Yoda checks into rehab clinic

Hub Pages newswire
Friday, June 23, 2006
By Ethan 

MALIBU- It seems the force isn’t all that Yoda has been using. 

Yoda (whose legally changed his name from Kermit the Frog when the Muppet Show was cancelled in 1981) checked into Passages, a Malibu rehab center with monthly fees of $39,500. 

A spokesperson for the muppet formerly known as Kermit, said that everything was fine in the 70’s while Frank Oz and Kermit worked together.  “It was great back then when he was Kermit playing Kermit because he could be himself, just a lovable guy.  He was in the business of entertaining kids.  But when George Lucas approached him about becoming Yoda, the whole weight of the galaxy rested on his shoulders. He didn’t just change his name, he changed everything about him.  But he is addressing the problem and is looking forward to coming out of this stronger than before.” 

Apparently shortly into the filming of the Empire Strikes Back, Dr. Teeth and Zoot started hanging out in Yoda’s trailer, getting him into alcohol and possibly heavier drugs.

C3PO recalls a major shift, “Oh My . I certainly remember those days, he simply would not come out of his chambers, I’m afraid he was quite an addict.  Still is, I believe. We are all lost I tell you!  Lost! What are we going to do?” 

It turned out that Yoda’s addictions worked for him during film shoots.  He was once quoted as saying, “Yeah, I was so out of it, I couldn’t even form sentences, man.  But George just rolled with it.  I remember he was chewing me out for not being forceful enough with Luke in one scene, and I was like ‘man, you gotta feel the force!’  I don’t know what I was talking about, but George just freaked.  He was like ‘that’s it, use that!’  I never looked back.”

As Yoda’s success grew so did his addictions.  Star magazine recently published these photos of Yoda on a drinking binge in a strip mall in the Valley.

Yoda checked himself into rehab shortly thereafter.