List of Sesame Street Muppets

right|thumb|200px|[[Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets (seen here at the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards 8 months before his death), was initially reluctant to work on Sesame Street, but joined due to social concerns of the time.]]

The Sesame Street Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson, many for the purpose of appearing on the children's television program Sesame Street. Henson's involvement in Sesame Street began when he and Joan Ganz Cooney, one of the creators of the show, met in the summer of 1968, at one of the show's five three-day curriculum planning seminars in Boston. Author Christopher Finch reported that director Jon Stone, who had worked with Henson previously, felt that if they could not bring him on board, they should "make do without puppets".

Henson was originally reluctant but agreed to join Sesame Street in support of its social goals. He also agreed to waive his performance fee for full ownership of the Sesame Street Muppets and to split any revenue they generated with the Children's Television Workshop (renamed to Sesame Workshop on June 5, 2000), the series' non-profit producer. The Muppets were a crucial part of the show's popularity and it brought Henson national attention. The Muppet segments of the show were popular since its premiere, and more Muppets were added during the first few seasons. The Muppets were effective teaching tools because children easily recognized them, they were predictable, and they appealed to adults and older siblings.

During the production of Sesame Streets first season, producers created five one-hour episodes to test the show's appeal to children and examine their comprehension of the material. Not intended for broadcast, they were presented to preschoolers in 60 homes throughout Philadelphia and in day care centers in New York City in July 1969. The results were "generally very positive"; children learned from the shows, their appeal was high, and children's attention was sustained over the full hour.

The Street scenes were "the glue" that "pulled the show together", so producers knew they needed to make significant changes. The producers decided to reject the advisers' advice and reshot the Street segments; Henson and his coworkers created Muppets that could interact with the human actors, specifically Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird, who became two of the show's most enduring characters. These test episodes were directly responsible for what Canadian writer Malcolm Gladwell called "the essence of Sesame Street—the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults". Sesame continues to license the trademarked term "Muppet" from The Muppets Studio for their characters.

Muppets

thumb|150px|right|[[Frank Oz, who performed many Muppets throughout his career, from the debut of Sesame Street to most Henson productions]]

thumb|150px|right|[[Caroll Spinney performed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch from the show's debut in 1969 until his retirement in 2018]]

thumb|150px|right|[[Steve Whitmire, who took over many of Jim Henson's characters after Henson's death in 1990, including Ernie and Kermit the Frog]]

thumb|150px|right|[[Kevin Clash, with Elmo, his most famous puppet, whom he performed from 1985 to 2012]]

thumb|150px|right|[[Eric Jacobson (2015), pictured here performing Grover]]

thumb|150px|[[David Rudman (2015), who performs Baby Bear, Cookie Monster, and the Two-Headed Monster]]

thumb|150px|right|[[Jennifer Barnhart, who performed Gladys the Cow and Mama Bear, and also currently performs Zoe]]

thumb|150px|right|Matt Robinson, who in addition to performing the voice of the character Roosevelt Franklin, played [[Gordon Robinson (Sesame Street)|Gordon for the first 3 seasons of Sesame Street]]

{| id="toc" class="toc" summary="Class"

| style="text-align:center;"|ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left;"

! scope="col" style="width:20%;"| Character

! scope="col" style="width:25%;" | Actor/Muppet performer

! scope="col" style="width:55%;"| Description

! scope="row"| Abby Cadabby

| Leslie Carrara-Rudolph

| Abby is a 4-year-old fairy-in-training with tiny wings, a magic wand and sparkles in her hair. She was created to increase the number of the female Sesame Street Muppets. Daughter of the fairy godmother, she "has her own point of view and is comfortable with the fact that she likes wearing a dress".

! scope="row" |

| Judy Sladky

| Alice is the baby sister of Aloysius Snuffleupagus ("Snuffy"). She was one of the first Muppets controlled by remote control.

! scope="row"| Alistair Cookie

| Frank Oz

| Played by Cookie Monster, he is a parody of British broadcaster Alistair Cooke and appears in the "Monsterpiece Theater" sketch (a parody of Masterpiece Theatre). At first, he used a tobacco pipe that he would eat in each segment. The pipe was eventually removed because according to executive producer Carol-Lynn Parente, it "modeled... wrong behavior".

! scope="row"|

| Jerry Nelson,

| The Amazing Mumford is a "W.C. Fields-esque" magician whose magic tricks often go awry. His catchphrase, used to produce his tricks, is "À la peanut butter sandwiches".

! scope="row" |

| Various used for a single role or purpose. This ever-expanding troupe of Muppets comes in all shapes, sizes and appearances. The Anything Muppets portray humans, specific animals and occasional aliens.

! scope="row" |

| Various

! scope="row" |

| Richard Hunt

| Aristotle is a blind monster created to increase inclusiveness of people and puppets with disabilities on the show. He was designed by Michael K. Frith and built by Ed Christie.

! scope="row" |

| Fran Brill

! scope="row"|

| David Rudman

| Baby Bear, "borrowed from the enduring 'The Three Bears' story", is Curly Bear's big brother and Telly Monster's best friend.

! scope="row"|

| Toby Towson (1978), Fred Garbo, Brian Muehl, Bruce Connelly

| Barkley was originally named "Woof-Woof", he is a "large, friendly, shaggy dog" owned by Linda and knows a few words in American Sign Language.

! scope="row" |

| Jerry Nelson (AM Monster version), Caroll Spinney (Anything Muppet version)

| Bennett Snerf appeared in the Sesame Street sketches "What's My Part". He was a parody of American publisher Bennett Cerf.

! scope="row"| Bert

| Frank Oz (1969–2006), Eric Jacobson (1997–present)

| Bert is Ernie's best friend. He collects paperclips and bottle caps, is fond of oatmeal and is fascinated by pigeons. His sketches were made by Henson and he was built by Don Sahlin.

! scope="row"|

| Lisa Buckley

! scope="row"|

| Jerry Nelson, Matt Vogel (2020–present)

| Biff is an "Archie Bunker-style blue-collar loudmouth". He and his partner Sully made for a "classic comedy team". Whenever they encounter a problem, Biff often asks for Sully's opinion, but interrupts him before Sully can answer; however, it is Sully who inevitably comes up with the solution.

! scope="row"| Big Bird

| Caroll Spinney (1969–2018), Matt Vogel (1997–present) It was Spinney's idea to make Big Bird a child, with "his trademark curiosity and innocence".

! scope="row" |

| Jim Henson,

! scope="row" |

| Caroll Spinney

! scope="row" |

| Martin P. Robinson David Rudman (2001–present)

| According to Sesame Workshop, "Cookie Monster is a frenzied yet cuddly character on a persistent quest for more food...especially cookies!"

! scope="row" | Count von Count

| Jerry Nelson (1972–2012), Matt Vogel (2013–present)

| The Count is a number-obsessed vampire who craves counting with a single-focused passion. Nelson based the Count's character and exaggerated European accent on Bela Lugosi's Count Dracula.

! scope="row" |

| Fran Brill (1980–1984)

! scope="row" | Curly Bear

| Stephanie D'Abruzzo

| Curly is Baby Bear's little sister. Created to address the issue of sibling rivalry, Curly calls her brother "Bebo", has a very loud growl, and unlike the rest of her family, does not like porridge.

! scope="row"|

| Karen Prell

! scope="row"|

| Kevin Clash

| A purple tall monster who loves to juggle

! scope="row" |

| Various

| Like the Honkers, the Dingers communicate only with dings.

! scope="row"|

| Richard Hunt,

! scope="row" |

| Steve Whitmire

| A spoof of TV personality and author Dr. Phil McGraw

! scope="row"|

| Brian Muehl (1980–1984), Kevin Clash (1984–1988) Ryan Dillon (2013–present)

| Sesame Workshop calls Elmo "a 3½-year-old red monster with a distinctive cheerful voice and a contagious giggle" and "Enthusiastic, friendly, and curious".

! scope="row"| Elijah

|Christopher Hayes

|The father of Wes and married to Naomi, Elijah works as a meteorologist, as shown in a 2022 web video "Take Your Child to Work Day." According to press reports, he enjoys outdoor running, watching movies, and cooking with his family. He also played tennis with his friend Mike, who died of the COVID-19 pandemic.

! scope="row"| Ernie

| Jim Henson (1969–1990), Steve Whitmire (1993–2014), Peter Linz (2017–present)

| Ernie is Bert's best friend, who is mischievous and free-spirited. He likes playing practical jokes on Bert, and loves playing musical instruments, singing, and "taking baths with Rubber Ducky".

! scope="row"|

| Jerry Nelson

| Farley is a green Muppet boy with short orange spiked hair and a yellow sweater.

! scope="row"|

| Carmen Osbahr (2002)

| A purple bird who is from Paraguay and is Big Bird's special friend

! scope="row"|

| Richard Hunt (1980–1984), Kevin Clash (1984–1986)

| A blue poet and rapper who is named after poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti

! scope="row"|

| David Rudman

| A bear writer whose name is a riff on French novelist Gustave Flaubert

! scope="row"|

| Michael Earl (1980–1981), Richard Hunt (1981–1992), Matt Vogel (2019–present)

| Fred is a wonder horse ridden by Grover and his "trusty companion". His "horse sense" is always better than Grover's and he "usually saves the day". Jennifer Barnhart

| With her "piercing operatic voice", she is "a theatrical ham (even though she's a cow)".

! scope="row"|

| Martin P. Robinson

| Oscar's mother

! scope="row"|

| Warrick Brownlow-Pike

| | Gonger is a fuchsia Muppet who works with Cookie Monster in his food truck. Gonger has "whiskers like friendly muttonchops", "an unusual accent and a background in hospitality". He originated on The Furchester Hotel, a co-production from the UK.

! scope="row"| Grover

| Frank Oz (1969–2012), Eric Jacobson (1998–present)

| Finch calls Grover "an infinitely optimistic soul". Finch goes on to state that although Grover has a facility for self-deception, he is also honest and wise.

| Grundgetta is a grouch who is Oscar's "trashy girlfriend".

! scope="row"|

| Joey Mazzarino

| A seagull who is Big Bird's penpal

! scope="row"| Guy Smiley

| Jim Henson (1969–1990), Eric Jacobson (2005–present)

! scope="row" |

| Frank Oz, Eric Jacobson

! scope="row"|

| Jerry Nelson, Martin P. Robinson, Peter Linz

| According to Borgenicht, Herry is "fuzzy and blue, big and burly", with a "gentle side". He appears in many unscripted scenes with children.

! scope="row" |

| Various

| Like the Dingers, they communicate only through honks. Christopher Hayes (2019–present)

| Sesame Street writer Mark Saltzman described Hoots as "the saxophone-playing jazz owl".

! scope="row" |

| David Rudman

| He and his wife Ingrid, who together are Natasha's parents, are the hotel managers of the Furry Arms Hotel which was part of the Around-the-Corner set from 1993 to 1998.

! scope="row" |

| Kathleen Kim (2021–)

| Ji-Young is a seven-year-old Korean-American girl, who is passionate about skateboarding and "rocking out on her electric guitar." Ji-Young made history as Sesame Street's first Asian-American Muppet, who was introduced to the public during the show's Thanksgiving special, See Us Coming Together.

! scope="row" | Julia

| Stacey Gordon (2017–present)

| Julia is a little girl with "green eyes and red hair and an artistic temperament" who is autistic.

! scope="row" | Kermit the Frog

| Kermit is a frog who is one of the first Muppets designed and built by Jim Henson. Borgenicht calls Kermit "funny, ironic, and always the voice of reason amidst the insanity around him; the calm in the eye of the storm". Gerald S. Lesser, CTW's first advisory board chairman, calls him "the saturnine but gentlemanly puppet frog". Sesame Workshop does not own the character, unlike most of the Muppets on this list. Ryan Dillon (2019–present)

| Lefty is a shady, green-skinned Muppet who tries to sell useless items to other characters (usually Ernie).

! scope="row"|

| Richard Hunt

| A loud and energetic monster who really loves to party, as his name says

! scope="row"|

| Fran Brill,

! scope="row"|

| Jerry Nelson

| Little Jerry is a green Muppet who is the lead singer of the rock group "Little Jerry and the Monotones". Many of their songs were written by Jeff Moss.

! scope="row"|

| Bill Barretta (2006–2010), Tyler Bunch (2010–present)

| Elmo's dad and husband to Mae

! scope="row"| Mama Bear

| Jennifer Barnhart

| Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Martin P. Robinson

! scope="row"|

| Joey Mazzarino

| A yellow female monster who likes to scare people just for fun

! scope="row"|

| Camille Bonora

| Meryl is a sheep with a vaguely European accent who has brunette or sometimes blonde hair. She is a parody of Meryl Streep.

! scope="row" |

| Martin P. Robinson

| Muppet-homage to Monty Python's Flying Circus

! scope="row" | Murray Monster

| Joey Mazzarino

! scope="row"| Natasha

| Kevin Clash

| One of the first Muppets created for Sesame Street and a "surprising success", Oscar gives kids "permission to feel grouchy—and to demonstrate differing opinions", as well as serving as a model for lessons in how to adapt to different personalities. Spinney based his voice on a New York City cab driver that he encountered.

! scope="row"| Papa Bear

| Joey Mazzarino

| Baby Bear and Curly Bear's father, and Mama Bear's husband

| A little girl whose psychological age is that of a precocious seven-year-old

! scope="row" | Prince Charming

| Frank Oz

! scope="row" |

| Loretta Long (voice)

| Rosita is a playful and optimistic turquoise 5-year-old monster from Mexico. She knows both English and Spanish, and likes to share her heritage with her friends and teach them Spanish words. She also likes singing and playing the guitar.

! scope="row"| Rowlf the Dog

| Jim Henson

| Originally created for Purina Dog Chow commercials in 1962, Rowlf became a household name as a series regular on The Jimmy Dean Show. He appeared alongside Kermit the Frog in the 1968 Sesame Street pitch reel, where he played the role of an enthusiastic supporter of the show's educational potential. Despite his fame, he only made a single cameo appearance during the first season in a filmed segment for the "Song of Nine" and was never a part of the show's regular cast.

! scope="row"|

| Fran Brill

| Abby's stepbrother

! scope="row"|

| Jerry Nelson

! scope="row"| (2010)

| Chantylla Johnson (voice)

| Segi is inspired by head writer and puppeteer Joey Mazzarino's adopted daughter. She first appeared in the sketch in which she sang, "I Love My Hair"; according to writer Kathy Russell-Cole and her colleagues, after it was posted online, the response was "nearly overwhelming" and went viral.

! scope="row" | Sherlock Hemlock

| Jerry Nelson, Matt Vogel Dick Maitland (voice)

| According to Gikow, Slimey is an "intelligent worm" who is the smallest and, other than Buster, the smartest character on Sesame Street. When he first appeared, he spoke in just squeaky sounds. He later became the only Muppet to not be voiced by a puppeteer.

! scope="row"| (2017)

| Deborah Grausman

| Smartie is an animated yellow phone and Elmo's sidekick. Her catchphrase is "Look it up."

! scope="row" | Mr. Snuffleupagus ("Snuffy")

| Jerry Nelson (1971–1978), Michael Earl Davis (1978–1981), Martin P. Robinson (1980–present) and Big Bird's best friend. At first, Snuffy was Big Bird's imaginary friend and never seen by his friends, but in 1985, the producers decided to reveal him as real to teach children that their perceptions could be trusted.

! scope="row" |

| Richard Hunt, David Rudman

| Ivy Austin, Tawatha Agee, Angela Cappelli, Kevin Clash, Fran Brill

| A parody of the Pointer Sisters

! scope="row"|

| Joey Mazzarino

| A talking stinkweed plant

| Tango is Elmo's puppy. The puppy made her debut in the 2021 animated Sesame Street special Furry Friends Forever: Elmo Gets a Puppy; a puppet version was created for use in promotion for the special and in Season 52. She also stars in the recurring animated segment "Elmo & Tango's Mysterious Mysteries". She is named Tango because she loves to dance. In the animated 2022 holiday special The Nutcracker: Starring Elmo & Tango, Tango gains the ability to speak in a dream sequence with a voice provided by Royina Patel.

! scope="row"| Tamir

| Tau Bennett (2020–2022), Bradley Freeman Jr. (2021–present)

|An 8-year-old boy who is Gabrielle's cousin

! scope="row"|

| Bob Payne (1979), Brian Muehl (1979–1984, 1993-present),

| According to Sesame Workshop, "Telly Monster is an intense and earnest monster who worries over everything". His favorite shape is the triangle and his best friend is Baby Bear.

! scope="row"|

| Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt Jennifer Barnhart (2016–present)

Notes

References

Borgenicht, David (1998). Sesame Street Unpaved. New York: Hyperion Publishing.
Clash, Kevin, Gary Brozek & Louis Henry Mitchell (2006). My Life as a Furry Red Monster: What Being Elmo Has Taught Me About Life, Love and Laughing Out Loud. New York: Random House.
Davis, Michael (2008). Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. New York: Viking Penguin.
Finch, Christopher (1993). Jim Henson: The Works: The Art, the Magic, the Imagination. New York: Random House.
Fisch, Shalom M.; Lewis Bernstein, "Formative Research Revealed: Methodological and Process Issues in Formative Research". In Fisch, Shalom M. & Truglio, Rosemarie T.. G" is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street. Mahweh, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers.
Gikow, Louise A. (2009). Sesame Street: A Celebration—Forty Years of Life on the Street. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers.
Gladwell, Malcolm (2000). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. New York: Little, Brown, and Company.
Hellman, Peter (November 23, 1987). "Street Smart: How Big Bird & Co. do it". New York Magazine. 20 (46): 48–53. Retrieved August 2, 2019
Lesser, Gerald S. (1974). Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street. New York: Vintage Books.
Morrow, Robert W. (2006). Sesame Street and the Reform of Children's Television. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.

External links

Sesame Workshop Muppet and Puppeteer Bios

Muppets

See also

Notes

References

External links