Statler and Waldorf

Statler and Waldorf are a pair of Muppet characters known for their cantankerous opinions and mutual penchant for heckling. The two elderly men first appeared in The Muppet Show, where they consistently jeered the entirety of the cast and their performances from their balcony seats. Statler and Waldorf are named after two New York City hotels, the Statler Hilton and the Waldorf-Astoria.

In The Muppet Show, the two were always trashing Fozzie Bear's humour, except for one occasion where Fozzie, with help from Bruce Forsyth, heckled them back. In contrast, they found themselves vastly entertaining and inevitably burst into mutual laughter at their own witticisms (though, they would, on several occasions, heckle each other, too). It is later revealed in the A Muppet Family Christmas special that the two hecklers were friends with Fozzie's mother, Emily Bear. Despite constantly complaining about the show and how terrible some acts were, they would always be back the following week in the best seats in the house. As to why, the original version of The Muppet Show theme song had Statler admitting, "I guess we'll never know." They appeared in all but one episode of the show. They later appeared in Muppets Tonight watching on television from a retirement home.