"JerryJuhl" news and stories

Swedish chef Lars Kuprik Bäckman. Photo: Courtesy Lars "Kuprik" Bäckman

Lars "Kuprik" Bäckman of Rättvik, Sweden, is again asserting his claim that he inspired the goofy Swenglish-speaking Swedish Chef character from Jim Henson's "The Muppet Show." He tells ABC News that a horrific cooking-show appearance on a morning talk show some 40 years ago is proof.

"I was live on TV in America, and I was paralyzed. I couldn't speak! I couldn't remember any English or any Swedish. But I knew the show had to go on, so I started talking, but the only thing that came out were these guttural sounds," Bäckman tells ABC News. "It was unintelligible, and I was still holding that silly pastry bag, shaking with fear. The only thing I wanted right then was to go home to my mother in Sweden."

But not everyone buys the story.