Rita Moreno Puts a Wildly Drumming Animal in His Place While Singing ‘Fever’ on ‘The Muppet Show’ in 1976

In a 1976 episode of The Muppet Show, the great Rita Moreno performed a sultry cover of the classic song “Fever”, famously recorded by Peggy Lee, with Animal on the drums.

At first, everything was going smoothly, but about halfway in, Animal threw in a loud rimshot that caused Moreno to stop what she was doing and scold him in both Spanish and English. When Animal went completely off the rails on drums, Moreno quite definitively put him in his place.

Classic song Treated by the muppets.Rita Moreno

Moreno’s appearance on the episode earned her an Emmy Award in 1977 for “Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music”. She told the Television Academy that she loved working on the show.

Working with the Muppets was a true joy in my life. I loved the experience so much, I used to drop in to the studio and do voices for their girl puppets just because it was so much fun. I became quite close to Jim Henson. He was an artist and a genius.

Rosie Perez recreated Moreno’s performance during the 2015 Kennedy Center Honors.

via Barbara Sobel