[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 03:28 PM\'][quote name=\'Neumms\' date=\'Feb 22 2004, 12:13 PM\'] Bruce's stay here in the colonies was too, too short indeed. I may be the only one around here who loved both "Hot Streak" and Brucie. [/quote]
Ah, but how many here remember his MUPPET SHOW appearance?
For that matter, why exactly was he booked on THE MUPPET SHOW to begin with (other than both being based in England)? Was the idea to make him an entity in the States--or did anyone here actually know who he was before the appearance (and remember this is a good 7-9 years before HOT STREAK)?[/quote]
It seems to me that he did do a one-man show on Broadway in 1979 (where he supposedly saw "Card Sharks" for the first time and immediately decided that he wanted to bring the format to the UK).
More importantly, when Lord Lew Grade wasn't getting dissed for doing too much light-and-fluffy TV, he was criticized for "caring more about Birmingham, Alabama, than Birmingham, England" (where ATV had its main studios, although "The Muppet Show" was shot at their famous Elstree facility near London--ATV held the ITV license for the Midlands region that included Birmingham). There was probably some pressure to try to book more British performers on "The Muppet Show," which probably led to Brucie being booked after he moved from the Beeb to ITV (with a Saturday variety show that included the UK's first look at the "Pyramid" format, although he didn't host that segment). Also, remember that one of "The Muppet Show"'s British writers, who was probably not known in the UK, was booked as a guest during the run.
However, nowadays as ITV is considered by many as suffering with too many cheap reality shows, there are many who miss Lord Grade's sense of showmanship and classy production values.
ObGameShow: "WWTBAM" is taped at the Elstree Studios today.