#Kermit and Piggy both won Golden Globes for Muppet Caper

[duck-plus-horse]

Gonzo (performer)

Gonzo, occasionally credited as Gonzo the Great, is a Muppet actor, writer, and performance artist best known for his[a] longtime friendship and many collaborations with Kermit the Frog and Jim Henson beginning in the 1970s.

For his film debut in The Muppet Movie (1979), Gonzo was nominated for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. He saw continued success in the early 1980s in a series of comedies, usually in supporting roles, such as The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Tootsie (1982), and The Muppets Take Manhattan (1983). Repo Man (1984) marked his entry into edgier material, followed by another Academy Award nomination for Supporting Actor for the war drama Platoon (1985). He then appeared in the poorly-received Shanghai Surprise (1986) and Ishtar (1987), though the latter has seen a recent revival as a cult classic, due in large part to Gonzo's performance.

Following the death of Jim Henson in 1990, Gonzo took a brief hiatus from acting until 1993, when he reunited with the Muppets to play Charles Dickens in The Muppet Christmas Carol, receiving another Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actor and igniting a partnership with Rizzo the Rat that lasted until Rizzo and the Muppets parted ways in 2016. The Muppet Christmas Carol, along with To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) and Muppet Treasure Island (1997), heralded a career resurgence that led to Muppets from Space (1999), resulting in a Golden Globe win and Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. After Muppets from Space, he appeared in O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2001), his first of four collaborations with the Coen brothers.

Gonzo has continued to work with the Muppets, most recently as head writer for Up Late with Miss Piggy (2015-2016). He has also emerged as a vocal queer activist and has been arrested a number of times at climate change protests.

Contents [hide]

1 Early life

1.1 Controversies

2 Career

2.1 1970s: Early television roles

2.2 1975-1979: The Muppet Show and breakout

2.3 1980s: Transition to film and early leading roles

2.4 1990-1993: Henson's death and hiatus

2.5 1993-1999: Partnership with Rizzo the Rat and elevation to leading whatever

2.6 2000-2010: Return to performance art

2.7 2011-present: Work with Disney

3 Filmography

4 Awards and honors

5 Personal life

5.1 Relationships

5.2 Activism

5.2.1 LGBT issues

5.2.2 Climate change

6 Notes

[a] Gonzo uses he/him and they/them personal pronouns. This article uses he/him for consistency.

7 References

8 External links