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- [00:00]
Podcast Host / Advertiser
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- [00:48]
Advertiser / Sponsor Voice
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- [01:35]
Katie Charlwood
Hello delicious friends, and welcome to who did what Now? The history podcast. That is not your history class with me, your host, Katie Charlwood, history harlot and reader of books. I think I may have bitten off a little bit more than I can chew this month or next month I should say. So I decided that April being the month that it is that I was going to cover the Titanic. You know, I don't know if you know this, but I was on the BBC as a Titanic expert so that was quite fun. So I was like, oh, I know lots of weird information about this but like what do people want to know? I'll ask and you know, I'll get a couple of questions and I'll answer them in videos and it'll help like pad out, you know, the bits of the month that I don't have structured. Now that's all fine and well until I was looking, you know, I went onto Instagram and I was like, oh, there's so many questions. That's fantastic. And then I go into Facebook and there's like 900 questions. Now, some of them are the same one like, and I shit you not, could Jack and Rose fit on the door? Which is a question I am actually going to answer because it annoys me so much. So I'm going to do it. I have to talk about physics, which is my least favourite thing in the world. Well, maybe not my least favourite, but, like, it's not my top level of subject that I like to chat about. Fucking physics. I don't have a brain for physics, guys. And yet I have to explain this. Just like the glass slipper. We're not going to get into it. We're going to. We're going to breathe in positivity and we're going to breathe out negativity. There we go. It's all good, it's all good. But, yeah, it was. That was a choice that I made and I had a really fun weekend. I went to see my friend Paul, who was telling me his wonderfully terrible, like, speed dating, like, stories because he decided he was gonna, like, try his hand at speed dating. Spoiler alert. It did not go well. It did, however, go quite funny. But, yeah, that was a good time. So we did an escape room. And I'm gonna complain about an escape room now, I'm not gonna tell you which one it is, but effectively the very first clue is like, oh, the first thing to change was time. And then even, like, I'm looking for clocks or something like time related, right? And you know, the, you know, the game master will sometimes give you a hint if you're struggling and they're like, yeah, no, you need to look for a clock. There was no clock in this room. There was no clock. There was, however, a dial that went from zero to nine, but it's a dial and not a clock, so I wasn't looking. Okay, if you're asking me to look for a clock, I expect it to be a clock. I don't care if it's digital or analog or whatever, but a dialogue that goes from zero to nine does not a clock make. So anyway, basically that knocked us back because we were looking for a damn clock. And I just. I just like, if you're going to make a puzzle room, your puzzles actually have to make sense. I just feel like that's a basic. But anyway, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, carrie, quit your jibber jabber. In fact, me. In fact, you I will. But first we've got to get our source on. Our sources are Miss Peggy's Guide to Life by Miss Peggy. The Diva Coat by Miss Piggy. The Muppets Wiki. I know. I'm like, don't never use wiki as a source. I know. I know I say that to you. I also have. There's a lot of television interviews. A lot of TV has been watched for this amount of research, by the way, because I thought it was so important that we talk about an icon, you know, to finish Women's History Month. I thought, who better than body positivity champion, like, absolute diva, you know, somebody who came from humble beginnings to superstardom. Okay. Purveyor of wigs. Okay. The one, the only, Miss Peggy. Now, I use it in comfortably. Good. Then let's begin. When one starts researching Miss Peggy, it becomes quite clear that her life, quite a lot of it, is shrouded in secrecy. And I just feel that she's quite a private person. And in today's ageist society, I can understand why she doesn't want to share certain parts of her life and why she doesn't want to give these very specific time frames. I understand. Like, she is, you know, of an era, and I think she deserves that respect. Now, where I do have dates, I have them in. And sometimes we're just gonna have to accept that we're never gonna have all the answers for some people in history. But Miss Peggy. Miss Peggy was born Miss Peggy Lee in Iowa. You're welcome. Right. So she was named after Peggy Lee, the famous singer. Now, that in itself is actually quite cute, because Peggy Lee's name isn't Peggy Lee. It's Norma Dolores Eggstrom. And. And she became Peggy Lee. And if you're thinking, why do I know that name? Well, she was a famous singer. And you may know her as the voice of darling Peg and the Siamese cats from lady and the Tramp. Like classic Disney movie, not the remake. No, but this story isn't about Peggy Lee. It's about Peggy Lee. And I understand to some of you those words will sound the same. Like, I'll say Miss Piggy and you'll think I'm saying Miss Peggy. I have an accent. Please, you're just going to have to suffer through it. And I only just realized that at this moment when I was doing this, and I'm like, oh, no. People are going to think I'm saying Peggy when I'm saying Peggy. Oh, this is going to cause confusion. So Peggy Lee, Miss Piggy has long maintained an air of mystery, shall we say, around her early life. She has on occasion, however, let slip a few details. Like her name is actually Pegathias, or like, more formally, her name is actually Ms. Pigathea Lee. Right, it's, it's a lot of syllables going on there. Now here's the thing. Like many aspects of her identity, this exists somewhere between fact and a self created mythology. What is more consistently documented is that she was born in a small town above a butcher shop, specifically Becca's butcher shop. Now this setting in itself is significant because it placed her from, from the beginning in this precarious relationship with her own identity as a pig in a human dominated world. Now, her childhood wasn't the most stable of living conditions. Like, according to accounts from her longtime performer, Frank Oz, Piggy's father was rather unfaithful and largely absent. He was always chasing after other sows while her mother was overwhelmed raising many, many piglets, thus giving her very little emotion of attention. And this is in Iowa. So she ends up living in this farm in Iowa. Her father is like chasing after all these sows. Like her mother is so focused on dealing with all the piglets that she has that she doesn't really give enough attention to each of them. And I think this is where Peggy's need for attention comes from, you know, because she wasn't getting it anywhere else and so she demanded it. Now, unfortunately, when she was still a little, little pig, her father would die in a tractor accident, like, and she's still quite young, right? I don't know the details of the incident with the tractor. All I know is, is he did not survive. Now, whether this was him, you know, taking control of the tractor or whether he was mowed down by it, I could not find that specific information because death of pigs on farms rarely makes it to the front pages of the newspapers, even in Iowa. So she's still a piglet when her dad dies. She's young and her relationship with her mother continues to be strained. And over the years. Peggy would later describe her upbringing as something she was determined to escape. She said that growing up, her life was humble and she never liked being humble. She never wanted a humble experience. She wanted big, amazing, you know, trumpets blaring. She wanted it all. And from an early age she demonstrated ambition and dissatisfaction with her circumstances. Like, there was an often repeated account which describes her declaring she would never love the life she saw around her. And it is this resolve which led her to leave home. As a teenager before entering show business, she Pursued self improvement in structured ways. She attended charm school, where she refined the manners and poise that would become central to her public Persona. Now, over the years, her accent would kind of evolve and change. Sometimes it would verge on British, like a high upper clip, or it would veer into French. This sort of ambiguity with her accent, as it would kind of meld and flow, I think was her way of becoming who she was meant to be. So after this, this charm skill, she worked in a department store selling gloves. And this is one of these several early jobs that placed her in proximity to fashion and presentation, both of which she would later elevate into defining traits. Now, the fact that I haven't seen Miss Piggy at the Met Gala is a tragedy. No tragedy. Travesty. You know what tragedy? I've decided it's a tragedy. It is both. It is bad and Miss Piggy should be walking the red carpet at the Met Gala because I think she would have the most amazing outfit. I'm just saying. So her early years in the city, this darling babe, this pig in the city, they were financially unstable. Now, like many, many performers and creatives starting out, she took whatever work she could find. At one point, she walked with a sandwich board advertising a barbecue stand. Now, that. That is an especially difficult job, given the implications. She also posed for ads, you know, including promotions for bacon products. Now, how humiliating must that have been for her? You know, it's like, I know we talk about selling flesh, but it's literally selling her flesh. You know, it's. It's selling pigs. She's a pig. And she's promoting the murder and consumption of her own people. Like, that's not. That's not great. Now, this work she does, it is completely out of necessity and not by choice. I mean, why else would she do it? Like, she doesn't want to live this life? And it's during this period that she briefly adopts the stage name Laverne. Right? Because, listen, things are not going great for her. She needs a new start. And so she enters beauty pageants as a means of survival. These contests, they. They were a turning point in her life. She developed her stage presence, learned how to command attention, and began shaping the Persona that would later define her career. Her first major breakthrough came when she won the Miss Bogan County Beauty contest. This victory marked her transition from struggling performer to emerging personality. It was also at this point that she first encountered her amphibian friend, Kermit the Frog, a meeting that would become central to her personal and her professional life.
- [15:43]
Advertiser / Sponsor Voice
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- [16:14]
Podcast Host / Advertiser
Hello, listeners, meet Lisa.
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Hey there.
- [16:17]
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Katie Charlwood
With acast, she found a whole new
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Podcast Host / Advertiser
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Podcast Host / Advertiser
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- [17:01]
Katie Charlwood
Following her pageant success, Miss Piggy secured a role in a bacon commercial, which led to further television exposure. She spent a season as a mascot on a local TV sports program called Pigskin Parade. Okay. These appearances established her as a recognisable on screen presence and eventually opened the door to her involvement in the Muppet Show. On the Muppet show, like OG 1970s, Miss Piggy evolved rapidly, initially appearing in smaller roles. Like she was in the chorus, she was in the background, right? She soon became one of the program's central figures. Right? I mean, of course. How could you not look at Miss Piggy and think, that is a star? I mean, like her Persona combined exaggerated glamour, assertiveness and emotional intensity. Right? She was known for her dramatic entrances, her strong willed personality, and a tendency towards sudden physical outbursts, and often portrayed as martial arts expertise. Right? Listen, listen. She's controlling her anger through sport, you know, I mean, that's, that's something we should appreciate, you know, that she channeled it into the Hiya. You know what I mean? God help anybody who's listening to this with headphones on. I'm so sorry. There we go. It's a little zip. Still is bad. I'm trying to do this like behind a wall so that you don't get the harshness. I'm so sorry. I love you. Really. I'm so sorry. So our relationship with Kermit, it developed during this period and became one of the defining dynamics of the show. It was, however, characterized by inconsistency, moments of affection, interrospers with conflict, miscommunications, and, let's call them, differing expectations. And while Kermit often appeared cautious or reluctant, Peggy expressed her feelings openly and intensely. And their relationship became a recurring narrative, like, both on and off the screen. And like, the thing is with Kermit is at no point does he turn around and say, I don't want to be with you, Peggy. Like, I feel like she wouldn't handle the rejection great to begin with, like, but I feel like she'd get over it because she's Miss Piggy and she deserves the world, okay? And I think she needs someone who is going to be there for her. But she was always very open about her feelings and he wasn't. Now, whether it's because he doesn't feel the same way, but he still wants to keep her around, it's like, do not keep Miss Piggy around for the girlfriend experience. I mean, I love you, Kermit. I do. I love you, Kermit. Not just because I am just so super big fan of Miss Piggy icon, but also, you know, I like. I like a small, funny guy. I like a small, funny guy. They're cute and adorable and they can hold their breath for a really long time. So her romantic history, while centred on Kelmit crew me, this has included numerous implied, insinuated or actual, just like, fully stated relationships with other figures. Now, unsurprisingly, they're often presented in an exaggerated or comedic way. Now, is she doing this because she's trying to lure, you know, K me back to her, or is this her just living her best life and getting people to enjoy? Yep. No, I think that might be it. Maybe she just wants to have a good time. Now, these relationships contribute to ongoing narrative, to her ongoing narrative as a character who seeks both independence and companionship, although not always in conventional ways. And we love that about her, obviously. So when it comes to their relationship from like 76 to 81, it's the Muppet show era. So I'm going to break this down as a timeline because there's so much going on in her life, it's really hard to just, like, single it up, you know. So their relationship during the Muppet show era is a central comedic storyline and you have Peggy aggressively pursuing the romance between them. And Kelma is consistently hesitant and evasive. So Peggy, you know, she's, she really loves her Kermie. Kermi. And she's, you know, she's. I. I don't want to say jealous. I mean, she is jealous. Actually. No, she's 100% jealous because she's like, do not take my frog, please. That is my amphibian. Thank you very much. Now, so when it comes to guest stars, female guest stars, like, like, she didn't appreciate when they were flirting with her frog. Okay? She wasn't for that. And this would often result in her again managing that actor in a constructive way. And these martial arts karate chop outbursts would happen when she was rejected. And the problem with this is it kind of. It kind of leads to this ambiguity in the relationship. Is it on and off again? Is it an actual thing? Like, what is going on when the Muppet Movie comes out in 79? Like, it portrays them as like, oh, they've just met. Oh, it's new. And Piggy joins his journey. And it has this very early sign of, like, attachment and loyalty. And they're not a fully established couple, but it is interesting that the creator of this whole thing keeps putting them together as a couple. Why do you keep making her love interest Kermit if you're not interested, right? In 81, in the great Muppet Caper, Piggy is playing a glamorous fashion model and Kermit is a reporter. And she openly pursues him romantically, as is her way. And Kermit, he shows more interest than before, but he's still incredibly cautious. Now, this is a very, like, flirtatious relationship between the two of them, but it's definitely a developing one. Now, three years later in the Muppets Take Manhattan, it is a major turning point with Piggy and Kermit portrayed as a committed couple. Now they have an on screen wedding, which, it's important to note that this is often treated as like, ambiguous canon and some say like, it was just a movie. But it is the relationship at its most official. Like, depending on your interpretation. Now, what's interesting here is again, the producer of the show created a storyline in which he marries Miss Piggy. You're leading her on at this point, Kerma, if you're not interested, like, you know what I mean? I feel like people act like Miss Piggy is the toxic one in this relationship, but if he's leading her on, I have, I have opinions. Okay? So between the 80s and the 90s, you know, they're doing variety specials, they're doing shows, and this relationship continues into TV specials. Their Appearances, all this stuff. You know, they are shown as this long term couple. Of course, there are arguments and reconciliations. They're on, they're off, they're rossing and Racheling, they're doing all this stuff. And Peggy quite publicly refers to Kelmet as her partner, although he is non committal about their marriage. I mean, I mean, I mean, I'm not saying that you're gaslighting as a frog. I'm just saying that maybe you should consider how you're doing things now. In 1996, one of the best Muppet movies comes out. Okay. Also before this, actually. So people like to say the best Muppet movie that ever existed is of course, A Muppet Christmas Carol. Now, I'm not saying it's the best Muppet movie out there, but it is, however, the best version of A Christmas Carol. And this is coming from someone who hates Charles Dickens, right? F cking hates the man, right? Gonzo managed to make him charming. Don't ask me how. It's a gift. Dear Gonzo. So when it comes to Muppet Treasure island again, it's an alternative history and, well, it's an alternative retelling of, of the Treasure island book and they become this couple again in it. So Captain Smollett, played by Kermit and then Benjamina Gunn, played by Miss Piggy. Again, he's the producer, okay? He's running the show here. And yet he, he keeps putting them in these sort of relationship roles. So. And this reflects the same dynamic that they have together, but in these different characters and reinforces their pairing as the default narrative for both of them. Now, the thing about this is, like, I know so much about Muppet Treasure Island. It's my favorite, one of my favorite movies. But canonically in this movie, I need you all to pay attention here because this is the important part. Canonically, in this movie, Kermit the Frog has a tattoo on his chest of a naked Miss Piggy. I need you to understand that this is a character that he chose to play and you're trying to tell me he says there's no relationship between the two of them? What the actual fuck, kermit, no. So 1999, we have Muppets from space and their relationship is present in this. It's not central to the movie, but it is there. And they are still very much portrayed as emotionally connected now. They continue being in the media, having interviews, so on and so forth, and they are very much presented still as a long term couple in public life. They appear together all the Time in interviews and press. And Peggy claims they are married quite consistently. And Kermit typically avoids confirming this, which is. Again, this is 1999. This is 2000s. Okay? We. We are. We are way past this, right? Like, 84, apparently. You got married in 84, and then you're just telling me that, what, 10, 20 years later, you're still going, what? I can't confirm this. Yes or no? Kermit, I'm sorry. I'm getting really mad about this. I'm getting really angry, and you guys deserve better. So by the Muppets movie in 2011, like, they are broken up at the start of this movie. Like, and Piggy, she is. She is living her best life working at Vogue Paris. Like, she's in Vogue Paris. She is working in fashion. She is having the best life. And Kermit is living separately. Now, by the end of the movie, they do reconcile emotionally, and their relationship status is. It's complicated. Like, it's still undefined. You know what I mean? It's not official by any means. In Muppets Most Wanted, they are very much portrayed as being together again. And Piggy expects commitment, but Kermit, like, real Kermit, not like, fake Kermit. Like, he struggles with these expectations. And they continue with their classic. I'm going to call it, by the way, devotion versus hesitation, which is very much a trope with relationships. Like, either, like, shit or get off the pot, man. Shut or get off the pole. You know, when the Muppets TV show happens in 2015, there is, like, it's huge. Not only right are they officially broken up. Like, Miss Piggy, Pygathia Pigathea Lee Pygathia Pegathea. I'm gonna need someone to, like, confirm how we're pronouncing her, like, big name. I feel like we deserve this. Now she announces that they are no longer together. Like, she is publicly talking about it, which is very much like drawing a line in the sand, is it not? And Kermit is dating someone else. Like, she's dating other people, too, but he's dating Denise. Do you know who Denise is? She's a younger pig. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. You traded her in for a younger model. I swear to no positive inside thoughts. So they are separated and emotionally connected. Now. This is their. This is their relationship for a while. Okay? Now that the new Muppet show is. Is. Is on, they're kind of back in that same spot again. The devotion, the hesitation. They're kind of Back in that area. And. And things are now Miss Piggy. I mean, let's face it, has been strung along by Kermit. So there is no surprise that she ends up, you know, having dalliances with other people. Because how else is she going to live her life? She deserves love, okay? So sometimes she just says, instead of just waiting around for him, she says this for Game of Soldiers, right? Like, because Kermit is not the only love affair that she has. One of which from like the OG Muppet show era is Link Hogthrob, right? So he's her co star in Pigs in Space, and he's effectively this romantic foil to Kermit. And he's like, more traditionally, like, heroic and glamorous. And Peggy, she. She was undressed. She's flirting. And a lot of their, like, flirting and banter, it's, you know, very situational. It's comedic and there is occasional romantic tension, but it's more a flirtation than anything else. It's a casual flirtation, as one does. Now, she does also find another one to catch her eye, which is Floyd Pepper. If. If, you know, you know, he is part of the Electric Mayhem band. And they are just like, there's an implied attraction there. And there's never really, like a fully sustained, like, relationship with them. Like, it doesn't really go from there, Muppet wise, but this brief implied relationship. Like, of course there's, you know, Argus the Gargyle. Like, he. He was very much into her for a while from Muppets Tonight. Like, that was a whole thing. Now, of course, there are many love affairs with guests on the OG Muppet Show. I mean, you've got Peter Sellers, Rudolph Nureyev, Dudley Mool. Then, of course, like, Muppet Tonight, you've got Pierce Brosnan. Oh, my goodness. Parky Parkinson. So Michael Parkinson, he was this very big deal back in the day. He was chat show host. Okay, so the Muppets come on. So first he, Kermit comes on and like, when he's chatting to Kermit, he, like, publicly, like, announces his adoration live on his own show for Miss Piggy. And then when Peggy comes out, they're basically so into each other, the only thing they're not doing is, like, rubbing, you know, I feel at this point now, of course. Oh, my goodness. John Ritter, was it John Ritter and someone else, they were, like, fighting for her affections, because, of course you would. She's Miss Piggy. Josh Groban was so written to her for a while, but then he kept messing up the show because of his ego. And so they had to like really make them break up by boosting and feeding Miss Piggy's ego to like out ego, Josh Groban, which is, I mean, a wild feat, you know what I mean? Oh, godness. Who else did she date? She was on several dates with Taye Diggs. They had a thing for a while. Now in the pilot of, what was it, the Muppets, like 2015 show, Peggy had been dating like the co star of this movie she was doing. It was a Civil War movie with Topher Grace, right? So tmz, you know the gossip rag, they dubbed their celebrity name Tofigy. It's so cute. Like, so her and Topher Grace, they're just like dating for a while now after this. She's, she's kind of into your, of course, Nathan Fillion. So effectively she's filming a spot for, you know, the 2015 show and she loses her concentration because she is distracted by, by Nathan Fillion's derriere, right? So she has this like, like thing. And it's even on Facebook. They're like, it looks like Miss Piggy might have a love interest. And so in the very next TV spot, Kermit catches Nathan Valleon doing the walk of shame from Miss Peggy's trailer. Right? That's, oh my goodness, the drama. So in 2018, Piggy is involved in this charity event called Stand up for Cancer or Stand up to Cancer, not Stand up for Cancer. So basically it's a bunch of stand up comedians. They do a lot of comedy and they're doing it to raise money for cancer charities. Now her and one of the hosts, Jack Whitehall, they, they get into an altercation because they have to get, they have to get in the same dressing room and they have to share it. And of course, one thinks they're a bigger star than the other and they get into an arm wrestle and then of course their eyes lock, don't they? And then before you know it, they're so like, they realize there's an attraction there. And of course he ends up asking her out for a drink. Now what happens after that? We don't know. Like, she's never spoken about it publicly and I just feel like maybe it wasn't as interesting or fun or good for her. You know what I mean? So Miss Peggy, you know, accepts an invitation to go to the Game Awards with Geoff Kayleigh and he thanks her for accepting his invitation and she's like, of course. Because she would never turn one down after what they did in Bora Bora, right now, he gets uncomfortable because, like, she's rubbing his chest and stuff, but that's mainly because his mother is there. So that's not great. Okay, now I'm gonna go back. I got. I gotta talk about this. I gotta talk about this because this is so important to me. Tim Curry, okay? So he played Long John Silver in the Muppet Treasure Island. Again, one of the best Muppet movies ever to have been made in the history of movies. And so he often talked about, you know, he and Piggy would rehearse together and play lines off of one another, and this would grow into this torrid affair. And they had a relationship, at least through the filming of the movie. Now, some people say that these sort of boilerpot relationships happen when people are in close proximity one another, and it's very intense. And that's why people who are in movies together end up dating. So her and Tim Curry, they were. They were together for a while, and then he made a very stupid joke, an offhand joke about bacon or pork or something. And obviously, Peggy is not going to stand for that, okay? Because of who she is. And to this day, Tim Curry says that Miss Piggy is the one that got away. Now, the thing about Peggy's life, her romantic history and her relationship with Kermit, obviously, it remains central, and it's far from exclusive or stable. And there are rumoured romances and confirmed romances with co stars, guest celebrities, and even some individuals far outside the entertainment world. Some of these relationships were brief. Some were intense. All were dramatic. And Piggy, she approached love the same way she approached everything else. Fully, fearlessly, and with a tendency towards grand gestures, lavish gifts, public declarations, sudden breakups, and always, always, always the expectation of devotion. Her relationship with Kermit, however, existed in a constant state of flux. Together, not together, almost engaged, engaged, married, not married. You know, definitely arguing. And through it all, there was something undeniably real beneath the theatrics. They challenged each other, frustrated each other, grounded and unbalanced each other. Their story became a narrative in its own right, unfolding in front of audiences who just couldn't look away. Even most recently, when, you know, he was sharing a boat with Sabrina Carpenter, like Miss Piggy didn't appreciate that. Although, let's face it, Sabrina Carpenter would not try and steal Miss Piggy's man because she loves Miss Peggy too much. She respects Miss Peggy too much. Like, she would never try and hurt her relationship this way. We all prefer things a certain way, like groceries. If you want groceries just how you like them. You gotta try Instacart. They have a new preference picker that lets you pick how ripe or unripe you want your bananas. Shoppers can see your preferences upfront, helping guide their choices. Because when it comes to groceries, the details matter. Instacart get groceries just how you like.
- [41:17]
Advertiser / Sponsor Voice
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- [41:57]
Katie Charlwood
As her fame grew, Miss Piggy cultivated high fashion and celebrity culture again. She claims to have studied at the Paris School of Fashion, thus reinforcing her association with couture and design. Although she has never publicly verified details such as dates of attendance or her age, she has consistently refused to disclose her birth date, as is her right. I'm sorry again, ageist world. We do not ask a woman her age. Be fucking respectful to Miss Piggy. So she does. I can only describe as all these amazing things, right? She ends up because during the height of her career in the late 20th century, she expanded beyond television into a broader brand. She authored books, appeared in films, and became a regular presence in interviews and media appearances. Her autobiography and related publications present a version of her life that blends verifiable events with deliberate embellishment, reinforcing her carefully constructed identity. You know who else did that? Lola Montez. And we love her for it. Although, I mean, Miss Piggy is probably the person who'd be like, I went to Spain for two weeks and now I can speak Spanish. Hola. So in 1981, she publishes her autobiography, Miss Peggy's Guide to Life, which is her first and most famous book. It's kind of like a comedic self help and lifestyle guide and it covers things like beauty, romance, fame, self confidence. Now it is like there's no ghostwriter on this. You can tell because it is completely written in her own voice. It's bold, it's self centered, it's funny. And it also includes anecdotes and information about her rise to stardom and her relationship with Kelmet. So in the 21st century, just so you know, she releases the diva code. So that's 2006. And this is like a follow up guidebook for modern audiences because she grows, right? She rolls all the times. And this focuses on empowerment, personal branding and inner confidence. Piggy style, it's structured around codes or rules for living like a diva. Now it is really, really self aware, which is hilarious. It's wonderful that she has this level of understanding about herself. So I'm going to go back in time again now. So in 1998, she launches her own perfume, a product that encapsulated her personal brand. It's luxurious, it's self referential and centered on the idea of self admiration. The launch was accompanied by promotional appearances that treated the fragrance as an extension of her Persona rather than a typical commercial product. Now, this is a wonderful thing, like the concept of self admiration, you know, because in Ireland there's a thing called there's no praise like self praise. And they don't, like, like, you shouldn't be confident, you shouldn't be proud of yourself, you shouldn't be great, right? And Miss Piggy exudes all those things. And I think, like, there are certain aspects of her personality that we could all be better by being a little bit more like Peggy Fied, you know? But throughout her career, Miss Piggy has maintained a dual identity, both a performer with an ensemble and an individual celebrity figure. Her work with the Muppets continued through various television revivals, films and specials produced under organisations such as the Walt Disney Company, which later became the primary distributor of Muppet productions. Okay. Her personality has remained consistent in its key traits. She's assertive. She has a strong sense of self worth and a focus on image and presentation. At the same time, her portrayal has evolved to include greater self awareness, often acknowledging the constructed nature of her public identity. Again, she's so self aware. Miss Piggy considers herself a dramatic actress and a great singer, okay? But she does have other talents too, apart from, of course, karate chopping. So, like, and there was one episode of the Muppet Show, I think it was Kay Ballard's one. It was proven that Miss Piggy can play like instruments, including the trumpet and the kazoo. And she proved to be great at bending metal bars, like in the Great Muppet Caper, she bent back the jail bars. And in the Muppets Take Manhattan, she was able to bend a metal bar too. So, like, also, in addition, furthermore, also shown in the Great Muppet Caper, Miss Piggy had the ability to model. Of course, she could tap dance, she could swim, she could drive a truck. You know, you need a special license for that, by the way. Right? She could drive a truck and ride a motorcycle. And my favorite thing ever about her is the fact that Rolf, of course, Rolf, who is just the closest personality wise to the wonderful creator Jim Henson. I'm sure you've heard of him. Now, Rolf is very much part of that. And he said that Miss Piggy. No one can make an entrance quite like Miss Piggy. By the height of her career, Miss Piggy was no longer just a performer. She was a brand. Fashion lines, interviews, magazine covers, appearances that blurred the line between character and celebrity. She cultivated an identity that was both self aware and unapologetically extravagant. She speaks about, or she spoke about, you know, she does speak about self worth, okay, but always, of course, in her very, very own specific tone. Very unique. Peggy's unique way to share self worth is. Is something to be admired. And confidence in Peggy's world was not something to be earned. It was something to be declared. And while critics sometimes dismissed her as excessive, others recognize something deeper. She had taken a world that often sidelines bold personalities, especially those who don't fit into traditional moulds, especially those who don't physically fit into those moulds. And she forced it to make space for her. Miss Piggy's legacy. I'm getting emotional now. Miss Piggy's legacy lies in her distinctiveness. She's neither a traditional comedic character, nor is she a straightforward parody. Instead, she represents a blend of satire and sincerity. A figure who simultaneously embodies and critiques celebrity culture, beauty, standards and ambition. We could always, we should always try and be a little bit more like Miss Piggy. Like, let's Get Piggied, you know. God, I hope that's not a horrible sex term that I'm too old to understand. Ooft. From her origins above a butcher shop to international recognition, her trajectory reflects a consistent pattern, using performance, reinvention and determination to move beyond her circumstances. While many details of her life remain selectively disclosed or stylized, the broader outline is clear. She built her identity deliberately and she has maintained control over its presentation throughout her career. That balance between fact and performance remains central to understanding Miss Piggy not just as a character, but as a constructed public figure whose story continues to evolve. If there's one thing to take from Miss Piggy's life, it is. She never wanted to be chosen. Not as a child, not as a struggling performer, not even at the height of her fame. She decided who she was and she then she insisted the world agree. Was she difficult? Abso. Fucking lutely. Complicated without question, but also unforgettable. And in the end, that may be the only thing she ever truly cared about. And I'm not gonna say. And so ends the story of Miss Piggy, because it's still going. And will it continue forever? Will it continue for a little while? We don't have the answer, and I certainly don't have the answer just now. And I know some of you might be thinking, what a strange way to end Women's History Month. And I promised you something light and fluffy. And I actually don't think Miss Piggy's life was that, like, we can find the comedy in the tragedy. We can. And it's that gallows humor which allows a lot of us to continue and live. And this is where whimsy comes in. I'm going to talk about whimsy for a second because I've seen a lot of discussions as of late about whimsy and how, you know, oh, there's no more whimsy in the world. And there are, like, I'm not saying it's a generational divide, because I've seen, like, Gen Z fighting Gen Z and, like, Millennials versus Gen Z. And it's like, how the younger generation bullied whimsy away. And the reason they don't see whimsy is that it's manufactured, and that's why they don't feel it. You know, I think I mentioned this before in a previous episode, but I was in just, like, a shop, a store, and I was looking at pajamas because I keep buying myself pajamas. I have an issue, clearly. And I was standing there and I was like, I don't know. I. I think I was still in, like, my ridiculously wrong raincoat. I was in something silly because it was wet and. But my hair was up and curled and doing its thing and pink. I think it was pink at the time. And I was lifting something, and someone walked past me and chatting to their friend and said, oh, she looks like one of those girls who's like, romanticize your life. And first of all, yes, you. I, I love whimsy. I love quirk. Like, I. I love sort of vintage food art. In my kitchen, for example, I have a watercolor painting of an egg. It's just a regular egg. It's a chicken egg. Just a regular brown egg. Now, there was an option to buy a blue egg, but I was like, why would I buy a duck egg? Like, no, I don't I don't vibe with that. Give me the chicken egg. I don't like duck eggs. But like I have like, I have art on my wall which is like espresso yourself and it's a little espresso cup but it looks like sort of, how would I call it? Like. Yeah, that sort of vintagey, like diner art. And I've got fancy a cuppa, which is a cup of tea doing the same thing. And I love those sort of bendy and the ink machine, like Betty Boop, like all those original kind of styles. I love that. But I love that like kitchen related. For my kitchen, I actually have like a foil, I have a foil print of what is the charge eating a meal, A succulent Chinese meal. Because I love food related things in a kitchen. I, I think it's really fun. And I do believe in whimsy and I do believe in just living my life. Like when I go on my next holiday, like I'm going to like a singing, dancing, basketball game. I'm going to like a Murder She Wrote thing. I'm hoping to go to the library of tarpits. If anyone in LA wants to, to go with me to the Labrador pits. Let's do it, babe. Yeah, like there's a lot of stuff that I'm just gonna go do because I need to just have a moment where I live life for the sake of living it. But I also have to remember to film things. I'm really bad at not filming things when I travel. Or I'll film it and then never edit it and put it together. So you might see like last year's travel vlog show up on like YouTube or something. We'll see how that goes. But yeah, I went off on a big rant about the lack of whimsy in the world. And I think Miss Piggy has whimsy and I think she uses it as part of her Persona because why the not okay? If you've lived through all this and then you're still working and coming out and doing your best, like hell yes. And to do it with her confidence. I love it so much. Like, Miss Piggy is an idol. I don't care what anyone says. She's an idol and I love her. And with that, I have to do recommendation time. Obviously. I'm gonna recommend Miss Peggy's book because of course. Although you know what I think? Yeah. The Diva Code. You should all read the Diva Code by Miss Piggy. That's your reading assignment for watching above A Treasure island, obviously, because it's amazing. And for listening. Oh, oh, what will you listen to? You know what you should listen to is sweet Transvestite from a Muppy. A Muppet? No, from a Rocky Horror Picture Show. Have the Muppets ever done Rocky Horror? Have they? They should if they haven't, because I feel like they'd have a great time. But anyway, with that, I shall bid you adieu. Adios. Au revoir. Au revoir, my friends. Bye Bye.
- [57:19]
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- [57:51]
Podcast Host / Advertiser
the Bleacher Report app is your destination for sports right now. The NBA's heating up, March Madness is here, and MLB is almost back. Every day there's a new headline, a new highlight, a new moment you've got to see for yourself. That's why I stay locked in with the Bleacher Report app. For me, it's about staying connected to my sports. I can follow the teams I care about, get real time scores, breaking news and highlights all in one place. Download the Bleacher Report app today so you never miss a moment.
- [58:23]
Katie Charlwood
Acast powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend it. This season on the Dream Supplies are being provided by nurses who run out in the middle of the night and purchase diapers, but the hospital is still charging as if they still have these items. We are digging into every topic we've ever wanted to cover on this show. It's a spinning plate analogy. The second that you stop spinning those plates, that crashes. So you can never stop working. The Dream Season 4 comes at you weekly. Starting Monday, January 20,
- [59:02]
Podcast Host / Advertiser
Acast helps creators
- [59:04]
Katie Charlwood
launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Acast.com.