Rizzo the Rat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rizzo the Rat |
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| The Muppets character | |
Rizzo in A Tail of Two Piggies episode of The Muppets
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| First appearance | The Muppet Show (episode 418) |
| Created by | Steve Whitmire Jim Henson |
| Voiced by | Steve Whitmire (1980-2016) Peter Linz (2017-Present) Ben Diskin (Muppet Babies 2018) |
| Information | |
| Species | Muppet rat |
| Gender | Male |
| Nationality | American |
Rizzo the Rat is a Muppet character, created and performed by Steve Whitmire. He is a fictional rat who appeared on The Muppet Show and numerous films, with a starring role in the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol.
The character is particularly associated with Gonzo the Great, with the two sharing a double act since 1992. Whitmire based the character on Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy and performed him until 2016.
Character
Rizzo is a streetwise and sarcastic rat with a New Jersey accent. He is a self-proclaimed acrophobe. His humor can be risque, as in the TV series The Muppets he was given the line, "Is ABC going to be OK with 'Mother Teresa on a stick'?" To avoid potential difficulty with real-life censors, alternative lines were filmed.
Rizzo's family has been mentioned in Muppet media. He has 1,274 brothers and sisters, as told to Gonzo in The Muppet Christmas Carol. In 2016, Disney announced Rizzo came from a family that traditionally cooked pizzas. This addition to his story was in light of a new pizzeria at Disney's Hollywood Studios dedicated to Rizzo, called PizzeRizzo.
Images for kids
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Steve Whitmire was Rizzo's creator and original performer.
