Pierre and Yorick donning B&W-striped jail hats) dance behind jail bars and lipsynch to an Elvis Presley recording, up until they run away from Sam (sporting a cop outfit) at the end of the song.


 * The Great Pretender: Moldy Hay (lead singer) and Icky Gunk (pianist) lipsynch to the Platters recording. This skit was filmed in color.


 * Looking for a Hammer (stated in the Documented episodes above): Professor Madcliffe builds a rocket and needs one more touch. He thinks he lost his hammer, then he starts panicking and running across the world. First, he rushes to Paris where he tells Pierre the French Rat, "Have you seen a hammer around here?!" "Nope," says Pierre (with a voice sounding like that from Stan Freberg's "C'est Si Bon" recording). Madcliffe then bolts over to Mexico and meets up with Chicken Liver, who is riding a horse (which may be a reference to "The Westerners" clip). "Have you seen a hammer around here?!" yells Madcliffe. "Que?" asks Chicken Liver in a Spanish accent. Professor repeats his line in Spanish. "No," says Chicken Liver. Professor nods his head, then travels over to Britain, with Kermit asking the same question and responding with a British accent. The title card "34 hours later" follows up, then Madcliffe returns to his lab and suddenly notices his hammer lying in the corner all this time-- he then facepalms.


 * Driving a Car (stated in the Documented episodes + pictured above): Another Esskay Meats commercial. Hank, Sam, and Moldy Hay are driving a car by a roadside sign. Not much else is known about this skit, but there was a female narrator voice talking to Moldy Hay (hence why he's looking toward the viewer), and the skit ends with them driving to a grocery store﻿.

Unknown/unconfirmed episodes
According to a Muppet Wiki talk page about Sam and Friends, someone has received an email from an anonymous user stating that there were two other sketches called "National Yorick Day" and "The 12 Days of Christmas," but so far, no physical evidence of this has been put forward. This is a list for episodes that appear whether or not to be confirmed of having appeared on Sam and Friends.


 * National Yorick Day


 * The 12 Days of Christmas


 * Sad love song of a puppet holding a picture upside down (stated in the Documented episodes above)


 * I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face (pictured to the right): Kermit, wearing a wig, lipsynchs to a Rosemary Clooney recording, singing to Yorick, who is disguised completely in a a piece of cloth with a face drawn on it. As Kermit continues singing, Yorick eventually starts eating the cloth and revealing himself, then tries to nibble on Kermit's foot as he tries to finish the song. This was performed on several of the Muppets' guest appearances on certain talk shows like The Steve Allen Show, The Jack Paar Show, The Ed Sullivan Show and The Dick Cavett Show, but according to Jim Henson's Red Book, the sketch originated on Sam and Friends, but it is unknown whether this could be proven.