Lefty the Salesman

[minor muppetz]

Beaker. "Aw yes, good ol Lefty...teaching kids all about the fun of seeling illegal contraband like vowels and other banned merchandise."

You may have been joking, but you've hit the nail on the head. Lefty was phased out - rightly, I think - because the image of a suspicious stranger selling things to kids does not sit well with an educational children's show.

I'm sure Eric Jacobson can do an excellent Lefty, but that's one character who will remain in the broom closet.

secret squirrel

do you know what year the last lefty segment was produced in? what it was? were there any new lefty segments made in the 1980s?

 

[minor muppetz]

Most of the time the Salesman wasn't successful. I only recall Ernie buying the air from the bottle and the picture of the four elephants. He wanted to buy the empty box but didn't have any money on him.

I know that lefty sold the invisible ice cream cone, but ernie bought it with an invisible nickle. funy how ernie didn't know what invisible meant untill after lefty explained it to him, then ernie just happened to have an invisible nickle.

There was also a comic story in one of the sesame street library books (or maybe it was the sesame street treasury) where lefty was selling a number 12, and ernie traded a carton of eggs for it. there was also a short story in another book where lefty sells the letter z, ernie bought it, and then lefty needed it again.

 

[The Count]

Both of those stories can be found in the Sesame Street Library Volume 12. That volume contains both because it featured the letters W, X, Y, and Z, and the number 12. I remember that cover along with the other volumes' covers very well. The letters are on the sides of a four-way directional signpost, the number is on the front of the trainbarrel where Ernie, Bert, Guy Smiley and Praire are riding.

The Story Ernie Buys a Letter Z was also featured in the Sesame Street A-B-C Storybook which has all the alphabetic stories from the library volumes. The story Ernie Buys a 12 isn't featured in the Sesame Street 1-2-3 Storybook however, only the stories for the numbers 1 through 10 are in that book. The library volumes were the only ones to have a story for the numbers 11 to 14: Once Upon an 11, Ernie Buys a 12, The 13th Annual Good Luck Race, and the 14th Annual Twiddlebug's Picnic. Strangely enough, though there was a final volume featuring the number 15, there was no story for this number within that book's pages.
Hope this helps.

 

[mikebennidict]

He did not buy the 8, because Ernie was tapped out by a previous salesman.

"I met this man selling nines, you see. So I bought his whole selection."

Ernie then holds up a conglomeration (magnetized?) of a whole bunch of number 9's. Ernie explains that they can be useful if you wanna know how many players are on a baseball team. Or if you want to know (and I quote) "...what day of the month, the ninth of August comes on."

Lefty, ruefully realizing that another salesman got to this sucker first, starts slowly walking away toward the background. But Ernie follows and keeps talking enthusiastically, trying to barter with Lefty for an 8 or two. I only remember Ernie's line "I'll throw in a 2 and a 4. And two 3's." Hmmm, where did Ernie get this other inventory of numerals?

don't know who here's heard of the Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot but there a song by him called Affair On 8th Ave witch he recorded in 1968. it wasn't a hit single but i belong to this messge board about him and i made a wisecrack about the 8 sketch using this song it's the very 1st post. http://www.corfid.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003135;p=1

 

[Ziffel]

He did not buy the 8, because Ernie was tapped out by a previous salesman.

"I met this man selling nines, you see. So I bought his whole selection."

Ernie then holds up a conglomeration (magnetized?) of a whole bunch of number 9's. Ernie explains that they can be useful if you wanna know how many players are on a baseball team. Or if you want to know (and I quote) "...what day of the month, the ninth of August comes on."

Boy is that ever a hilarious line! The 9 would come in handy if you want to know what day of the month August 9th comes on! Great! That'd be like saying, "You should buy this letter P. It is useful to tell you if you ever want to know what the fourth letter of elephant is!

I know that lefty sold the invisible ice cream cone, but ernie bought it with an invisible nickle. funy how ernie didn't know what invisible meant untill after lefty explained it to him, then ernie just happened to have an invisible nickle.

Yeah I had thought of this one too and since Ernie paid with an "invisible" nickle I figured that one would have to be considered another unsuccessful sale by Lefty. Great skit that was too. (Watch out for Louie the Lip!)

 

[Ziffel]

don't know who here's heard of the Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot but there a song by him called Affair On 8th Ave witch he recorded in 1968. it wasn't a hit single but i belong to this messge board about him and i made a wisecrack about the 8 sketch using this song it's the very 1st post. http://www.corfid.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003135;p=1

Didn't realize we were both replying to this at the exact same time, mikebennidict.
And just looked at the link, that's pretty good. Lefty also could have said, "And if you want to know how many husbands Elizabeth Taylor has had ... you look at the eight!"

 

[Ziffel]

You know how Lefty always tried to scam Ernie? Like trying to sell him an "invisible" ice cream cone. Or an empty box (to catch jellybeans from the sky!). Or air from a bottle (Lefty could have at least thrown in the empty bottle too. Not like it's worth anything!). Or simply a number (8) or letter (O). Or a scale that always ends up on 2 pounds.
But with the picture of four elephants, do you think there was a scam invovled there? I know Ernie didn't see the elephants until Lefty points them out and therefore bought the picture hoping to see others, like Bert, get stumped also. And I know Bert identifies the elephants right away, to Ernie's dismay. But Bert could have failed to notice them. After all, the elephants in the tree were kind of disguised like leaves. So maybe this was one time Lefty was selling something that wasn't total junk. Unless the point of the skit was that despite the elephants being a little tricky to detect because of being shaped in a tree like leaves, most would be able to still quickly identify them as elephants. Whereas Ernie, being a little simpleminded (and thus the one always targeted by Lefty) didn't see the elephants.

 

[mikebennidict]

could be. though I didn't have trouble noticing the elephants though it's understandable how some might. of course it was 1 of those segments were I didn't understand the punchline till I was older and then realized why Ernie was disappointed when Bert automaticly saw the 4 elephants.

 

[Ziffel]

I guess it was indeed intended to be another scam by Lefty, since he laughs mischievously after Ernie gives him a nickel for the picture. So probably Lefty was just counting on Ernie being feeble minded enough to not notice the elephants, whereas most people and muppets would be able to.

 

[Oliver]

ah the glory days.

This thread makes me so nostalgic. I wish I could see some of these skecthes again.

If only Jim and Jerry were still around to carry the torch. It's a shame that the show went from something so groundbreaking and innovative to something so bland and generic. The social overtones are all but lost in this era, the humor subjected to the ugly hand of political correctness. And all at the cost of a brilliant educational children's series which reached out and spoke with kids on a mutual level, respecting their intelligence and youthful imagination and creativity. Now it's all but a kid's show, talking to kids, as though they were kids. With sappy characters, condescending dialogue. The wit and charm is all gone. I think these type of sketches were perfect because children got out of them the most important lessons which were the basis for these skits in foundation, while still opening their developing minds up to the world around them, albeit in a fantasticaly creative and imaginative way. Meanwhile, the adults appreciated these sketches on an entirely different level. It was such a brilliant forumla. The medley of visuals, song, colors, dialogue, humor, etc. This was a world only Jim could touch. I'd love to be able to find it again and relive these memories and moments from my childhood. Until I found this forum and began reading posts like these, they were all lost in obscurity.