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Gonzo (a.k.a. Gonzo the Great) is a puppet character, one of Jim Henson's Muppets. He was developed and performed by Dave Goelz. The character made his first appearance in a 1970 Christmas special entitled "The Great Santa Claus Switch". Known as a "Whatever" (or a "Weirdo" on Muppet Babies), he is considered one of The Frackles. Since his character lived in a cigar box, he was called the "Cigar Box Frackle". He is voiced by Russi Taylor in Jim Henson's Muppet Babies and by Hal Rayle in the ill-fated Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters. He appeared in the premiere episode of Studio DC: Almost Live on 2008. In the 1999 film Muppets from Space it is revealed that he is an alien from a distant planet in space and he meets his alien family for the first time.

Unlike most of the central Muppets characters, Gonzo is not a puppet version of a human or a recognizable animal. He is a muppet who sports a bizarre, non-human appearance, which includes blue fur, purple feathers on his head, bug-eyes, and a long, hooked nose. In The Muppet Show he performed as a performance art, stuntman and daredevil under the name "The Great Gonzo" (or "Gonzo the Great"). He takes pride in his iconoclasm, while romantically pursuing Camilla the Chicken (also a Muppet); indeed, Gonzo is friend to all chickens and the Muppet Show's recognized expert on the species. In his early performances, Gonzo often complained about the people who did not appreciate his "art".

A running gag related to Gonzo is that it is not clear what species he is supposed to be. John Cleese, in his appearance on the show, referred to him as "the ugly, disgusting little one who catches cannonballs". In The Muppet Movie, Kermit, while having his inner conversation, says "And a thing, whatever Gonzo is. He's a little like a turkey.", to which his inner self replied "Yeah, a little like a turkey, but not much." In the film The Great Muppet Caper, he is shipped to England in a crate labeled "Whatever" (while Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear are respectively labeled "Frog" and "Bear"). In the Muppet Treasure Island CD-ROM Game, Gonzo and Rizzo The Rat land in a bucket of molasses, following the dialogue of a Carriage Driver saying "It's raining rats and... whatevers". In The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Gonzo played a Tin Man-ish character primarily known as the "Tin Thing". In Muppet Babies, Gonzo (voice of Russi Taylor) was simply referred to as a "weirdo" or "blue weirdo". He has referred to himself as a "whatever", resigned to ignorance of his actual species. In one episode, he dreams that he is an anteater. In Muppets from Space, it is revealed that Gonzo is an alien.

When Liberace, as a guest on The Muppet Show, organized a production number with birds, Gonzo longed to get his chicken friends into the act; when told by Liberace's Muppet bodyguard that Liberace had no interest in chickens, Gonzo tried to arrange an appointment for himself, claiming "I'm a bird! I'm a turkey!" When the bodyguard expressed doubt, Gonzo elaborated: "Have you seen my act?!" The bodyguard accepted Gonzo's turkey status without further argument.

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