Hot Fudge

Did You Know?

• A 1974 episode submitted for a Peabody Award was retained in the University of Georgia's Peabody Awards Collection Archives, even though it was not selected for the award itself.
• Glenn Denver, a puppet parody of John Denver, released an album titled 'Glenn Denver Sings Country Songs from the Hot Fudge T.V. Show.'

Overview

Featuring music, songs, and sketches with live actors and puppets (known as the "Mits") in a manner similar to Sesame Street, the show was originally hosted by Arte Johnson. The duo of the bearded musician Larry (Larry Santos) and green, fuzzy, monster-like puppet Seymour (voiced by producer Bob Elnicky) took over after the first season. A Hot Fudge episode was submitted to the University of Georgia for a Peabody Award in 1974; though not selected for the award itself, it was retained for the university's Peabody Awards Collection Archives. The show won a Puppeteers of America ACT AWARD in 1976.

Sketches and characters

The series included numerous recurring sketches and characters. Holy Moley! featured a simple-minded man (Ron Coden) who tries to outwit problems, but gets socked back. Name That Feeling, hosted by Professor Emotion (Ron Coden), was a parody of Name That Tune with two versions: in seasons 1 and 2, the day's "Secret Feeling" was revealed, the puppet contestant was introduced, and Professor Emotion tried to get the contestant to feel the "Secret Feeling" shown under the window of the contestant's "isolation booth"; in seasons 3 and 4, puppet contestants watched a video clip of other puppets and tried to guess how they felt, shown in two parts with an in-show commercial sandwiched in-between.

Write On! had puppet characters reading jokes or riddles sent in by kids. Newsreel presented film footage of various items narrated by kids in newsreel style. Unreasonable Report featured news sketches with Harry Unreasonable, a parody of news anchor Harry Reasoner. Other sketches included Detective Tomato (Ron Coden) giving advice to children then leaving through the door behind him, only to have something happen to him when he goes through; Elton Seymour, with Seymour playing a tune in the guise of Elton John, usually featured at the beginning of the show; Mr. Nasty (Ron Coden), who loves being booed by his audience, gives tips on how to be as nasty as him, only to have the tables turned on him by his landlady in the end, prompting the audience to applaud; and Amanda Caruthers (later replaced by Yolanda Williams) portraying various characters in sketches, often giving kindly advice to the inquiring puppets.

Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre

For a short time in 1983, animatronic stage shows featuring the Hot Fudge characters appeared in Pizza Time Theatre restaurants in cases where a new location couldn't receive the Chuck E. Cheese branded band in time. This stage show was installed in the Clawson, MI, Warren, MI, Okemos, MI, Warwick, RI, Danvers, MA, and Ann Arbor, MI locations. Most locations renamed the characters based on local voting. Seymour was able to be interactive with guests, having an employee puppeteer him from backstage. This stage show was removed from all of the locations that had it in 1984.