Onky

and rod puppets Henson had been using – Onky had “live-hands” meaning the puppeteer put his hand in the puppet’s glove-like hand, enabling the character to easily pick up things (like the product being advertised) and give a more realistic performance. While Onky’s arms were short and almost flipper-like, making for an awkward kind of movement, later in the year, Jim and his new collaborator Don Sahlin created a live-hand puppet that was extremely expressive: Rowlf the Dog.[1]”

The puppet was later re-worked to become Mack, a character featured in ads for Claussen's Bakery, McGarry's Sausage, C & P Telephone Co.