Seymour

PERFORMER	Brian Henson
DEBUT	1996

Seymour is an elephant who appeared on Muppets Tonight. He and Pepe the King Prawn worked at the KMUP studios, as elevator operators in the first season and as commissary employees in the second. Seymour and Pepe ("We're two of a kind!") fancied themselves performers and sought to land a spot on the show whenever possible.

After Muppets Tonight

Although Seymour was dropped after the series, Pepe went on to become a major character. Over the years, several explanations to Seymour's whereabouts have been provided:

• Pepe stated at MuppetFest that Seymour is currently living in a condo in Florida.
• In a 2008 interview, Pepe reported that Seymour's green card expired and he was subsequently deported to India where he works in a zoo.^[2]
• When asked in a 2011 interview what really happened between him and Seymour, Pepe answered that Seymour decided to go solo and was now a juggler in Cirque du Soleil.^[3]
• In a response to a Twitter question in 2012, Pepe said he's still friends with Seymour. The problem is he can't fit in a lot of the clubs Pepe goes to.^[4]
• Pepe mentions Seymour works in the sanitation business in L.A. when interviewed for Yahoo Movies UK.^[5]
• According to The Muppets Character Encyclopedia, Seymour returned to the elevator business.
• Commenting on an "Oh My Disney" blog post in May 2015, Pepe forgets that he even had a performing partner.^[6]
• Two months later at San Diego Comic-Con, Pepe is asked by an audience member about Seymour, and he remembers him again, "Oh, my buddy, Seymour!" Kermit comments that it's a sad story, but when prompted, admits he hasn't thought about what it is yet. Bill Prady jokes that they tell Pepe that Seymour went to a farm with other elephants to run free. Finally, Pepe tells the girl who asked the question that she can call him and he'll tell her all about it.

As Kirk Thatcher explained in a Twitter post, "Seymour never really caught on with Brian or the writers on Muppets Tonight."^[7]

According to writer Jim Lewis, Pepe continued as a solo character because "it's easier to place him in the world, with [or] without Seymour," whereas Seymour "seems to work best as part of a pair" and as a foil to Pepe.^[8]

On performing the character, Brian Henson stated "I actually loved doing Seymour" but "he didn't have the lasting qualities that Pepe had."^[9]

Bill Barretta has also stated that he didn't know why Seymour was phased out but that he loved the character.^[10]

Merchandise

• Muppet fèves, French ceramic figurine
• Kermit's Crazy Capers (1996)
• Muppet Valentines (1997)
• Great Muppets in American History (1997)
• Muppets Jumbo Coloring Book (2002)
• Palisades Toys had planned on making a Seymour action figure in 2005, but the line was cancelled.
• Muppet King Arthur #1 (2010, background)
• Tales of a Sixth-Grade Muppet: The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy (2012)
• The Muppets Character Encyclopedia (2014)
• Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera (2017)
• Muppets Meet the Classics: Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm (2018)

Sources

See also

• The Elephant Elevator Operator