I MET ELMO's CREATOR!

[ravagefrackle]

ok, i dont think u got quite what i was saying , the original was not based on someones design or concept , he was a basic monster ,(and i believe Caroly W. was the one who built him, but im not sure)

he went thru several puppeteers before Kevin finally figured a angle to bring the personality to life, , maybe if you can get a name for the guy that would be helpful.

 

[ravagefrackle]

Ah yes, the 70's, when you were 5 years old; lol. My dear boy you talk as though you were in your 50's.

yeah i got an old sole , people always say that ,

what i meant is it was a simpler time creativley ,
the work shop would get a request or a drawing, and they would build it , and it went to the studio, thier were a lot less hands involved , now a days you have to deal with everyone, the producers, directors, art department , focus groups all that garbage just to build a simple character(this is what i have learned form working with a lot of veterans of the old days)

i have a feeling if Sesame Street was to be done from scratch the way TV shows are produced these days it would be a very different animal(and no were near as interesting)

So what happened with your little stint with Henson? Not enough work? I heard they aren't too loyal to their builders over there and never enough work.

i wouldnt call my stint their Little, i was hired on a one month contract and ended up being thier for 4 years, it was a great time in my life, and i am proud of the work i did, and the things i learned during my time at he company ,

but the sad truth is they are not as busy as they once were,
they operate with a much smaller crew in NYC than they did when i was thier , and they are not doing as many large puppet builds as they once did, They still hire in many of the past workshop staff, but without a huge project , their are many people at he front of list ahead of me, , not something i can hold a grudge about, and the work they turn out is just as beutifal and well built as it ever was, heres to hoping they get a lot more work in to the NYC shop

 

[ravagefrackle]

tell me, where do they get their fur from to make the monster type puppets like Herry and Grover? Do they purchase it directly from the manufacturer?

sometimes, yes , somtimes they custom order, all depends, alot of it is very old stock from the 70's, and early 80's, , alot of it is custom died in house,

all dpends on what they need,

best thing about the puppet shop being in NYC is its so close to the Garment district , can fin almost anything they need with outhaving to leave town.

 

[Frogpuppeteer]

i also have my speculations i agree in hearing elmo was just a back ground monster and remember seeing him in the back in the early 80's .i dont even remember him getting so big till kevin clash took over.he may just be pulling your leg saying things so that he is liked(ok that came out mean)

 

[GabeFirestone]

of course, elmo WAS a background monster... but when people liked him and he started to become a main character, he needed alterations! that's where the man i met comes in! he helped to alter parts of elmo's look (not anything big, though), and also worked on the personality. if it helps, this man's first name is robert (we call him bob at camp), and i swear to god that he is not pulling my leg. another councilor at camp said that he is totally modest, and never mentioned any of this until she saw his name on the internet.

 

[rachelfromatlanta]

Are people on here too busy to READ??!!

I know this thread is months old, but I am so fired up that I HAVE TO comment!


The OP made PERFECT SENSE! What was so hard to understand??!!... he met a designer who helped design Elmo. This person's father was a designer for SS and he used to help his father out when he was growing up. (His dad was probably just using him as a sounding board or whatever) When he became an adult he followed in his dad's footsteps and took a job at SS.


Is this difficult to follow??!! - The kid is 14 (maybe 15 now) Cut him some slack for crying out loud. GEESH, this kid was all happy to share something and you guys rip him apart!



All anyone has to do is take their time and actually READ what is being said!

 

[GabeFirestone]

THANK YOU! (i will be 15 in december btw!)

after reading kevin clash's book and further communications with my SS contact, i have ALL of the acurate information.

whan jim needed a red puppet (so there would be muppets of ALL colors), my SS contact created and designed elmo. from there, he was built at the creature shop, and then performed. when kevin started doing elmo a while later, elmo was then altered SLIGHTLY.

clear now? haha

~gabe

 

[dkmontgomery]

Interesting Discussion

I have found this to be a very interesting discussion. My little girl has always been an Elmo Fan. It is interesting to hear from people that have actually worked with SS, ect..