Kermit's first Sam & Friends episode question

[Muppet Frog]

Can someone please tell me what was the first Sam & Friends episode that introduced Kermit because I feel a little curious.

 

[armslength]

That, I'm afraid, may actually be one of the great Muppet mysteries lost to time and the lack of easily accessible recording material. It's unlikely anyone would remember this except Jim (who ouija boards aside we can't ask) or Jane Henson (doubtful she'd remember). In fact, there's even some question as to whether Kermit actually debuted in 1955 or 1956.

 

[minor muppetz]

Maybe he was in the first episode, maybe he wasn't.

 

[ploobis]

Well we do know that Kermit made his Network Television debute in 1956 on The Steve Allen Show where he first did the classic "I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face" sketch.

But ya know, That is a good question about Kermit's first Sam & Friends episode!

 

[Muppet Frog]

Thanks for the information.

 

[minor muppetz]

I don't know if The Jim Henson Company has/ had any official documents as to when Kermit exactly debuted, but I have seen some Kermit toys that had a 1956 copyright on it's foot. I don't know if that means Kermit first appeared on Sam and Friends in 1956, or if the character (and possibly other Sam and Friends characters) wasn't copyrighted until a year later (it seems to be the case with many Sesame Street songs), or if the copyright only applies to the first national television appearance.

I think that both The Jim Henson Company and The Walt Disney Company officially consider 1955 to be the debut year. Disney celebrated Kermit's 50th anniversary in 2005, and an Ask Henson.com response pointed out that Kermit's birth year is 1955, also pointing out that when he made a guest apearance celebrating his birthday on Dinah! that he was a year off when revealing how old he is (I think Jim Henson might have known for sure when he first appeared, while the Jim Henson Company Archives may or may not have had any such documents, but then again, there was an interview where Jim Henson incorrectly confirmed that Kermit first became a frog and got his collar and flipers in The Frog Prince).