The Center for Puppetry Arts has announced in an Instagram post that the 12-foot statue of Kermit the Frog dressed as Charlie Chaplin’s The Little Tramp will be moved to the museum’s home in Atlanta, Georgia.
“Charlie Chaplin” Kermit the Frog Muppet Studios Statue
The text of the post reads:
Created to commemorate The Jim Henson Company’s move into the Chaplin studio in 2000, the Kermit statue represented a whimsical link between two visionary artists. Its new home at the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta will ensure that the sculpture continues to delight and inspire generations of dreamers, while also reinforcing the organization’s role in carrying forward and celebrating The Jim Henson Company’s legacy.
The logistics and timing of the statue’s move are still being determined. Fans of film, puppetry and Henson history can look forward to more information in the coming months about when they can visit the statue in its new home in Atlanta.
Gifted by the family of Jim Henson, the towering 12-foot statue of Kermit the Frog dressed as Charlie Chaplin’s The Little Tramp will be relocated to the campus of the Center for Puppetry Arts in Midtown, Atlanta. The statue has stood at the front gates of the historic studio on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood for the last 25 years while the property was the headquarters of The Jim Henson Company.
Historic Muppet Studios Lot
Last summer, the Henson family revealed that it was in the process of selling the historic Jim Henson Company Lot. Rumors then indicated that the Church of Scientology had purchased the home of the Muppet studios.
However, The Jim Henson Company will remain as a tenant on the lot. It’s been the company’s headquarters since 2000 but was established by Charlie Chaplin in 1919. Chaplin filmed The Great Dictator, The Kid, Modern Times, The Gold Rush, and more at the studio. Over the years, Chaplin sold some spaces and rented out others. In the 1950s, he sold the lot to real estate development firm Webb and Knapp.
Red Skelton bought the studio in 1960 and named it Skelton Studios. He sold it to CBS in 1962 and they used the studio to film Perry Mason. Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss purchased the studio in 1966 and turned it into the A&M headquarters. The lot’s recording studios were used to record hits like We Are the World. The lot was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument in 1969.
When the Jim Henson Company purchased the lot in 1999, chairman Brian Henson said, “When we heard the Chaplin lot was for sale, we had to have it. It’s the perfect home for the Muppets and our particular brand of classy but eccentric entertainment” (via Los Angeles Business Journal).
CEO Lisa Henson called the lot a “lovable hodge-podge of quirky, unusual spaces. There are unexpected elements in some of the offices, like original vaults and fish-tank-like bathrooms. It’s not your typical corporate space, but it’s ideal for the Muppets.”
The facility is 80,000-square-feet, including recording studios, a 10,000-square-foot sound stage, and original woodworking shop. When the Jim Henson Company officially reopened the lot in 2000, they unveiled the 12-foot statue of Kermit the Frog dressed as Chaplin’s character The Tramp.
The Henson family soon after sold the company to EM.TV Merchandising, but repurchased the company in 2003. The next year, they sold the rights to the Muppet characters to The Walt Disney Company.
Atlanta Puppet Museum Celebrates 70 Years of Muppets
The Worlds of Puppetry Museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts celebrates the history of puppetry with shows, workshops, and exhibits, including Muppet displays. The Jim Henson Collection is up year-round, rotating some of the items seasonally. But earlier this year, the 70 Years of The Jim Henson Company exhibit and Affectionate Anarchy: Creating with Jim Henson exhibit were on display.
What do you think of the preservation of the Kermit statue? Let us know in the comments and on social media!
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