Sesame Street Muppet Morsels

[minor muppetz]

I am going to write some fictional Muppet Morsels for the episodes of Sesame Street that were included in the "Old School" box set. I also plan to do this for the classic cuts, but am unsure if I'll do this for the pilot pitch.

I will list ficticious morsels for each episode at a few episodes at a time. So keep reading the posts!

 

[minor muppetz]

Episode 1

opening sequence

Sesame Street was first broadcast on TV on November 10, 1969. It was broadcast on NET, which stood for National Educational Television. A year later, it was changed to PBS, the Public Broadcast System, because the network feared that people weren't interested in watching a channel with "educational" in the title.

Every episode has featured the episode number on-screen. For the first six seasons, the numbers were featured in special animated sequences. Afterwards, the numbers were shown during the theme song.

The theme song was written by Joe Raposo.

first scene

Gordon has been played by three different actors. The first one was Matt Robinson, who played Gordon for the first three seasons. Hal Miller took over the role for seasons 4 and 5. Roscoe Orman took over during the sixth season, and contineus to play Gordon.

Robert Gulliume, who went on to play Benson on Soap and Benson, once auditooned for the role of Gordon.

Big Bird is performed by Caroll Spinney. Originally, Big Bird was meant to be a goofy walk-around character for kids to laugh at, had a more hillbilly-ish voice, and had less featers on his head. By the second season, he became a child. He started out as a four year old, and later became six.

Ernie and Bert scenes

Ernie was originally performed by Jim Henson. Bert was originally performed by Frank Oz. Currently, Ernie is performed by Steve Whitmire, and Bert is performed by Eric Jacopson.

Originally, Jim Henson hadn't decided on who they would be performed by. Henson could have performed Bert, and Oz could have performed Ernie.

Ernie and Bert were the only Muppets who appeared in the test pilots for Sesame Street.

Everybody Wash was rerecorded for The Sesame Street Book & Record. On the album recording, Bert joined in the song.

The music for Everybody Wash was written by Joe raposo. Jon Stone and Jim Henson wrote the lyrics.

During the early years, a number of unauthorised Sesame Street albums were produced.

The animated dots segments weremade by Clark Gesner. Gesner also contributed to a series of linking segments in some test pilots, in which the linking footage revolved around two kids in a controll room, instead of a city street.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here are some more morsels for episode 1:

Song of 3

This segment is one in a series of counting segments produced by Jim Henson for the first season of Sesame Street. Segments were made for the numbers one through ten.

The opening song for this series of sketches was written by Joe Raposo and Jim Henson.

The juggler is played by Jim Henson.

The little boy is Jim Henson's real-life son, Brian Henson.

The three crocodiles are Muppets. This is a rare appearance by Muppets in this series of segments.

Other Muppets who have appeared in these segments have included Little Bird (in the one segment), five monsters (in the five segment), and Rowlf (in the nine segment).

The baker is voiced by Jim Henson, but a different actor portrayed him.

Susan is played by Loretta Long.

Susan and Gordon originally did not have last names. Eventualy, a last name was needed for them, and Robinson was chosen, as a tribute to Matt Robinson, who originally played Gordon.

Cow Film

There have been a variety of Muppet cows on Sesame Street, including Gladys the Cow.

Five test pilots and a pitch reel were produced for this show.

The original plan was for the Muppets, much like the animation and film segments and characters, to be seperate from the street scenes. However, testing proved that kids were most interested in the Muppets and cartons, but bored by the street sceens, so the Muppets became part of the street as well.

After it was decided to have the Muppets appear on the street and interract with the humans, Jim Hensond ecided to create two characters especially for the street scenes: Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch.

Jim Henson was originally going to perform Big Bird. However, after he tried the suit on, Kermit Love, who had built the character, told Jim that he wasn't walking like a bird is supposed to, and so Jim Henson decided not to perform the role.

Frank Oz was offered the role, but turned it down, as he hated performing full-body characters.

Because of this, Jim Henson went looking for a performer to perform Big Bird, and hired Caroll Spinney for the role.

Although Caroll Spinney still performs Big Bird and Oscar, Matt Vogel occassionally performs Big Bird.

Oscar's debut

Jim Henson originally planend for Oscar to live in a pile of trash on the street, but since there were no trap doors for a puppeteer to perform under, his location was changed to a trash can.

When the show began, the hole in Oscar's trash can was too small for Caroll Spinney to fit his right hand in, but he could easily fit his left hand through it, so Spinney originally performed Oscar with his left hand, which had a right handed glove sewn inside the head.

Jim Henson originally designed Oscar to be purple, but the first puppet ended up being orange.

By the second season, Oscar was rebuilt and became green.

A Little Bit at the Beginning

A Little Bit at the Beginning was not originally in this episode. It was added here to fill the time due to the loss of a few music numbers that were removed due to music rights.

Sesame Workshop was originally called the Children's Television Workshop, and was renamed Sesame Workshop in 2000. Yes, Sesame Street is that popular!

Sesame Street has won more emmy awards than any other show.

Sam the Snake was voiced by Jim Henson.

Some of Jim Hensons other animation contributions to the show include The King of 8, The Queen of Six, and Cheer Eleven.

In season three, there was a song titled Sammy the Snake, featuring a muppet snake.

Alice Braitwaite Goodyshoes only appeared on the show during the first season.

She also appeared in a set of stickers that was made during the first year.

Jennie was played by Jada Rowland.

Jennie only appeared during the first season. One of the main things that she did on the show was present mystery drawings. Mystery Drawings remained on the show after she left.

During the first year of Sesame Street, Time-Life released a set of books called The Sesame Street Learnign Kit. This included five books, which all featured stills and dialogue from select skits.

The first official Sesame Street album, The Sesame Street Book & Record, was also include din this set, along with a set of ten stickers, featuring the Muppets, humans, and some cartoon characters.

Jim Henson was initially reluctant to be involved with this show, as he feared that it ould typecast him as a childrens performer. And it did. Before Sesame Street, Henson wanted to sell a prime-time Muppet series to a network, and the success of Sesame Street made it harder. But fortunately, Jim Hensonw as able to get The Muppet Show on the air in 1976, and it became one of the most popular shows during it's time on the air.

 

[minor muppetz]

More first episode morsels:

Gordon and Anything Muppets

The Anything People were later renamed Anything Muppets.

The first two Anything Muppets in this sketch were performed by Frank Oz -- one on each hand!

Many Sesame Street sketches have taken place in front of a plain-colored background, often with a brick wall for the Muppets to be behind.

During the first season, a dark white colored background was often used. Later on, more colors would be added, including blue, green, and purple.

The mother Anythign Muppet was performed by Caroll Spinney. During the first season, it was common for Caroll Spinney to perform characters besides Big Bird and Oscar, but eventually, he would pretty much just stick to the bird and the grouch.

Caroll Spinney later created and performed a garbage man named Bruno the Trashman, whose main purpose was to carry Oscar in his trash can. The arms were usually attached to the can, allowing Spinney to perform Oscar through a hidden opening while inside the Bruno suit. Bruno rarely spoke.

The last two anything Muppets in this sketch were performed by Jim Henson.

The Anything Muppets were used for various characters, including regular characters. Each pattern had a specific name, including Fat Blue, Hot Pink (the small pink anything muppet), Oraneg Gold (used for characters sucha s Guy Smiley and Don Music), and Pumpkin (used for the tall orange anything muppet).

This scene originally ended witht eh cast singing Consider Yourself. Unfortunately, that is not included here, due to music rights.

Mr. Hooper was played by Will Lee. Unlike the other human cast members, Will Lee had previous acting experience, though he was blacklisted and had trouble finding work for a long time.

Will Lee had known James Earl Jones before the series began, and James Earl Jones became the first celebrity hired for the show. Jones appeared in sketches that appeared in the test pilots, but his scenes weren't broadcast untill the second episode.

Song of 2

During the first season, Sesame Street only taught kids to count up to 10. However, the number 1 did not sponsor the show untill the 1980s.

Despite this, there were skits for the number 1, many of which appeared in episodes that were sponsored by 2.

All of these segments ended with a baker falling down the stairs. Because of this, fans have often referred to them as "The Baker Films".

During the first season, the entire street set was presented as one straight area. Beginning in the secodn season, a curve was added in the courtyard, which got bigger and expanded to include a tire swing and a stairway.

Although this episode is sponsored by the numbers 2 and 3, only 2 has multiple skits in this episode.

Jazz #2

The singer in this series of skits was Grace Slick, of Jefferson Airplane.

These skits are titled "Jazz", but due to the presence of spies, many fans have referred to them as "The Jazzy Spies".

Skits for the numbers 2 through 10 were produced during the first season.

During the first season, Ernie wore a purple and orange stripped shirt, instead of a red and blue stripped shirt.

There are two types of Muppets: ones with arms controled by rods, and ones controlled by having performers put their hand sinside of them, also known as "Live Hand Puppets".

Bert is a rod-controlled puppet, whiel Ernie is a live-hand puppet.

Usually, the performer of the character performs the head, body, voice, and left arm, while another performer usually performs the right arm.

Like how Sesame Workshop was originally called he Children's Television Workshop, Jim Henson's company has changed it's name many times. It was originally called Muppets, Inc, and then it became Henson Associates, then Jim Henson productions, and currently, The Jim Henson Company.

Bob is played by Bob McGraph, and he and Loretta Long are the only original human cast members still involved with the show.

In this scene, Bob says that he's a shop teacher, but later on, he would become a music teacher.

Matt Robinson, who played Gordon, was originally just going to be a producer on the show, but eventually he got the role of Gordon as well.

Eventually, he would get to perform the voice of a Muppet named Roosevelt Franklin, while Loretta Long would play Roosevelt Franklin's mother.

Buddy and Jim

Buddy and Jim were a comedy duo who only appeared on the show during the first season.

Buddy was played by Brandon Maggart. Jim was played by James Catusi.

In the second season, they would be replaced by Larry and Phyllis, who would then be replaced by Ralph and Wally in the third season.

Many of Buddy and Jims segments would be remade by Wally and Ralph.

Apparantly, human comedy duos on Sesame Street don't last long, while Muppet comedy duos, such as Ernie and Bert or Biff and Sully, have lasted.

The popularity of Sesame Street would lead to many international versions, many of which are different from eahc other.

Sesame Street has also led to many television specials, albums, live shows, books, and two full-lenght movies.

Two of the most profitable toys based on Sesame Street characters have been Tickle Me Elmo and Sing 'n Snore Ernie.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here are some more from the first episode:

Bob's dollar bill trick

Kermit the Frog was created by Jim Henson for his first television series, Sam and Friends, a nightly five-minute show which aired locally in Washington, D.C. from 1955 untill 1961.

The first Kermit puppet was made from a coat owned by Jim Henson's mother.

Originally, Kermit was not a frog, nor any speciffic creature. He also originally had regular Muppet feet, and no collar. Throughout the 1960s, Kermit often wore an orange sweater.

Kermit first got his collar in the late 1960s. Though he started out with one collar, by 1971 he wore two collars, and by 1976 he went back to just one collar.

Wanda the Witch

Althoug the letters S and E are also sponsors, W is the only letter to be used in multiple skits in this episode.

This segment was animated by Tee Collins.

Wanda the Witch also appeared in a set of stickers that was produced during the first season.

Originally, The Jim Henson Company owned the rights to the Sesame Street Muppets while Sesame Workshop owned the rights to the show itself, but both Sesame Workshop and Henson had to approve of any Sesame Street merchandise featuring the Muppets. From 2000 untill 2003, a german copany, EM.TV, owned The Jim Henson Company, and after facing financial problems soon after buying the company, Sesame Workshop bought the rights to the Sesame Street Muppets, excluding Kermit.

In 2004, The Jim Henson Company sold the rights to the Muppets to The Walt Disney Company, which then opened a comapny called The Muppets Holding Company.

Fortunately, Sesame Workshop is allowed to continue calling it's characters Muppets, and is allowed to continue releasing any productions that it owns featuring Kermit the Frog.

This is the first appearance of Cookie Monster, who is a rebuilt version foa few earlier monsters built by Jim Henson for appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, IBM commercials, and Munchos commercials.

During the first season, Cookie Monster was just one in a number of random monsters used whenever a monster, or monsters, was needed. He slowly gained his obsession for cookies, a perosnality, and a name.

Frank Oz originated the role of Cookie Monster, but these days, Cookie Monster is aslo occassionally performed by David Rudman.

Sketches on Sesame Street get repeated in other episodes constantly, so that they could be shown simialr to televisionc ommercials. But during the early years, it was also common for segments to be seen multiple times in the same episodes.

Notice that the letter W is put in the Wanda the Witch sketch ina variety of different areas.

Carol Burnett was the first celebrity seen ina broadcast episode of the show, even though James Earl Jones' sketches were produced first.

Oscar the Grouch later got his own pet worm, Slimey.

Kermit appeared in a pilot pitch for Sesame Street, along with another Henson creation, Rowlf. Rowlf was a dog who was created for Purina Dog Chow commercials, and gained nationwide fame with weekly appearances on The Jimmy Dean Show.

Kermit and Rowlf both went on to become famous on The Muppet Show, but only Kermit would remain a lasting Sesame Street character. Rowlf's onyl Sesame Streetappearance was ina film about the number nine.

One of Kermit's more famous roles on Sesame Street is his role as a news reporter for Sesame Street News.

One of These Things

This is the first appearance of the song "One of Thes eThings". It was sung in many early episodes, with many different objects.

In this episode, the objects are the number and letter that get used in multiple skits.

When Loretta Long auditioned for the role of Susna, she wasn't prepared to sing, but she ended up singing "I'mm a Little Tea Pot".

The first season had 130 episodes. Many early episodes have 130 episodes. Nowadays, there are only 26 episodes in a single season.

Originally, episodes would be sponsored by three letters and two numbers, This soon changed to one letter and number each, and then two letters and one number, and finally back to one letter and number.

Originally, each epsiode ended with stills of the various characters holding the Sesame Street sign and Children's Television Workshop logo.

 

[minor muppetz]

Well, I finsihed the morsles for the first episode, and I had fun doing it. Now I will write ficitious morsels for the Season One Clasic Cuts, except for the oens that I don't know much to write about (Swinging Gibbon and Alphabet Soup):

Bein' Green

Bein' Green was written by Joe Raposo.

It was originally titled Green, and it is commonly referred to as It's Not Easy Being Green.

Being one of Kermit the Frog's most famous songs, along with The Muppet Movie's The Rainbow Connection, Kermit has sung this song on many occassions. he would go on to sing it two more tiems on Sesame Street, twice on The Muppet Show, and in many guest spots.

In 2004, Oscar the Grouch sang a new version of this song, with alternate lyrics. Big Bird also sang it at Jim Hensons memorial service in 1990.

Kermit has also san gthis song on Sesame Street with Lena Horne, while Ray Charles sang it in Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting.

Rubber Duckie

Rubber Duckie was written by Jeff Moss.

Rubber Duckie was Sesame Street's first big hit.

Jim Henson thought that his singing voice wasn't too good, but it was him, as Ernie, who performed Sesame Street's first hit song.

Ernie would go on to sing other songs about his Rubber Duckei, including D-U-C-K-I-E, The Honker-Duckie-Dinger Jamboree, Do De Rubber Duck, and Put Down the Duckie.

Little Richard sang a cover of this song on Sesame Street in 1993.

James Earl Jones counts to ten

James Earl Jones was the first celebrity hired for the show. His segments were featured in the test pilots, but his material wasn't shown on the actual show untill the secodn episode, while Carol Burnett appeared in a skit from the first episode.

James Earl Jones studied acting with Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper.

James Earl Jones also appeared in a Sesame Street sketch wher ehe recited the alphabet, and in 1979, he hosted A Walkign Tour of Sesame Street. However, his most famous role is probably not from Sesame Street, but as the voice of Darth Vader from the Star Wars movies.

Frank Oz, who performed Bert, Cookie Monster, Grover, and others, played Yoda in the Star Wars movies, while Star Wars robots C3PO and R2D2 made two guest appearances on Sesame Street in 1979.

I Love Trash

I Love Trash was written by Jeff Moss.

Jeff Moss also worked on other Jim Henson productions, including Hey Cinderella! and The Muppets Take Manhattan.

Oscar is named after a resturaunt called Oscar's Tavern, while he is based on a mean waiter who often served Jim Henson there.

Caroll Spinney based Oscar's voice on a cab driver who drove Spinney to the studio on the day that he was to see and try out the Oscar puppet for the first time.

Oscar would go on to sing I Love Trash a few more tiems over the years.

K.D. Lang would sing this song when she guest starred on The Jim Henson Hour.

Alphabet with Lou Ralws

When Lou Rawls appeared in this sketch, he questioend needing cue cards for the alphabet. However, he kept forgetting the letter G, and cue cards were used after all.

Lou Rawls later guest starred on The Muppet Show.

ABC-DEF-GHI

Big Bird was designed by Jim Henson, while Kermit Love built the body, and Don Shalin built the head.

Originally, Jim Henson planned on having Caroll Spinney wear the costume backwards, so that Big Bird's knees would bend the other way, like a real bird, but this plan was abandoned.

Caroll Spinney wears the Big Bird suit and holds his arm up into Big Bird's head, performing him like a puppet. His left arm controlls Big Bird's left arm.

Originally, Big Bird's right arm couldn't move at all. This soon changed with the addiiton of an invisible wire atached from Big Birds right hand to his neck and to his left hand. When he moves his left arm, the right arm can move.

There is a very small hole covered by Big Bird's feathers that Caroll Spinney can see out of. Halfway through the first season, a monitor was also added to the inside of the costume so Caroll Spinney could see better.

Bg Bird also sang ABC-DEF-GHI when he guest starred on The Flip Wilson Show, and has sung it a few more times on Sesame Street.

Joe Raposo and Jon Stone wrote ABC-DEF-GHI.

Batman crosses the street

Batman made a handful of guest appearances on Sesame Street duringt eh frist season.

His segments were animated by Filmation, who also animated a Batman series at the time.

Jackie Rogers recites the alphabet

Jackie Rogers played baseball for the Brooklyn Dogers.

Jackie Rogers was the first african american baseball player.

Big Bird meets Little Bird

The small bird in this sketch is known as Little Bird.

Little Bird is a refurbrished version of an earlier Henson puppet, the Kenner Goony Bird, who was built for a commercial for Kenner toys.

The Kenner Goony Bird was usually animated in it's commercials for Kenner, but Jim Henson worked on one commercial, which featured a puppet version of the bird.

In this sketch, Little Bird is performed by Jim Henson, who had performed the Kenner Goony Bird.

Starting with the second season, Fran Brill took over the role.

In this sketch, it sems like Big Bird thinks that all birds ar ebig just because he is big. It also seems like Little Bird isn't too thrilled with being Big Bird's friend.

Season 1 Closing Credits Crawl

Originally, the credits were only shown on each friday broadcast of the show.

The only Muppet performers credited this season are Jim Henson, Frank Oz, and Caroll Spinney. However, other people did help out during the first season, including puppet builders Daniel Seagren and Caroly Wilcox, and also Jim Hensons wife, Jane Henson, who had started out as a performer but slowly retired from performing.

During the early years, most of the main performers, with the main exception of Caroll Spinney, would only perform on the show for one month a year.

 

[minor muppetz]

And now here are some fictional morsels for episode 131:

Opening

This episode of Sesame Street was first broadcast on November 9, 1970.

In addition to the Sesame Street theme song, Joe Raposo also wrote the theme for Three's Company.

In the previous season, only the numbers 2 through 10 sponsored the show. Starting this season, the numbers 11, 12, and 20 begin to sponsor the show as well.

The old man with a beard who is seen pushing a hot dog stand is named Willy. Willy was played by Kermit Love, one of the shows puppet builders.

Kermit the Frog was not named after Kermit Love.

Here, Ernie can be seen in his red and blue stripped shirt for the first time.

Frank Oz did not like performing Bert at first, but he eventually grew into the role.

Arte Johnsons soldier explaining tall and short

This soldier is played by Arte Johnson, who was a regular on Laugh-In. The soldier here was one of his regularl characters.

Laugh-In was one of the inspirations for Sesame Street.

Sesame Street has had it's own parodies of many different television shows, including Masterpiece Theater, Miami Vice, 24, Six Feet Under, and Great Performances.

The doll house seen in this doll house film was built by Jim Henson for his daughters.

Jim Henson originally only began a career in puppetry because he wanted to be on television, and a local Washington, D.C. station had a sign that said "Puppeteers wanted".

Jim Henson built soem puppets and was hired for puppet segments of a local show called The Junior Good Morning Show, which only aired for three weeks in 1954.

One year later, Jim Henson got his own five-minute puppet show, Sam and Friends, which was more successful.

Everyone Makes Mistakes

Big Bird has gotten Mr. Hooper's name wrong on many occassions.

Some of the names that he got Mr. Hooper's name wrong with have included "Mr. Looper", "Mr. Duper", and "Mr. Scooper".

Everyone Makes Mistakes was written by Jeff Moss.

There was also a Sesame Street book titled Everyone Makes Mistakes.

When Caroll Spinney first met Jim Henson, Jim Henson wanted to hire Spinney as a puppeteer, and had told Spinney that he wanted him to come over tot he Muppet Workshop and talk about the Muppets. At that time, Caroll Spinney didn't realise that Henson wanted to talk about hiring him. He just thought that Henson wanted to have a conversation about the Muppets, and didn't get around to meeting with Henson.

When Jim Henson was looking for puppeteers to perform Big Bird, he again told Caroll Spinney that he wanted to talk about the Muppets, but this time Caroll Spinney asked Henson what he meant.

This episode has segments for many letters of the alphabet, but J is the only sponsor.

Besides cookies, Cookie Monster has eaten a few cars, a christmas tree, telephones, and even Hooper's Store.

Bill Cosby twisn recite the alphabet

Both twins here are played by Bill Cosby.

Bill Cosby would later become a regular during the first season of Sesame Workshop's series The Electric Company.

Bill Cosby hosted Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting.

Matt Robinson, who originally played Gordon, was one of the producers of The Cosby Show.

Other television series featuring Bill Cosby have included I Spy, Fat Albert, and Kids Say the Darndest Things.

 

[minor muppetz]

Some more season two premier morsels:

Arte Johnson explains Q and U

Arte Johnson was a regular on Laugh-In. Another regular on that show was Ruth Buzzi, who joined the cast of Sesame Street as Ruthie from 1993-1998.

There have been many times when episodes featured skits for letters or numbers that weren't sponsoring the show.

The highest number to have sponsored the show was 21, and the highest number to be taught was 40.

In 1970, Big Bird appeared on the cover of Time Magazine.

Larry and Phyllis

Larry was played by Alan Arkin. Phyllis was played by his real-life wife, Phyllis.

Larry would later make a guest appearance on The Muppet Show. The only other Sesame Street cast member to guest star on The Muppet Show was Ruth Buzzi, who joined the cast a decade after being a guest star.

Alan Arkin played Inspector Clousau in the movie Inspector Clusau.

Ernie and Bert

This sketch is originally from the first season, as evidenced by Ernie's yellow and purple stripped shirt.

Jim Henson first met Frank Oz at a puppetry festival in 1961.

At the time, Frank Oz was still in high school, and was too young for Jim Henson to hire.

Frank Oz first joined The Jim Henson Company in 1963. For his first few years, Frank Oz was scarred to perform voices.

However, most of his characters -- Cookie Monster, Bert, and Grover on Sesame Street, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam the Eagle on The Muppet Show, and Yoda in the Star Wars movies -- have become some of the best known characters from what they are famous for.

Originally, Frank Oz only became a puppeteer as a hobby, and as a way to make money.

Before becomming a puppeteer, Frank oz wanted to be a journalist.

In addition to performing, Frank Oz later became a director. He has directed such films as Little Shop of Horrors, What About Bob?, and In and Out.

Frank Oz also directed a film about the number three on Sesame Street.

Frank Oz' motion picture directing debut was in The Dark Crystal, which he directed with Jim Henson. The first film that he directed on his own was The Muppets Take Manhattan.

Circles

This is the first appearance of Herry Monster. Note that in his first appearance, Herry has a furry blue nose.

Later in the secodns eason, he would get a smooth blue nose, and in the thrid season, he would get a purple nose.

Herry Monster is performed by Jerry Nelson.

Jerry Nelson had first performed for the Muppets in 1965, when Frank Oz took a break from performing. Eventually, Jim Henson had to lay Jerry Nelson off, but hired him back whenever he could.

During the break between tapping the first and second seasons of Sesame Street, Jim Henson hired Jerry Nelson to perform ina television special he was working on called The Great Santa Claus Switch.

After that, Jerry Nelson was active with the Muppets, and joined the cast of Sesame Street starting in the second season.

Jerry Nelson still performs on Sesame Street, but he has retired from performing his Muppet characters.

The Mystery Drawings were a reciurring series of animated segments. Gary Owens was the adult voice-over.

Gary Owens appeared ina recurring series of sketches called The Man From Alphabet, which were included in the Sesame Street test pilots but failed testing and were subsequently never shown on TV.

 

[minor muppetz]

Here are some more morsels for episode 131:

Fireman film

Some of Sesame Street's writers have included Jeff Moss, Jerry Juhl, and Norman Stiles.

Some of Sesame Street's songwriters have included Joe Raposo, Jeff Moss, Christopher Cerf, Thad Mumford, and Sam Pottle.

One of Sesame Street's greatest directors was Jon Stone.

Some celebrities who made guets appearances during the early years of Sesame Street have included James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Lena Horne, Judy Collins, and Paul Simon.

When Jim Henson started out in show buisness, he did most of the work: he designed the puppets and sets, he built the puppets and sets, he performed many puppets and voices (with the help of others, including his wife, Jane Henson, as well as Jerry Juhl, Frank Oz, and Jerry Nelson), he painted the sets, he wrote the scripts, he drew the storyboards, he directed the productions, and he produced the productions.

Eventually, he started to get more and more help from others.

Ernie and Bert

This is the first time viewers saw Ernie and Bert's bedroom.

The bedroom set is actually the same as the living room set, but with beds added.

Sometimes, the living room set features chairs and a counter, but sometimes it doesn't.

In the first season, Ernie and Bert both slept in seperate rooms.

In addition to Bert, Ernie has regularly appeared alongside characters such as Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Sherlock Hemlock, and The Salesman.

Jim Henson and Frank Oz have performed many duos togetehr. On Sesame Street, they performed duos such as Ernie and Bert, Ernie and Cookie Monster, Ernie and The Salesman, and Kermit and Grover. On The Muppet Show, they performed Kermit and Fozzie, Kermit and Miss Piggy, Link Hogthrob and Miss Piggy, Rowlf and Fozzie, Rowlf and Miss Piggy, and other duos.

Besides gorillia, G also begins words such a s"Gordon", "Grover", and "Grouch".

Carol Burnett's scenes were filmed in Hollywood, as she was acting on The Carol Burnett Show at the time.

Carol Burnett would later guest star on The Muppet Show, and win an Emmy for her appearance.

What's My Part?

What's My Part? is a parody of the popular game show What's My Line.

Guy Smiley was performed by Jim Henson.

Guy Smiley's looks are similar to that of another early Jim Henson character, Conrad Love, who appeared in commercials for Federal Housing Association.

Bennet Snerf was performed by Jerry Nelson.

Bennet Snerf was based on Bennet Cerf, who often appeared on What's My Line?

Arlene Frentic was performed by Fran Brill.

Arlen Frentic was based on Arlene Franklin, another frequent What's My Line? panelist.

Fran Brill first became a Muppet performer in 1970, during the break between tapping Sesame Street's first and secodn seasons. At the time, she was just an actress, not a performer, and she found an ad in the paper for puppeteers for a Jim Henson special called The Great Santa Claus Switch.

When she was interviewed, she told Jim Henson that she hadn't had any previous puppeteering experience, but had experience as a voice over. Jim Henson pointed out to her that the puppeteers also performed voices, and Fran Brill became a puppeteer, and still performs on Sesame Street, performing such characters as Prairie Dawn and Zoe.

Mr. Nose was voiced by Jim Henson.

Guy Smiley first appeared in the first season, where he was known as Sonny Friendly.

Sonny Friendly later became the name of another Sesame Street game show host.

There was at least one other What's My Part? sketch, in which the guest was a foot. In that segment, Bennet Snerf and rlene Frentic were panelists again, but were humanoid, as opposed to monsters.

Both What's My Part? segments were included in the album Somebody Come and Play.

 

[minor muppetz]

Granny Grouch

Before Sesame Street, Bob toured Japan and was a very popular teenage pop idol. Bob McGraph could have continued to be a Japanese singing star, but chose not to.

Seems like Bob doesn't think he's fast enought o run to Oscar's can.

Oscar first became green for an appearance on The Flip Wilson Show.

Oscar has a pet worm named Slimey, and many pet elephants.

The inside of Oscar's trash can was first seen in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

Note that Granny Grouch's hands don't match her face.

Granny Grouch seems to be both nice and grouchy.

Granny Grouch was performed by Jerry Nelson.

Bonanza

This segment features the cast of Bonanza.

The Bonanza cast also appeared in a few other segments, reciting the alphabet and subtracting horses.

Other fictional characters to cross over on Sesame Street include Ed Grimley, Edith Prickly, and Yosh Scmench, all of whom originated on SCTV.

I Whistle a Happy Tune

I Whistle a Happy Tune was written by Richard Rogers and oscar Hammerstien III for The King and I.

The King and I was later spoofed in a Monsterpeice Theater segment, in which Grover played the king alongside a letter I.

I Whistle a Happy Tune must be a favorite of the Muppets; They sang it again, with Lily Tomlin, on Saturday Night Live, and Julie Andrews sang it in her guest appearance on The Muppet Show.

Durign the first season, it was more common for songs to be covered on Sesame Street, but after the first season, it became less common, with most songs being original.

All music and vocals for Sesame Street songs are recorded before the segments are tapped. That helps make it possible for Grover and Cookie Monster, both performed by Frank Oz, to appear together in this song.

During the first season, Grover was a gray green color.

The boy in this song was also voiced by Frank Oz.

A Sesame Street theme park, Sesame Place, opened in 1980. One of Jim Hensons sons, Brian Henson, once worked there for a summer job.

When Jim Henson planned to sell The Jim Henson Company to The Walt Disney Company in 1990, the rights to the Sesame Street Muppets were the only things not included in the deal. Jim Henson died before he could sign the contract for Disney to own the company, and Jim Hensons family decided to keep the company private.

Disney didn't get the rights to The Muppets untill 2004, but Disney didn't get the whole Jim Henson Company; just the rights to The Muppets and Bear in the Big Blue House cast.

The Mystery of the Half-Eaten Sandwhich

This sketch marks the frist appearance of Sherlock Hemlock.

Sherlock Hemlock is a parody of Sherlock Holmes.

A Sherlock Holmes sketch was performed in the third episode of The Muppet Show.

Sherlock Hemlock was performed by Jerry Nelson.

In 1991, Sherlock Hemlock starred in a series of sketches called Mysterious Theater, where he was paired with his dog, Watson.

Sherlock Hemlock was made from the green Anything Muppet. Other muppets made from this Anything Muppet type include The Salesman, Little Jerry, and Farley.

Trafic Safety

Before Sesame Street, Caroll Spinney built his own character, a cat puppet named Picklepuss.

Caroll Spinney performed Picklepuss at variosu puppetry festivals throughout the 1960s.

In 1988, Carol Spinney performed Picklepuss again in a video produced by Jim Henson, called Wow! You're a Cartoonist!

Caroll Spinney is an artist in addition to a puppeteer. He wrote and illustrated a Sesame Street book called How to Be a Grouch, and he drew the picture of Mr. Hooper that Big Bird drew when Mr. Hooper died.

Before Sesame Street, Caroll Spinney performed on his local Boston version of Bozo's Big Top. During the production break between the first and secodn seasons of Sesame Street, Caroll Spinney came back to perform on Bozo's Big Top, and he was given an offer to produce his own Picklepuss show.

Caroll Spinney almost accepted that offer, since he was to make more money than he was making on Sesame Street, and because he had trouble living in New York.

Before Caroll Spinney could tell Jim Henson that he was going to quit, Kermit Love talked him into staying for at least one more month, and that he could quit if he didn't feel better.

Fortunately, Caroll Spinney felt better, and still performs Big Bird and Oscar.

The green boy sen at the end of this show is named Farley. He was performed by Jerry Nelson.