Only Miss Piggy's creator knows the depths of her tragic origin story. Frank Oz, who gave life to the character in the early 1970s, says Piggy left her hometown farm for life in the big city after her dad died in a tractor accident and she had a falling out with her mother.
Piggy went to charm school once she got to the Big Apple, Oz says, "but she had to pay for it, so she did some things she wasn't proud of." (A bacon commercial, he adds.)
Gonzo's daring nature was born out of puppeteer Dave Goelz's personal insecurities, and actor/puppeteer Jerry Nelson drew on Eeyore's depressive demeanor to create Snuffleupagus' signature phrase — "Oh, dear" — on "Sesame Street.