When I was a kid, I never saw a puppet show. I never played with puppets or had any interest in them.

Well, Detroit Institute is kind of a key - probably the largest permanent collection of puppets in the US.

I've never felt any sense of competition with anybody, and we're all friends; we're all good friends.

There was a little afternoon show that was called Afternoon. Back in those days in television, most local stations had a midday show for housewives that had a series of things. It was like a variety show for midday.

When The Muppet Show ended, we all sat around and said, what kind of television show would we like to do. We felt the need these days are for some quality children's programming.

You know, a carving, especially if it’s polychrome, is not meant to move. These faces, these half-bodies, when you animate them, they’re more live than the living. They can be dangerous for those who don’t really understand them. With contained energy, no one can predict what will happen when it’s released.