Gonzo The Great

Gonzo the Great (or simply Gonzo) is a puppet character, one of the main characters of The Muppets. He was developed and performed by Dave Goelz. The character made his first appearance in a 1970 Christmas special entitled "The Great Santa Claus Switch". Known as a "Whatever" (or a "Weirdo" on Muppet Babies), he is considered one of The Frackles. Since his character lived in a cigar box, he was called the "Cigar Box Frackle". Originally a minor figure on The Muppet Show, he soon evolved into one of the franchise's principal characters.

Though primarily performed by Dave Goelz, he has also been voiced by Russi Taylor in Jim Henson's Muppet Babies and by Hal Rayle in the ill-fated Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters. In the 1999 film Muppets from Space, it is revealed that he is an alien from a distant planet in space and he meets his alien family for the first time. This made Gonzo the first Muppet other than Kermit to feature as the main protagonist in a Muppet film.