Sesame Street

Characters

: Main article: List of Sesame Street characters

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: Also characters that are Exclusive to books or movies, Grouches, Monsters, celebrities, from international versions. Also Characters ordered by date of debut, Characters ordered by last known appearance,

Related Topics:
Exclusive to books or movies - Grouches - Monsters - Celebrities - From international versions - Characters ordered by date of debut - Characters ordered by last known appearance

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Sesame Street is known for its multicultural element and is inclusive in its casting, incorporating roles for disabled people, young people, senior citizens, Hispanic actors, Black actors, and others. While some of the puppets look like people, others are animal or "monster" puppets of different sizes and colors. This encourages children to believe that people come in all different shapes, sizes, and colors, and that no particular physical "type" is any better than another.

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Tying in with its multiculturalist perspective, the show pioneered the idea of occasionally inserting very basic Spanish words and phrases to acquaint young children to the notion of a foreign language, doing so almost three decades before Dora the Explorer debuted on Nickelodeon. Perhaps in response to the popularity of Dora, the recently revamped format gives Rosita, the bilingual muppet who "immigrated" in 1993 from the Mexican version of the show, more time in front of viewers, and also introduced the more formalized "Spanish Word of the Day" in every episode.

Related Topics:
Dora the Explorer - Nickelodeon - Rosita

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Each of the puppet characters has been designed to represent a specific stage or element of early childhood, and the scripts are written so that the character reflects the development level of children of that age. This helps the show address not only the learning objectives of various age groups, but also the concerns, fears, and interests of children of different age levels.

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The Muppets

Big Bird, an eight-foot-tall yellow canary, lives in a large nest on an abandoned lot near 123 Sesame Street, located behind the building's garbage heap. A regular visitor to Big Bird is Aloysius Snuffleupagus, known simply as Snuffy. Oscar the Grouch and his pet worm Slimey live in a garbage can in the heap. Friends Ernie and Bert room together at the apartment of 123 Sesame Street, where they regularly engage in comedic banter. Ernie's flowerbox was once a hotspot for Twiddlebugs, a colorful family of insects.

Related Topics:
Big Bird - Canary - Aloysius Snuffleupagus - Oscar the Grouch - Slimey - Ernie and Bert - Twiddlebugs

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The Bear family of Goldilocks and the Three Bears resides in Sesame Street. The Jewish family headed by Papa Bear and Mama Bear welcomed Curly Bear, a second child. Baby Bear meanwhile is a good friend with monsters Telly, Zoe, Mexico-born Rosita and Elmo. Elmo has his own segment near the end of each episode, in which viewers explore topics in Elmo's World, an imaginary version of his house.

Related Topics:
The Bear family - Goldilocks and the Three Bears - Papa Bear - Mama Bear - Curly Bear - Baby Bear - Telly - Zoe - Rosita - Elmo - Elmo's World

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Grover's regular segment Global Grover follows the self-described "cute, furry monster" around the world, exploring local cultures and traditions. Cookie Monster fights with his conscience daily, during Letter of the Day. He tries to control his urges to eat the letters, shown as icing on cookies; Prairie Dawn often attempts to help Cookie not eat the letter, always leaving frazzled. Count von Count has fewer problems during the Number of the Day segment, where he indulges in counting until the mystery number is revealed by his pipe organ. The Count has a girlfiend Countess Dahling Von Dahling (performed by Fran Brill in 1974-1999,2005-) with a pet dog named is Marsha.

Related Topics:
Grover - Global Grover - Cookie Monster - Letter of the Day - Prairie Dawn - Count von Count - Number of the Day

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Humphrey and Ingrid ran The Furry Arms with baby Natasha in tow; while bellhop Benny Rabbit begrudgingly helps out.

Related Topics:
Humphrey and Ingrid - The Furry Arms - Natasha - Benny Rabbit

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Kermit the Frog hosted the segment Sesame Street News Flash. The Two-Headed Monster sounded out words coming together, and the Yip-Yip aliens discovered telephones and typewriters. For two seasons, Googel, Narf, Mel and Phoebe hung out in the Monster's Clubhouse.

Related Topics:
Kermit the Frog - Sesame Street News Flash - Two-Headed Monster - Yip-Yip - Googel - Narf - Mel - Phoebe - Monster's Clubhouse

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Incidental characters include television personality Guy Smiley, construction workers Sully & Biff, the large Herry Monster (who does not know his own strength), and The Big Bad Wolf, who is not a terror to the Street. Forgetful Jones, a cowboy with a short-term memory disorder, rode his trusty Buster the Horse with his girlfriend Clementine; Rodeo Rosie was an early cowgirl.

Related Topics:
Guy Smiley - Sully & Biff - Herry Monster - The Big Bad Wolf - Forgetful Jones - Rodeo Rosie

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The humans

:Main article: Human characters on Sesame Street

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A slate of human regulars pull the zaniness of the Muppets back to reality. They were not always meant to serve this purpose. The show lost test viewers' attention during the Street Scenes, meaning Muppets needed to be added, like sugar into medicine.

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Music teacher Bob has been on Sesame Street since its inception. He dated Linda the local New York Library librarian, who was the first regular deaf character on television. Linda owns Barkley, a Muppet dog. The Robinsons are an African-American family that includes schoolteacher Gordon, nurse Susan, and adopted son Miles. The Puerto Rican Rodriguezes include Maria and Luis, who ran the Fix-It Shop, which was turned into the Mail-It Shop; Maria gave birth to daughter Gabby in the 1980s, and her pregnancy was covered on the show.

Related Topics:
New York Library - Barkley - Fix-It Shop - Mail-It Shop - Pregnancy

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Candy store operator Harold Hooper was a mainstay, at Mr. Hooper's Store. When he died in the early 1980s (an event discussed in a landmark episode of Sesame Street), his apprentice David took over, followed by later owners Gina, Mr. Handford, and Alan. Gina stopped running the store in the 1990s, to earn a PhD and became a vet.

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The Noodles on Elmo's World are meant to provide a vaudevillian perspective on subjects, contrary to most of the show's human characters.

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Famous guest stars and various children from New York schools and day-care centers are a constantly changing part of the cast.

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