Jack Parnell, R. I. P.

The Associated Press: 'Muppet Show' bandleader Jack Parnell dies at 87: "British jazz drummer Jack Parnell, who served as bandleader on 'The Muppet Show,' has died aged 87, his family said Monday.

The family said Parnell died at his home in Southwold, eastern England, on Sunday following a yearlong battle with cancer.

Parnell was born in 1923, the son of a showbiz family — his father was a music hall performer and his uncle ran a string of theaters — and began drumming professionally as a teenager. During World War II he served in the Royal Air Force and performed in a band at the headquarters of Bomber Command."