MILDRED HUXTETTER
Performed by...Various
First appearance...
The Muppets Valentine Show (1974)
Most recent appearance...
Muppets Tonight Episode 103: Billy Crystal (1996)
Best known role...
BA, MA, PhD, OBE, and RSVP
WHO IS MILDRED HUXTETTER?
Mildred Huxtetter is a posh, seemingly sophisticated woman with a purple beak on The Muppet Show. Mildred first appeared in 1974 on The Muppets Valentine Show where she worked with Mia Farrow and the other early Muppets. In this first appearance, Mildred was performed by Richard Hunt as she played the piano and bemoaned the lack of romance in her life. This was perhaps Mildred's biggest on-screen role and even after The Muppet Show went to series she was never seen in such a prominent way again.
However, Mildred was still a semi-prominent character in Season One of The Muppet Show. Her performer and her role on the show were both inconsistent. Mildred is perhaps best known for her role as dance partner to George the Janitor during the numerous "At the Dance" sketches (where she was performed by Frank Oz). In the sketches Mildred and George dance around spouting puns, the most famous of which is probably Mildred's query "Do you like Kipling?" to which George replied "I dunno--I never kippled!"
Mildred's biggest role with a guest star was in Episode 109, where she danced with the suave Frenchman Charles Aznavour to the song "The Old Fashioned Way." (Unfortunately this number was cut from The Muppet Show Season One DVD release.) Mildred would later work as a reporter (performed by Louise Gold) and ask guest star Rich Little a question in Episode 204.
The other major roles played by Mildred on The Muppet Show were during the recurring panel discussion segments hosted by Kermit in Season One. Mildred appeared in two of these segments helping to answer the questions "What is Man's Role in the Universe?" and "Does Travel Broaden the Mind?" In the latter sketch, Mildred got to interact with guest star Candice Bergen and fight with Miss Piggy.
After her appearance in the Rich Little episode, Mildred would never have another onscreen speaking role. She continued to appear in the background of the first three seasons of The Muppet Show, The Jim Henson Hour, Muppets Tonight, The Muppet Movie, and The Muppets Take Manhattan. Mildred's only other roles were in print in various books and magazines such Muppet Magazine, The Muppet Show Comic Book, and Muppet Robin Hood.WHY DO THE MUPPETS NEED MILDRED HUXTETTER?
Despite being silent for more than three decades, Mildred Huxtetter is still a viable character. She is one of the few female Muppet characters and has potential to be funny and entertaining. Although she never had a consistent performer, Mildred's voice was always relatively the same so a recast would not be impossible. But a recast would require interest in the character again... which does not seem likely unless you're name is FrogFan76.
The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com