Bert and Ernie
The Muppet: Sesame Street roommates with a distinct Odd Couple vibe: the happy, easygoing, Rubber Duckie-loving Ernie, and grumpy, serious Bert.
Muppet Magic: It's thanks to Bert and Ernie that there were Muppets at all in Sesame Street , being the only element of the otherwise all-human pilot to do well with test audiences.
Greatest Moment: Ernie trades in his Rubber Duckie to buy Bert a box for his paper clips as a Christmas present...but Bert has sold his paper clips to buy Ernie a soap dish to put Rubber Duckie in. Ah.
Statler and Waldorf
The Muppet: Rarely seen apart, the two gentleman hecklers delight in ripping apart whoever's on stage. They'd be great to follow on Twitter.
Muppet Magic: While the Waldorf-Astoria is still going strong, New York's Statler Hotel was renamed the Hotel Pennsylvania in 1992, rather spoiling the joke.
Greatest Moment: Showing hitherto untapped acting and singing talents playing 'Marley and Marley' in The Muppet Christmas Carol .
Swedish Chef
The Muppet: Demented Euro-chef whose animal-slicing culinary tastes are as unintelligble as his singing. Børk! Børk! Børk!
Muppet Magic: According to his son Brian, Jim Henson used to perform to a tape called 'How To Speak Mock Swedish' while driving around town.
Greatest Moment: Making chocolate moose.
Oscar The Grouch
The Muppet: Unlike the more child-like stars of Sesame Street , Oscar is the adult who has seen it all, and has come to the conclusion that life is trash - so he lives in a trashcan.
Muppet Magic: In the early years, Oscar was sent trash as fanmail, including tattered clothes, stale food and, rather worryingly, used Kleenexes.
Greatest Moment: Remarkably, Oscar has a fan following on Sesame Street , too: the Grouchketeers. He once complimented them on a song they performed for him.
Fozzie Bear
The Muppet: Incapable of telling a decent joke on purpose, forever heckled by Statler and Waldorf, Fozzie should have given up trying to be a comedian years ago. But his sheer enthusiasm is why we love him.
Muppet Magic: Not content with allowing Fozzie to wiggle his ears, puppet builder Faz Fazakas also directly inspired the character's name.
Greatest Moment: Any time he gets through a set unscathed.
Big Bird
The Muppet: Sesame Street resident who makes up for his imposing size - over eight foot tall - by being incredibly friendly.
Muppet Magic: After Big Bird performer Caroll Spinney was caught on camera inside the costume, Jim Henson admonished him for breaking the illusion: "You're either bird or you, but no in between."
Greatest Moment: When an actor who played Big Bird's friend Mr Hooper died, the character was killed off, too... necessitating a sad announcement for Big Bird and a landmark in kids' TV.
Animal
The Muppet: The Electric Mayhem's feral drummer, who could show Keith Moon a thing or two about leading the wild rock 'n' roll life. The only thing he likes more than playing is "wo-man!"
Muppet Magic: Animal made his debut in the 'Sex and Violence' pilot, where he was kept chained up in the basement of the Muppet Theatre.
Greatest Moment: Growing to ten times normal height after taking Bunsen's Insta-Grow Pills in The Muppet Movie .
The Great Gonzo
The Muppet: Avant garde daredevil renowned for his maverick performance art: it's not unusual for him to try and educate the audience while risking life and limb.
Defusing a bomb while reciting Shelley's poetry, for example.
Muppet Magic: With his species unknown for many years, Gonzo was labelled a 'Whatever.' Muppets From Space gave the secret away: Gonzo's an alien.
Greatest Moment: Gonzo nailed the prestige gig of playing Charles Dickens, narrator of The Muppet Christmas Carol .
Miss Piggy
The Muppet: The greatest diva in The Muppet Theatre high-kicked (and karate-chopped) her way to fame with a beguiling blend of ruthlessness and love for Kermy.
Muppet Magic: Frank Oz roadtested Miss Piggy's famous voice and personality in Sesame Street 's version of Snow White in 1971.
Greatest Moment: With that level of fame and ubiquity, it's hard to pick out a single achievement... but how many pig puppets have released their own workout album with tracks like 'Snackercise'?
Kermit The Frog
The Muppet: With ping-pong eye balls and green felt skin, Kermit was Jim Henson's alter-ego from the minute he made his debut on Sam and Friends in 1955.
Sesame Street resident, unflappable Muppet Show host, movie star and consort to piggy royalty, there's little he hasn't done. Now wave your arms in the arm and shout, "Yaaaay!"
Muppet Magic: Kermit wasn't officially labelled as a frog on-air until Johnny Carson introduced him as such on T he Tonight Show in 1965.
Greatest Moment: It might not be easy being green, but nothing tops 'The Rainbow Connection' from The Muppet Movie .
