DEEPLY FELT CONVENTION PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE POP-CULTURE LEGACY OF MUPPET MAN JIM HENSON.

Byline: David Kronke Television Writer

It was the show ABC didn't think would work. So, naturally, it went on to be seen in more than 100 countries, by an estimated 235 million people.

``The Muppet Show'' confirmed what ``Sesame Street'' hinted at - that there were a lot of parents out there who enjoyed the antics of Kermit the Frog and his friends. Conceived as an oddball variety show hosted by the amiable Kermit, highlighted by Miss Piggy's come-ons and heckled by curmudgeons Statler and Waldorf, ``The Muppet Show'' made icons - and extremely sought-after toys - of its characters.

Animal attraction

``Give the Muppets credit - only a couple bodies of characters have completely penetrated not just American, but worldwide pop culture,'' observes Robert Thompson, Syracuse University's founding director of the Center for the Study of Popular Television. ``Not many attics in America don't have a box containing something with the visage of Ernie or Bert. The universe they created penetrated all demographic frontiers. There's no way you could've been alive over the past 30 years without knowing something about these characters.

``To a great extent, what we see done so brilliantly on shows like 'The Simpsons' owes a lot to the Muppets,'' Thompson continues. `` 'The Muppet Show' came the closest to what 'The Simpsons' would ultimately perfect. The appeal was that they were colorful characters, stuff kids were supposed to like, but at the same time, the shows were so dense, there were so many bones thrown to hip baby boomers. The show was as squeaky clean as you can imagine yet had an edgy feel, which is a hard thing to achieve.''

By the end of the show's five-year run in 1981, there were more than 400 different Muppet characters, many slapped together on the run -which was a great part of the Muppet mystique.

``They would make anything talk,'' recalls Brian Henson, son of the late Muppet creator, Jim Henson. ``I remember one time my father said, 'We need a whale.' He asked the puppet builders, 'How long for a whale?' ... They said, 'How good do you want it?' He said, 'Not very good. How long for a whale?' 'Twenty minutes.' Literally anything, they figured out how to make it talk.''

And now, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of ``The Muppet Show'' (the Muppets themselves have been around, in one form or another, for more than 45 years), comes ``MuppetFest!'' - an extravaganza set for Saturday and Dec. 9 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, where fans can meet puppeteers, try their hand at working Muppets for TV cameras and see rare footage and live performances of Muppet music.

And the creativity of the Henson Creature Shop can be seen tonight on CBS in the miniseries ``Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story,'' co-written and directed by Brian Henson. And the Jim Henson Co. is gearing up for a new prime-time series for next season - this time, instead of celebrities visiting Kermit and company, they'll show up on the sets of their projects.

A welcome frog

Not long ago, the Henson folks set up shop in the old United Artists lot run by Charlie Chaplin on La Brea in Hollywood; Kermit, clad as the Little Tramp, welcomes visitors at the front gate. There's an assiduous respect for Hollywood history in the revamped studio - in an appreciative nod to their forebears, photos of Chaplin adorn the walls of the reception area, along with one of Henson and a pensive shot of Kermit as well as one in which the frog sports Calvin Klein underwear.

``There's a great creative legacy on this lot,'' says Charles Rivkin, Henson Co. president and CEO. ``It's palpable. You feel it; you feel positive, very happy energy.''

(The lot once housed A&M Records and was the site of the famous ``We Are the World'' recording session; Paul McCartney recorded his most recent CD here.)

Jim Henson patched together the first incarnation of Kermit - a lizardy thing made from his mom's coat and bisected ping-pong balls - in 1955 for a local show in Washington, D.C., titled ``Sam & Friends.'' (He collaborated with his future wife, Jane.) His Muppets - a verbal fusion of ``marionette'' and ``puppet'' - made their first network appearance on ``The Tonight Show'' with Steve Allen in 1957 and appeared on many variety shows in the '60s, including one hosted by country singer Jimmy Dean.

``They were on 'Ed Sullivan' regularly, and were an underground hit,'' recalls Brian. ``Not everybody knew about them, but they had a reputation as a strange but cool puppet company.''

Open, `Sesame'

All that changed with ``Sesame Street.'' Initially, the Muppet characters weren't going to interact with the live characters, but they were integrated into the main action when test audiences reacted most strongly to the creatures of felt and fur. The first Muppets on ``Sesame Street'' were Big Bird (albeit a slimmer version) and Oscar the Grouch (who was originally orange).

``The rest of the show was more old-fashioned,'' says Thompson. ``The Muppets upstaged the rest of the show and brought it to a totally new place. Shows like 'The Powerpuff Girls' and 'Rugrats' owe a lot to the idea that kids' programming is not just for kids, but in fact can be the hippest stuff on the air.''

Dave Goelz joined Henson in 1973 to design characters but soon began performing, manipulating characters like the Great Gonzo and mad but genial scientist Bunsen Honeydew. ``Watch Kermit - Jim was a lot like that,'' he says. ``He was an appreciator. He gathered a Noah's Ark of people together, people who in their normal habitat would've killed each other. He appreciated many types of people and employed all of us, and after we shared some projects and experiences together, we all began to appreciate each other. I didn't turn down a single thing for years, not a single thing. Each one seemed like the experience of a lifetime.''

In 1976, ``The Muppet Show,'' appearing in syndication after ABC rejected it, redefined family entertainment, with high-profile celebrities a weekly feature. ``Season one, it was hard to get guest stars,'' recalls Brian, who joined the family business while still in high school, working characters in the 1981 feature film ``The Great Muppet Caper.'' ``Season two, you could get anyone you wanted.''

The secret to appealing to such a wide audience, Henson says, was simple. ``Truthfully, it's just that we try not to get cynical and try to entertain ourselves,'' he says. ``Everybody has a kid inside, and we try not to be too cool for school, not to be hip or topical. My father started that - if it intrigued him or made him laugh, it was the thing to do.''

A show of hands 

Recently, the Muppets have lost a little spin off their fastball - recent films such as ``Elmo in Grouchland'' and ``Muppets Treasure Island'' have been more kid-centric fare, and prime-time series - ``Dinosaurs,'' ``Muppets Tonight'' and ``Alien in the Family'' - haven't caught the public's imagination.

``With so much cultural water under the bridge, I'm not sure you'd pull off a hip Muppet show now,'' Thompson suggests. ``No one was competing with them at the time - hip as they were, clean as it was, it was still pretty 'out there.' But now, with 'South Park' and 'Beavis and Butt-head' and 'The Simpsons,' it'll be hard for the Muppets to be cutting-edge. Once you've seen ('South Park's') Mr. Hankie, can you go back to the Muppets in a new iteration?''

Still, the Henson Co. has enjoyed successes in far-flung realms, with Sci-Fi Network's adult-themed series ``Farscape,'' Oscar-winning special effects for ``Babe'' and the technical breakthrough with Henson's Digital Performance Studio, a real-time computer-animation system that recently won a Computerworld 21st Century Achievement Award.

``If Jim were here, he would've loved some of the things we're doing,'' Rivkin says. ``I think he'd be very proud of his children and what they've accomplished, and he'd be proud of the shows we've made and what we've done with his name.

``However, this is a question that we don't often ask of ourselves,'' he continues. ``You may have seen stories of Disney pre-1984, where people did sit around and ask what would Walt have done - it's something we consciously don't do. Jim didn't look backwards - he was always pushing forward.

``This man created a piece of our culture, and we have a responsibility to continue it,'' Rivkin says. ``To celebrate what Jim Henson created and what we've done over the past 25 years, I think, is a good thing in these difficult times.''

``MUPPETFEST!''

What: Convention celebrating the 25th anniversary of ``The Muppet Show,'' featuring appearances by Muppets and their puppeteers, screenings of rare footage, panel discussions and speeches by Jim Henson's widow, Jane.

Where: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.

When: Noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and Dec. 9.

Tickets $16 children, $26 adults in advance; $31 day of show. Gold package: $299.95, benefiting ``Save the Children,'' includes Sunday night live show ``Evening With the Muppets'' with puppeteers, Paul Williams and Lionel Richie at the Palace Theatre. Call [phone], Ext. 225, or www.henson.com on the Web.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Ribiting

After 25 years, Jim Henson's Muppets are more than kids' stuff- they're American icons.

(2) The late Jim Henson is among friends, including his most famous creation, Kermit the Frog. Henson and the Muppets will be honored at the next weekend's ``Muppetfest!'' in Santa Monica.

(3) no caption (Kermit the Frog)