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Gonzo, formally known as the Great Gonzo or Gonzo the Great, is the resident daredevil performance alien artiste on The Muppet Show. He is an odd-looking unidentifiable creature with indigo fur, bug eyes, and a long crooked nose. He takes pride in his uniqueness and enjoys everything that he does, no matter how painful or ill-advised it may be. He was developed and performed by Dave Goelz and made his first appearance in 1970 in a Christmas TV special called The Great Santa Claus Switch.

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The notion of Gonzo as a character who performs terrible acts but considers them artistic was devised by Jerry Juhl. As Dave Goelz recalled, the character might have been forgotten were it not for Jack Burns, the show's original head writer, who during an early meeting suggested Gonzo perform "these crazy acts like eating a tire to 'Flight of the Bumblebee!'" So, in the show's first episode, Gonzo did exactly that and the character grew from there. Burns also coined the character's name. ]

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