The Flying Zucchini Brothers

The Flying Zucchini Brothers is an Italian acrobat/daredevil act on The Muppet Show. They also appeared in The Muppet Show On Tour. (See The Flying Zucchini Brothers walk-arounds.) The Zucchini Brothers are best known for their Human Cannon Ball act. This act is mostly performed by three Zucchini brothers and one cannon, although the Wally Boag episode features six brothers and five cannons. Some of the Zucchini Brothers' names are Biondo (episode 412), Marco, Giuseppi, Luigi, Lorenzo, and Heathcliff (the "Mama's Boy" of the group). The Zucchini Brother puppets are Whatnots; they tend to look a little differently in each episode, although their design remains basically the same. The characters re-appeared in Muppets Most Wanted, performing their cannonball act at the end of "We're Doing a Sequel." Their performers included Mak Wilson and Nigel Plaskitt.[1] The updated puppets were designed by Lauren Attinello.[2] The name is a parody of the Zacchini Brothers, one of the world's earliest and most famous human cannonball acts, who performed in Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus in the 1930s and '40s. According to Frank Oz, the characters were based on some waiters at a restaurant Muppet Show writer meetings would be held at who would frequently mess up their orders.[3]