The forgotten Muppets

The world of the Muppets puts the human race's efforts at diversity in the shade. Sure, there's Kermit, Fozzy, Miss Piggy, Rowlf and Gonzo, but for every Muppet you've heard of, there's probably about 50 more bizarre furry creations that you haven't.

Full of in-jokes and hidden cultural and political references, these are the Muppets you're less likely to have heard of. Their latest film is out now...

Johnny Fiama

Subversive as it is, to have a Muppet with mob connections is inspired (as evidenced by the none-too-subtle anagram of his surname). The suave Johnny Fiama was a crooner in the style of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Tony Bennett who lives with his mother and first appeared on 'Muppets Tonight' in 1996 alongside Billy Crystal. He even came complete with a hired goon too, his over-zealous muscle Sal Minella.

Gingrich The Newt

A little bit of politics here from the Muppets way back in 1994, with the introduction of the character Gingrich The Newt, a very distant cousin of Kermit The Frog. Based, obviously, on US politician Newt Gingrich, he hailed from the swamps of Georgia and was the 'speaker of the swamp' (Gingrich was the speaker of the House of Representatives at the time) who described swamp politics as being full of 'slugs, leeches and pond scum'. Ahem. Little did they know that Gingrich would be seeking to take on the president nearly 20 years later.

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Chopped Liver

Looking much as he sounds, Chopped Liver is an alien monster from the planet Zabar who first turned up to harrass the crew of the Swinetrek in an episode of 'Pigs in Space'. His home planet is so-named after a famous deli on New York's upper west side, Zabar's, whose chopped liver is the stuff of legend. Chopped Liver also appeared in a backing band called 'The Vile Bunch' which played alongside Alice Cooper in a Muppets episode in 1978.

David Finch

In a brilliant skit which it's unlikely a single viewing child would have 'got', Muppet bird character David Finch (a play on the leftfield director David Lynch) appeared in an episode of 'Monsterpiece Theatre'. The Muppet of David Finch has his nose split into two, giving an extra layer of reference – 'twin beaks', after Lynch's warped soap opera 'Twin Peaks'.

The Australians

The Australians appeared briefly in episode 317 of 'The Muppet Show', an international extravaganza themed broadcast in 1978. Among a cast of various nationalities, they walk upside down on the ceiling in their dressing room. Obviously. Jim, the only one who speaks, in fact, was voiced by the entirely legendary Spike Milligan.

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Woody Allen Muppet

Yes, there is a Muppet of film director Woody Allen, which for some reason seems to be a gloriously appropriate thing.

Woody Allen Muppet appeared on the online spin-off Muppet show series 'Statler & Waldorf: From The Balcony', which saw the heckling pair discussing movies – in this case what 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' would have been like had it been directed by Allen. Completely and utterly ace.

Spill O'Reilly

In another great cultural and political reference, Spill O'Reilly is one of the Sesame Street Workshop Muppets, and a parody of conservative Fox News broadcaster Bill O'Reilly. A 'Grouch' newscaster, in the vein of Oscar The Grouch, he is on the Grouch News Network and plugs his book 'A Stinky Rotten Pile of Grouchiness', a slight on O'Reilly's own book 'A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity'.

Disagreeable Sandwich

You know how Bill Cosby loves sandwiches, right? Well this Muppet appeared on a 'Cosby Show' episode called 'Cliff's Nightmare', whereupon Cliff Huxtable (Cosby) eats a suspect hoagie and experiences a lucid nightmare. The nightmare is populated by several Muppets, one of which is a Disagreeable Sandwich, made of sausage, peppers and Swiss cheese, who rows with the greedy obstetrician repeatedly. Obviously.