Before the Muppet Show…

You ever hear of Wilkins and Wontkins?

I didn’t think so, but if you are Muppet fans then you should have.

Wilkins is the larger puppet on the left, with Wontkins on the right. They have pretty simplistic designs, but they are unmistakeably Muppets.

Now just so you can say you learned something today, here is an excerpt from the Muppet Wiki:

Wilkins and Wontkins were the Muppet stars of one of the earliest, and perhaps longest running, commercial series made by Jim Henson, appearing in 8 second spots for Wilkins Coffee. Wilkins was a smiling character named for the coffee, and Wontkins was his generally dour counterpart, a grumpy blob who couldn’t stand the Wilkins brand. Wilkins would be a strong proponent of drinking Wilkins Coffee, and would attempt to convince Wontkins to drink it, too. Wontkins however, always refused, leading Wilkins to maim, destroy, assault, and sometimes kill Wontkins over his dislike of Wilkins Coffee.

Wontkins was named as Wilkins’ opposite: they either “will” or “won’t” drink the coffee. If you won’t, bad things will happen to you.

In 1958 these characters had proven to be so popular that it was decided to make some toys to promote the brand further.

So as you can see on this original coffee can, for just a buck and “the last inch of winding band from Wilkins Coffee” you could get the pair of vinyl puppets.

Just like these…

From the collection of Jeffrey Pidgeon - www.jeffpidgeon.com

Notice how the Wontkins is blue yet in the photo of the puppets above he was red. A blunder for sure right? Well maybe not so much. The commercials were actually all aired in black and white so it is quite easy to believe that the toy manufacturers used the TV spots as reference and just made a best guess. Whatever the reason I don’t think it makes a difference at all, they are 100% awesome.

Anyone from the UK will immediately see the similarities between Wilkins and a very famous character from British TV.

This is Zippy from the show Rainbow which ran for 15 seasons between 1972 and 1992 for a total of 1071 episodes. When I said similarities before obviously I meant that he looked pretty much exactly the same, that is of course with the exception that Zippy doesn’t have legs that ever get seen. Their personalities are also quite different, if you want to see Zippy in action click here. The show is terrible but it was a staple for any kid growing up in the 70s and 80s… yes that would be me.

Now back to Wilkins and Wontkins, don’t even think about trying to get your hands on a pair of these puppets. I know I told you that initially they were just $1, well let’s just say that the market has favored these collectibles greatly. Expect to pay well over $500 for the two, and that is with the caveat that you could even find them for sale. As you can see they do not seem to be that robust in their construction and were never designed to last that long… certainly not 50 years that’s for sure. As a result very few of these survive.

Given that since the time when Jim Henson was a young man hawking Wilkins Coffee the Muppets have become a HUGE phenom and they are well  known worldwide. AND given the rarity of these puppets combined with the fact that they were the first piece of Muppets merchandise to have been made, well let’s just say that regular market forces do not apply to these toys. If a pair did surface and it caught the attention of the right people the price could spiral upwards very rapidly and who knows where it would end.

Here are some of the original Wilkins Coffee commercials, they are amazing for many reasons that I am sure you will see for yourself. I some how doubt that they would be allowed to air on TV today.

Thoughts?

To see more of these earliest Muppets go to click here.

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