Sam & Friends - Promo/ID/Skit/Spot - c.1961

[HCShannon]

Mmmm, Sauage and bacon together

[Robert08010]

I never saw this before. I'm a lifelong muppet fan and NEVER heard of this. I loved how Kermit seemed to be channeling lawrence Welk in his speech paterns. And using the audio recording from the actual news anchors was a great idea. Very well done!!!

[sheitruis]

I loved seeing the puppets for this in the smithsonian. Coolest thing ever.

[nepomusik]

Yep, Kermit, back before he was a frog and had flippers and an 11-point collar.

[flashfast2000]

Very Cool! Kermit the Frog selling sausage. The irony of it!

[rainbowmuppet]

why isn't Harry the Hipster around anymore?

[Eragarev]

Kermit, you rock.

[WSenator1]

Until later in the 60s, newscasts were only 15 minutes long. "Sam and Friends" filled out the remainder of the half-hour it shared with the evening news. This episode came on when I was a boy, and still uninterested in the news of the day (although I knew who Huntley and Brinkley were). Even then Kermit was interviewing celebrities! This brought back a lot of nice memories. Thanx!

[EvilDoctor1]

"I bet some of the smart alecs in the audience have already figured out what you're going to say when I talk to you." ROFL!

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

3:42 INTERESTING HOW THE SHOW DID THE COMMERCIALS... KIND OF REMINDS ME OF THE TRUMAN SHOW. INSIDE ADVERTISING.

[loperspest]

@ZEROEVILDARKCOOL A bacon and sausage sausage does sound good though.

[ZEROEVILDARKCOOL]

@loperspest YUP. MMMH... BACON AND SAUSAGE SOUNDS GOOD FOR BREAKFAST EVERY MORNING.

[TonyPizzaro]

the dude with the glasses is just a sock lol

[bobbobato]

This show is from the late 50s early 60s? It's so edgy and ahead of its' time.

[Dekobee]

Man, I wish they had a Sam and Friends dvd. Including the sketch "C'est Si Bon", because I have been looking for that sketch for weeks.

[VampireKingDuz]

@Dekobee I don't think enough of the episodes survived for that.

[taurnguard]

Of course, muppets don't have to worry about their cholesterol levels. Yay bacon!  :P

[Sasserathome]

MMMM Pork AND Bacon.

[emoneygo]

OMG! it`s Kermit!!!!

[VideyoJunkei]

I had no idea these episodes were so short!!!

[michaeldancrest]

This was such a wonderful clip. Thanks for sharing and keeping Sam and Friends alive.

[brendansharps]

Jim Henson was so creative....i also love how advertisements and television shows were so simple back then.

[MrColuber]

I wonder if this was before the Kennedy assassination, given the reference to the 1964 elections.

[kaptainkidshow]

"Sam and Friends" left the air forever in December of 1961... almost two years before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

[Quesal]

very nice! good old days!

[MrKilroy138]

I really like the introduction. I also heard that Jim Henson had a natural tallent for art. I wish someone would upload more "Sam & Friends"

[fry21100]

where"s yorick ? man,yoricks scary

[CubsFan2812]

This is funny and scary

[devonjames10]

Kermit wasn't a frog until his first Sesame Street appearance.

[JAldridge86]

@devonjames10 Actually Johnny Carson called him "Kermit the Frog" as early as 1965.

[AlbertMondback]

Kermit for life.

[grecomic]

This gives me an idea... if Sesame Street dubbed in earlier recordings of Jim Henson's voice, Steve Whitmire wouldn't have to put up with people complaining that his voice isn't quite like Jim's!

[SuperGoldfish1999]

i like how the new york guy's accent is different from the D.C. guy's accent, and how the D.C. guy's accent is "darker" sounding then the new york guy's accent

back in 1961, it was probably like D.C. was only a little less "northern" culturally speaking then New York, which is still the case

[tkaye2]

David Brinkley was from North Carolina and Chet Huntley was from Montana.

[kungfujiapple]

Kermit sound like Ernie, Professor Madcliffe sound like Guy Smiley and Harry the Hipster sound like Rowlf the Dog. That's because they're all performed by Jim Henson.

[narutoeagle777]

Kermit?

[HappyFuriousMonkey]

KERMIT!!!!!!!!!!

[54spiritedwill54]

This is hilarious!

[karverisxfu]

This is delightful! Thank you so much for uploading it. :)

[MeAndMyRC]

Kermit in his early years, vintage station identification and a clever Sam & Friends skit..man I love this!!

[PBabi3]

i luv muppets!!!!

is elmo considered a muppet?

[randomthingsstudios]

deffinatly

[pikachu0Z]

Yes he is

[annoyingfeatures]

sadly he is

[cchan94313]

Thank you.

[lsmftymf]

Baltimore-based Esskay markets primarily to Maryland & the District of Columbia. It is a sponsor of various sports entities in the region, including the Orioles, Ravens & the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN). The slogan "Taste the difference quality makes" is still used by the company.

Has anyone ever noticed that Kermit the Frog sounds exactly like Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, the late lead singer of Canned Heat?

[ximenao1]

The innovation of this Sam and Friends clip may not be immediately evident, but for the time (1961) this must have been quite inventive. People always quote his puppetry influences (Edgar Bergen, Kukla, Fran and Ollie, etc.), but he also learnt from the brilliant Ernie Kovacs, and that's evident here, as well as in other S+F clips.

Will there ever be another creative mind like Jim again?

[spyrothedragon590]

LOL muppets rule!

[marshmelow]

I see the early grover taking shape too

[weenielongus]

Man, you took me way back!! And I'm still here in the DC area!! This was real clever, using sound samples back in those reel-to-reel tape days!?! I used to watch these when I was about 5 years old!!! I'm glad someone saved these!! Thanx for digging this up!!

[greytrumpet17]

this is kermit's first appearence?

[MuppetPro]

Wow, 1961 huh? This must have been one of the last Sam & Friends episodes since it ended in 1961.

[RobTFirefly]

This is hilarious!

[naizret]

I grew up in the Washington area and remember 'Sam and Friends" with affection. When it left the air I recall writing to WRC (Channel Four) to ask if it might be brought back. No response, of course.

[FLPman]

I feel as though i grew up on this.. although i wasn't born for another 30 years..

i miss jim dearly

[NYCPulpHero]

LOL @ Sausage commercial!!

[MeAndMyRC]

Very primitive!

[UglySean]

Wow that was great! Um... the newscasters sound like sound bytes were used (or the mid 20th century equivalent) rather than someone actually speaking them. Maybe I'm wrong. Comical though. Thanks.

[ArgleZiddly]

Your right! They were actual sound clips

[saanzacs]

How clever was that!!!

[b4ifly2paradise]

WOW! Thank you for posting this! I kept hoping these would crop up somewhere!

[kaptainkidshow]

For information how to obtain this episode and other episodes of "Sam & Friends" on DVD, visit the web site of KermiClownVideos. (Their address is shown in the right-hand column under "About This Video".)

[GrantHarding]

The newscasters were actually played by regular S&F bit players Hank and Frank. One of them was mislabeled as Omar in "Jim Henson: The Works" -- Omar was actually a different puppet. Check out the Muppet Wiki for details.

[kaptainkidshow]

I stand corrected. (THANKS GrantHarding.)

[GrantHarding]

:) You're welcome.

[heine71]

Huntley-Brinkley newscaster puppets?