The Origin of Mokey's Name

[Convincing John]

Anyone know where Mokey got her name? I've heard where the other main Fraggles got their names, but I don't know where Mokey got her name...

Anyone know?

Convincing John

[That Announcer]

Anyone know where Mokey got her name? I've heard where the other main Fraggles got their names, but I don't know where Mokey got her name...



Really? I'm assuming Red was because of her hair and Gobo is based on the term "go-between" as he goes between the Fraggle and human worlds, but where did Boober get his name?

[Convincing John]

Boober got his name from a grumpy horse that Jim Henson saw once. He thought the name was funny so he used it. Wembley comes from the Wembley stadium.

Convincing John

[Effralyo]

Johnny, it was a COW.

[MuppetNewsHound]

Mokey was a childhood friend of Jim Henson. That is how she got her name.

[luvtosr]

Yeah, according to a quiz on this site Boober was named after a mad cow. Here's some others I've looked into, I can't say for definite that they're right but though

Boober - angry cow

Gobo - a piece of metal or similar with a pattern cut in it for use in stage lighting and projection.

Henchy - taken from Henchman

Balsam and Gillis (and possibly Feenie with the spelling changed) - cast and crew members' surnames.

Red - um, well, she wears a red sweater.

Wembley - Wembley Stadium

Herkimer - county of New York

Merkey (Merggle) - taken from 'murky', description often applied to water.

Mermer (Merggle) - possibly taken from 'murmur' but also a sort of distortion of 'mermaid'

Pedley - is a place in California

Phil Fraggle - is voiced by Phil Balsam

Cantus - to sing (in Latin)

Brio - lively, with vigour musical term con brio

Brool - discussion over at FR.com seems to have settled on it being like a roar

Murray - well, um, why not?

Anyway, I'm not saying all those are correct but I think they're pretty good guesses.

[Emosewa]

You forgot, traveling matt was named for another piece of stage equipment, the traveling matte. Though I forget what it does.. :o

[luvtosr]

You forgot, traveling matt was named for another piece of stage equipment, the traveling matte. Though I forget what it does.. :o

Oh yeah, oops!
:o

[Convincing John]

Johnny, it was a COW.


Oh, yeah...an angry cow. Whoops. Sorr-ee :halo:

Convincing John

[minor muppetz]

You forgot, traveling matt was named for another piece of stage equipment, the traveling matte. Though I forget what it does.. :o

The traveling matte is an effect used to make something appear to be in a place that wasn't there when it was filmed. This is used when actors play two roles on-screen at once, or if the backgrounds are animated (and the actors and actresses work in front of a blue or green screen). The traveling matte can make it look like somebody is flying, shrinking, or having their heads pulled off without using a prop head.

I hope this helps.

[Emosewa]

Ohhh of course, like a blue screen? Thanks ^_^ My memory sometimes.. straight out the window.

[GonzoLeaper]

I learned about this the other day in class and thought about this thread, so I thought I'd share a possible origin for Mokey's name. I don't remember all of it, but we were learning about some Indian dude who lived during the Vedic period and came up with the 4 Fundamental Values of the Upanishad. The fourth one was Moksha- which represented spirituality and philosophy. That sounds like a perfect fit for Mokey. So maybe Mokey is short for Moksha? That may not be it at all, but I just thought it was interesting. :smirk: :excited: :concern:

[Gorgon Heap]

Maybe whoever wants to know the answer to the topic question could email the fanmail dept. at Henson.com. I think it's still fanmail@henson.com but I haven't used it in a while.


Balsam and Gillis (and possibly Feenie with the spelling changed) - cast and crew members' surnames.

Not only that, but Don Gillis was the musical director, and Gillis Fraggle was the Fraggle music director, sometimes dubbed 'The Maestro'.

Red - um, well, she wears a red sweater.

AND has red hair.

Cantus - to sing (in Latin)

Brio - lively, with vigour musical term con brio

Brool - discussion over at FR.com seems to have settled on it being like a roar

Murray - well, um, why not?

I figured that Murray's name was a deliberate oddity, as in Zippity, Skippity, Hoppity, Bing, Bong and Fred, the elves from "The Great Santa Claus Switch". Or the Zucchini Brothers- in the Wally Boag episode, there are six brothers, and five of them are named Luigi, Giuseppe, Marco, Lorenzo, and Heathcliff. Or the Three Musketeers in the sketch from "The Muppets Go to the Movies": Ethos, Porthos, and Gummo (played by Gonzo, Scooter, and Link, respectively). Follow that up with Balsam, Brio, Brool, and Murray. I'm sure this naming trend exists elsewhere in the Henson canon as well, I just can't think of any other examples right now. Can anyone else?

David "Gorgon Heap" Ebersole

[Janice & Mokey's Man]

I would LOVE to know the origin of Mokey's name!!

Really!

I would!

:excited:

And how cool about Boober and Gobo and Traveling Matt---I don't think I knew about their name origins! (though I knew of Wembley's thanks to "Jim Henson: The Works")