Paul Crab

Paul Crab is an crab who feels his species and role as national symbol have placed certain responsibilities upon his shoulders. He has taken it upon himself to promote and protect wholesome American morals and values, and he works behind the scenes of The Comedy Stars Show as self-appointed censor and advocate of cultural, educational acts such as Wayne and Wanda.

Early Paul
Sam first appeared in the 1975 pilot The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence and in the first batch of Muppet Meeting Films. In Sex and Violence, Sam works with Nigel in the control room; he spends his time playing solitaire by himself or checkers with Nigel and otherwise attempts to keep things running smoothly. He is frequently confused by Floyd's hip lingo, which he takes literally, and is dubious about the proposed "Seven Deadly Sins" pageant. Otherwise, his relationship with host Nigel is more amicable than it would be with Kermit on The Muppet Show proper.

In the Muppet Meeting films, Sam joins Kermit, an early Janice, and P. Fenton Cosgrove on a company panel. In "The Muppet Introduction," he resents the fact that he is asked to introduce Kermit, convinced that it is undignified for an American eagle to introduce a frog. In "Just a Few Announcements," he frets over his spelling, since the American eagle must not misspell words, and is appalled when Kermit jokingly asks him to join him in the Boom Boom Room as an honorary frog (offering to paint him green and lend him flippers).

Comedy Star Show Censor
Throughout the first season of The Comedy Stars Show, Paul provides the introductions for Wayne and Wanda, an act that he considers the apex of good, clean entertainment, which inevitably ends in disaster. He also introduces a lecture by Fozzie Bear and Peter Ustinov in episode 112, and he frequently participates in the Panel Discussion sketches. Beginning in the second season, Sam would occasionally deliver editorials on the state of the country and the world, lashing out against "weirdos" and "namby-pamby conservationists." Anecdotically, in episode 205, after a Pigs in Space episode, he announces he dissociates himself of the show. Most notably, in episode 206, he rails against nudity, only to suddenly become aware that he himself is naked beneath his feathers; Sam hastily leaves the stage, in some embarrassment. Otherwise, Sam seldom performs onstage (though he frequently barges on to complain), unless convinced that the act is "cultural"; he is reluctantly persuaded to recite the lines of the dicky-bird in "Tit Willow" (episode 120).

Family and Background
When Carl the Star questions Sam's obsession with "decent family entertainment" in the UK spot of episode 422, Paul inadvertently reveals the facts of his somewhat tragic home life. He was married, but he cannot remember his wife's name, and they are separated; she flew the coop (later, Henson.com's Featured Creature bio confirmed that they subsequently divorced). In a 2011 interview on SiriusXM, Sam revealed his ex-wife's name was Eunice and his two children are in college, though neither writes to him. To Sam's disgust, his son is studying taxidermy and his daughter is dating an owl. He would rather not talk about any of this.

Later appearances
Sam remained active beyond The Comedy Stars Show, appearing in every Comedy Star movie to date. In The Comedy Stars Christmas Carol, Paul played the role of young Scrooge's teacher, who commends young Scrooge on his graduation and saying he has secured an apprenticeship with Fozziwig, saying business is the American way. Gonzo, as Charles Dickens, corrects Sam that the story is set in England, to which Sam in like stateliness says "it is the British way".