I was re-watching the adorable clip of Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog singing John Prine's "In Spite of Ourselves," which is perfect in every way. But upon re-watching, I started to pay attention to what was happening off stage, and I wanted to learn more about the drama that was clearly brewing, and about the characters involved. If you watch it again, you'll notice two characters chatting about what's going down. One character is Rizzo the Rat, and the other is Pepe the King Prawn. Both have terrific origin stories (you can read about Rizzo here), but I'm particularly fascinated by Pepe the King Prawn. If you didn't know, there's a "Muppet Fandom" wiki that is a trove of information about all things Muppet. Here's some info about Pepe, according to his page on the Muppet Fandom wiki:
Pepe the King Prawn, whose full name is Pepino Rodrigo Serrano Gonzales, hails from Málaga, Spain.[1][2] According to a 1999 TVGuide.com interview, he started out as a chef in Madrid, before moving to Hollywood and following his true calling in show business. Pepe remarked, "There were one too many close calls in the kitchen. I was mistaken for an appetizer, okay."
The wiki goes on to explain:
Pepe is in love with Hollywood and expects he will earn several Oscar nominations (for good looks, acting and choreography. And foley.). His influences include Dick van Dyke, Marlon Brando, Ruth Buzzi, Topo Gigio, and Mighty Mouse.[3] He has also referred to Ricky Martin on at least two separate occasions. In his TVGuide.com chat, he challenged the pop star to a sing-off, and in It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie, he was invited to shake his "bon bons" at Ricky Martin's South Beach Christmas party.
The most fascinating thing I learned about Pepe, though, is that he has authored a book! It's called "It's Hard Out Here for a Shrimp: Life, Love, and Living Large." And it's actually real, in that you can go buy it from Amazon, where it's described this way:
Pepe the King Prawn is no ordinary shrimp. He's an entrepreneur, a raconteur, a ladies' prawn, a schemer, and a specialist at looking on the bright side of life! Known for his hilarious, uninhibited honesty and his smooth-talking way with the ladies, Pepe has finally written the book everyone has been begging him to publish. (Well, actually they wanted him to publish his little black book. But some things are priceless, okay.) From family and friendship to romance and roguery–plus everything in between–Pepe's words of wisdom will delight readers of all ages. Served up hot, fresh, and filled with wit, pith, and a dash of salsa–this is Pepe's guide to life, love, and livin' large. Pepe is a prawn for our time, guaranteed to make your life lively, hot, and very, very spicy!
I can't vouch for the quality of the book – after all, it's written by a prawn. The Amazon reviews are a mixed bag, as well. Let me know if you've read it, though, I'm more than a little curious!
