The Muppets industry and popular culture in the United States, receiving recognition from various cultural institutions and organizations, including the American Film Institute, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, Library of Congress, and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Muppets were created by puppeteer Jim Henson in the 1950s, beginning with Kermit the Frog, who would become Henson's most recognizable character. Originally conceived for an adult audience, Henson claimed, and later retracted, that he coined the term "Muppet" as a portmanteau of the words "marionette" and "puppet". In 1955, the Muppets were introduced in "Sam and Friends", a short-form television series
The Muppets Rudman, Vogel and Peter Linz. The majority of the Muppets are designed as hand puppets, with several characters utilizing rods. Common design elements of the Muppets include wide mouths and large protruding eyes. The puppets are often molded or carved out of various types of foam and covered with any felt-like material. Muppets may represent humans; anthropomorphic characters; realistic animals; robots; extraterrestrial creatures; mythical beings; or other forms of abstract characters. The Muppets are distinguished from ventriloquist dummies, which are often animated only in the head and face, in that their arms or other features are also animated. Muppets are