Pirates & Princesses on MSN

Sam the Eagle debuted in a 1975 Muppet pilot called "Sex and Violence"

Before The Muppet Show, ABC aired a 1975 pilot hosted by a Muppet named Nigel, with Kermit barely in it.
Smithsonian Magazine

Kermit the Frog Was Just Trying to Put on a Variety Show. Fifty Years Later, the Muppets Are Some of the Biggest Stars in Television History

The first episode of Jim Henson's "The Muppet Show" premiered in the United Kingdom on September 5, 1976. Enthusiasm for the ...