Sesame Street Characters

A wide variety of characters have appeared on the American children's television series ''Sesame Street''. Many of the characters are Muppets, which are puppets made in Jim Henson's distinctive puppet-creation style. Most of the non-Muppet characters are human characters, but there are many characters that are animated.

General information

Jim Henson created many Muppet characters for the purpose of appearing on ''Sesame Street''. His involvement with the show began when he and one of the creators, Joan Ganz Cooney, 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".Finch, p. 53

Henson was initially reluctant, but he agreed to join ''Sesame Street'' for 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, the series' non-profit producer.Davis, p. 5 The Muppets were a crucial part of the show's popularity and it brought Henson national attention.Morrow, p. 93 In early research, the Muppet segments of the show scored high, 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.Morrow, pp. 94–95

During the production of ''Sesame Street''s 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 daycare centers in New York City in July 1969.Lesser, p. 164 The results were "generally very positive";Finch, p. 39 children learned from the shows, their appeal was high, and children's attention was sustained over the full hour.Lesser, p. 164 However, the researchers found that although children's attention was high during the Muppet segments, their interest wavered during the "Street" segments, when no Muppets were on screen. This was because the producers had followed the advice of child psychologists who were concerned that children would be confused if human actors and Muppets were shown together. As a result of this decision, the appeal of the test episodes was lower than the target.Finch, p. 39Gladwell, p. 105

The Street scenes were "the glue" that "pulled the show together",Gladwell, p. 106 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.Gladwell, p. 106Fisch & Bernstein, pp. 39–40 These test episodes were directly responsible for what writer Malcolm Gladwell called "the essence of ''Sesame Street''—the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults".Gladwell, p. 106 Since 2001, the full rights for the ''Sesame Street'' Muppets have been owned by Sesame Workshop, as the CTW was renamed in 2000.

Muppets

Big Bird

* Performed by Caroll Spinney (1969–2018), Matt Vogel (1997–present)

The series' main protagonist and the first Muppet to appear on the show was Big Bird, a curious 8-foot-tall yellow bird believed by writer Shalom M. Fisch and Dr. Lewis Bernstein to be a canary, who resides in a large nest alongside the " 123 Sesame Street" building and represents the 6-year-old child with his tendency to question everything. On special days, he wears a white collar and colorful necktie. Big Bird's best friend is Aloysius Snuffleupagus (better known as "Snuffy"), who was portrayed as the bird's imaginary friend until revealed to the human cast in 1985.

Oscar the Grouch

* Performed by Caroll Spinney (1969–2018), Eric Jacobson (2015–present)

Also living outside of the building is Oscar the Grouch, a trash can-dwelling creature belonging to his own unique species, who is portrayed as a habitual pessimist and was designed to give children "permission to feel grouchy—and to demonstrate differing opinions". Oscar and Big Bird were specifically created for the reshooting of the "Street" scenes with the idea that they would be able to interact with the human characters.Fisch & Bernstein, p. 40 For his part, Oscar has several friends of his own despite his pessimism; these include the Grouch's pet worm, Slimey, and his girlfriend Grundgetta.

Bert and Ernie

* Bert: Performed by Frank Oz (1969–2006), Eric Jacobson (1999–present)
* Ernie: Performed by Jim Henson (1969–1990), Steve Whitmire (1993–2014), Billy Barkhurst (2014–2017), Peter Linz (2017–present)

Two other Muppets who have appeared on the show since its beginning are Bert and Ernie, a pair of best friends with contrasting personalities; Ernie is portrayed as a free-spirited trickster who loves his rubber duck, while Bert is the world-weary foil to his friend's naïve trouble-making, and shows himself to be obsessed with things like pigeons and paper clips. The debate on these characters' sexuality is highly disputed, but as of September 2018, Bert and Ernie are confirmed to not have any sexuality, as do the other characters on this list.

Cookie Monster

* Performed by Frank Oz (1969–2004), David Rudman (2001–present)

Also appearing on the show are an unidentified species of furry characters referred to as "monsters". Among these are Cookie Monster, a blue monster with a baritone voice, who is addicted to the baked goods for which he is named but ironically also likes healthy foods; he will eat anything and everything in sight, regardless of whether it's food or not.

Zoe

* Performed by Fran Brill (1993–2015), Jennifer Barnhart

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