Gladys, Fred, and Buster

minor muppetz

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It seems to me like Gladys the Cow, Fred the Wonder Horse, and Buster the Horse all started out as generic animal characters, before having regular names and personalities.

I beleive Muppet Wiki mentions that Gladys was around for years before he was given a name and established personality. I think she might have gotten her perosnality in season 7. But many of her early appearances were background appearances. In the sixth season Here is Your Life sketch "Loaf of Bread", she is performed by Richard Hunt and has the same voice, but is called Cora Cow. I wonder if her name in that skit was ever redubbed "Gladys" in later broadcasts after being named Gladys.

I don't really have much evidence on Fred starting out as a generic horse character. However, in the sketch where Kermit and Grover demosntrate how a horse cart works, the horse pupet used for Fred apears, and is voiced by Jerry Nelson. However, I wonder if that was meant to be Fred. It's earleist known appearnace is in epsidoe 666, the sixth season premier, and according to Mupet Wiki, the earliest-known appearance of a Marshall Grover sketchw as a sixth season epsidoe. If episode 666 was the first appearance of that sketch (and I have a feeling that the skit originated in either season 4 or 5), then it's possible that he was meant to be a character when the sketch was taped, and that sketch aired before a Marshall Grover sketch.

Buster was around years before Forgetful Jones was introduced, even if he wasn't caled Buster. The pupet appeared in the background as one of the kings horses in Sesame Street News: Humpty Dumpty, which is from either the fifth or sixth season. This horse pupet was also used in another 1970s Sesame Street News sketch, Hickory Dickory Dock, where he's performed by Frank Oz. I think that sketch is also from either season 5 or 6.
 
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