When the joke was on Harvey Kneeslapper:

[Pug Lover]

Some of the gags Harvey Kneeslapper played on others worked successfully in his favor.But I recall two occasions where his practical jokes backfired on him.

On the first occasion that I remember,he had a rope attached to a bucket full of confetti,which was placed up top(somewhere).He explained his gag to us viewers as he laughed himself silly.Someone would see the rope,then pull it and get confetti dumped all over them.A little girl muppet came,while Harvey hid in a corner.But when she pulled the rope,the bucket didn't tip over as planned.So Harvey went to see what was wrong with the rope.And in doing so,got a shower of confetti.The little girl laughed"heeheeheeheehee,that's the funniest thing I ever saw".Harvey was not amused"well I don't think that's funny."

The other occasion had him place a sign that read"OPEN"onto the door of a wooden closet,which he had shoved a pile of toys into.The gag this time,was to have someone come and see the"OPEN"sign,and open the door.But once they open the door,the pile of toys would fall down onto them.So he hid behind the closet giggling quietly,as an anything muppet came.Sure enough,he saw the sign on the door.But somehow he couldn't get the door open.So he gave up and walked away.Harvey,wondering what was wrong with the door,tried openning it himself.He got it open no problem,and the toys fell on him.
After a few other SS segments,we come back to Harvey Kneeslapper and his closet stuffed with toys.Hoping his gag would work this time,he hides again as another anything muppet comes and sees the"OPEN"sign.This muppet manages to open the door no problem,but the toys don't fall out.So he comments on what a mess the closet is and walks away.A frustrated Harvey Kneeslapper then opens the door,and once again the toys fall on him.

A couple more SS segments later,we go to Harvey's third attempt at the closet gag.This time a boy muppet and a girl muppet come walking by and see the"OPEN"sign.When they open the door,the toys aren't even there.They are somehow replaced by some kind of passageway.The two kids assume that it must be the way to the theatre,and enter it succesfully,closing the door behind them.Then Harvey says in frustration"hey what's going on?"But when he opens it for the third time,it had somehow become a the closet full of toys again.Once again the toys fall on him.

 

[GonzoLeaper]

I remember the one with Harvey Kneeslapper and the confetti. The other one sounds really funny too!

Very much like a Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoon!

 

[Rosewood]

Remember these?

Theres one where Harvey takes a mirror up to Fat Blue, who is sitting on a parkbench. He tappes him on the shoulder and asks him if he would like to see something funny. Then he holds up the mirror in front of the guy. Needless to say, Fat Blue simply says "What, I don't see anything funny."
So Harvey turns the mirror around and takes a look at it, at which point Fat Blue says "Oh, now that's funny!", then proceeds to laugh his guts out!

Another more recent one is where Harvey plans to use a hand-buzzer on his victim by asking him to give him 5. He see's someone comming and gets ready. The guy who comes up happens to look alot like Harvey! Harvey asks him to give him 5, and holds his hand out sideways (so the buzzer won't be seen). The guy say's "okay" at which point he then slaps a #5 on Harvey! Poor Harvey rests his elbow on the wall in dejection, and, forgetting about the buzzer, rests his cheek on his hand, and buzzes himself!

 

[Censored]

There's also a lesser known street skit where Harvey Kneeslapper puts confetti in Molly The Mail Lady's hat when she's not looking. Molly is sitting at a table in the playground (and eating I think). Harvey keeps asking her to put her hat on, but she says not now. He shows so much interest in her hat, she thinks that he wants to wear it and puts it on his head, thus unknowingly dumping all the confetti on him. Harvey angrily storms off, looking for a vacuum cleaner. Molly acts more bewildered than victorious as she looks at the mess and says, "Where did he get all the confetti from?"

 

[SesameMike]

Does anyone remember this Harvey Kneeslapper sketch that had no apparent gag at all?

HK stops a passer-by Anything Muppet and introduces him to a special phrase: "AWAY FROM". HK shows him these flashing words (not sure if it was a sign or superimposed text). HK explained to the AM how "Away From" is useful in situations like if someone is bothering you.

Every time the flashing words were highlighted, there was this trumpet fanfare. HK would say something like. "So, if a person is getting on your nerves, you need to get <da-DA, da-da, DA-DA-DA-DA-da> AWAY FROM him."

But here's where the joke was on Harvey, sort of. After belaboring the demonstration one too many times, the AM responded "I think I'll get 'away from' you (too?)." HK was left alone, but I'm not sure if he felt rejected or satisfied.

 

[mikebennidict]

yes. that was about the only time I recall where he's not playing tricks on anyone.

 

[Xerus]

Does anyone remember this Harvey Kneeslapper sketch that had no apparent gag at all?

HK stops a passer-by Anything Muppet and introduces him to a special phrase: "AWAY FROM". HK shows him these flashing words (not sure if it was a sign or superimposed text). HK explained to the AM how "Away From" is useful in situations like if someone is bothering you.

Every time the flashing words were highlighted, there was this trumpet fanfare. HK would say something like. "So, if a person is getting on your nerves, you need to get <da-DA, da-da, DA-DA-DA-DA-da> AWAY FROM him."

But here's where the joke was on Harvey, sort of. After belaboring the demonstration one too many times, the AM responded "I think I'll get 'away from' you (too?)." HK was left alone, but I'm not sure if he felt rejected or satisfied.

I remember that skit. First Harvey asks the guy if monsters ever attack him on the street. Then Herry appears, growls, and strangles the guy, then walks away. And Harvey asks if people ever trample him on foot. Then it showed 4 anything Muppets running while stomping all over the poor guy. Then Harvey tells the guy the magic of AWAY FROM and tells him to try it out. When Herry came back to attack him, the guy ran far away and Herry walked away in disappointment. Then Harvey told the guy to come back. Then the rushing people came back and the guy ran away from them. Then came back once the people were gone. And it ended with the guy saying to Harvey, "I think I'll get away from you.'

 

[minor muppetz]

yes. that was about the only time I recall where he's not playing tricks on anyone.

I don't think Harvey Kneeslapper tried to pull any tricks on anybody when he sang "ha, ha, ha" with Big Bird and Herry Monster.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Away from Harvey

Yep, I remember that one too. Harvey was selling the little guy on the virtues of being "AWAY FROM" something (superimposed text). It's amazing back then- Herry beats the little guy up, and the other muppets walk all over him.
We got to watch clips like this, and I'm sure we all grew up to be well-adjusted adults (mostly). But in the context of today's Sesame Street, I'm afraid some parents/guardians/psychologists/teachers/clergy/sponsors/FCC staff would claim a clip like this to be TOO VIOLENT, and therefore unsuitable for kids to watch.

What a shame everybody didn't get too grow up in the 70's

 

[GonzoLeaper]

Hey, check this out! You can see the classic Harvey Kneeslapper confetti sketch- one of the times when the joke was on him! I remember this one as a kid. Awesome!
http://www.youtube.com/w/Harvey-Kne...eet)?v=PyZ9GuXANm0&search=Sesame Street:zany: