Noah and Friends Discuss Their Favorite Sesame Street Characters
53 years ago, on this very day, a little street with a giant canary, an orange trash creature, and a frog debuted on public television for the world to see and learn from, and since then it’s gone on to be the most famous piece of preschool media, an ingrained staple of pop culture, and one of my two favorite TV shows of all time.
To celebrate the best address in New York City turning 53 years old, I wanted to focus on the one thing that makes Sesame Street as excellent as it is: The residents it houses. So, I decided to gather as many of my friends in the Muppet community as I could, have them talk about THEIR favorite characters, and combined all of their thoughts together to make this blog post. Enjoy!
Kim Sonta Repsha
Hi, my name is Kim Repsha, and I'm a 54-year-old Sesame Street addict. Well, FANatic that is. But if anyone could be addicted to Sesame Street, that would be me! I don't want anyone's pity, but I was born in 1968, and somehow made it through a whole year of life without Sesame Street! Although I love all the characters, Cookie Monster is my very favorite. Did you know his birthday was on November 2nd? I did! And you know what, both of my children ended up being born on November 2nd, one in 1986 and one in 1990. I didn't want it that way, I didn't plan it that way, it just naturally happened that way. But I digress.
It has forever been my dream to bake cookies with Cookie Monster. For my 50th birthday, I got to do just that. My husband took me to Beaches in Turks and Caicos so I could hang out with all the characters. I was in heaven! When I saw that there was a session to bake cookies with Cookie Monster, I signed up the very next day. There we were, me and several 7-year-olds waiting for Cookie Monster to come out. Even though he was taken aback when he saw me, we carried on and ended up having a lot of fun. I quickly went from being the creepy old lady in the group to the fun lady that was really only 7 years old at heart. And I got to cross a lifelong dream off my bucket list!
Honestly, it is my opinion that Cookie Monster is the face of the show! Without his voracious appetite for eating everything in sight, silly antics, and loving personality, Sesame Street just wouldn't be the same!
Joe Hennes
My name is Joe Hennes. I’m the current owner of the Muppet fansite known as ToughPigs.com, and as you might assume, I love Sesame Street and its characters. My favorite Sesame Street character (for today, at least) is Bert. He's a true individual, with specific likes and interests that rarely match up with anyone else's. But unlike Oscar, Bert is fully welcomed for his love of dull things, and I think it highlights one of Sesame Street's strongest life lessons - acceptance. And on top of all that, it's always a pleasure just to see him find joy in what others find boring. Bert is the best. We should all be more like Bert. Bert for President!
Alexander Mack
My name is Alex, and I’ve been a fan of Sesame Street (preferably seasons 1 through 32) since watching the Around the corner era in the 90s. My earliest exposure to the show (from my memory) is watching the “Rock and Roll” VHS (which still remains my favorite VHS to this day), followed by the “Monster Hits” tape and a skit compilation tape my dad made when I was a toddler while season 25 was airing that I would watch quite frequently (it disappeared around 2003/4 and I miss it greatly, but I’ve since managed to recreate the tape with existing digital copies I have of the episodes that had those segments). Over the years, I’ve collected more videos, toys, stuffed animals and a few of the PC games (Elmo’s Pre-School was a big favorite of mine) and I’ve also been to Sesame Place at least twice in my life (and I’m sad to see what’s recently happened within the park). I stopped watching the show by the time I finished 1st grade (when season 32 was over) because I was outgrowing the show by this point, but I still had a soft spot for the 90s-era episodes and was grateful I had the chance to relive some seasons 25, 30 and 31 episodes on Noggin (even taping some segments for that matter) before they were all removed from syndication. Since the creation of YouTube and many fans in the community sharing clips from their own personal recordings, it really sparked back up my interest in the show greatly and even gave me an opportunity to see many segments I never knew even existed.
While he wasn’t a main character, one recurring character I’ve always had a soft spot for is Little Jerry of Little Jerry and the Monotones. I’ve loved their music since seeing their flagship song “Telephone Rock” on the “Rock and Roll” VHS, and their unique hippie clothing during their primary appearances in the 70s have always intrigued me. Since seeing more of their songs appear on YouTube, I’ve grown to like them more as a band and group of characters. Having a big love for Chris Cerf’s and Jeff Moss’s music (both of whom wrote songs and often provided backing vocals for the band), I always thought they captured the style of 60s do-wop rock music quite well, ranging from songs about feelings, to how the body works, and even warning about Danger and how a telephone operates, and their songs definitely gave a big form of entertainment in addition to being educational during the insert periods of episodes.
But what I really love about Little Jerry in particular is his down-to-Earth personality that we only got to see in two episodes. In a way, his character kind of reminded me of Floyd Pepper (another Jerry Nelson character). I would have personally liked to see more of his character on the street as we did with Little Chrissy and Big Jeffie (a character who ended up being a band member with both leads), but what’s done is done. What also really stuck out with Little Jerry for me, in particular, is how he’s the only Anything Muppet that started off as a nameless recurring hippie that would usually wear a dashiki (though sometimes his clothes and facial features, and even AM pattern, would be interchanged) to eventually becoming an established character. While you could say Betty Lou likely also falls into this category, it took her years for her to even really become established whereas Little Jerry got his foot in the door after two seasons of just being a nameless AM hippie that would come and go in segments, and for that, he’ll most likely always be my favorite.
Ryan Roe
I'm Ryan Roe. My relationship with Sesame Street is that I started watching it before I could cut my own waffles at the breakfast table, and I write about the show a lot for ToughPigs.com. It's always hard to pick one favorite character, but today I'll give it to Telly Monster. He was all over the show when I was a youngster, and for decades he was one of the major characters without ever getting much representation in merchandise or recognition from the casual fans. His early Brian Muehl-performed incarnation was funny, and Martin P. Robinson turned him into a great, multifaceted, hilariously high-strung guy. And his song "Shapes in My Room" is one of the best Sesame Street songs that most people don't remember.
Josh O'Brien
Hi there, my name is Josh, and I grew up with Sesame Street in the Around the Corner era; I was born right around the 25th anniversary of the show, so I remember watching Sesame Street Jam a lot as a boy. Right at the end of that special, there's a scene where the entire cast does a performance of Sing, and at the beginning of that ensemble performance, Barkley comes bounding in, barking at a little girl on a pogo stick and running into the crowd -- it was right then, I remember, that I became incredibly enamored with that great big orange doggy! I would watch the tape over and over, just to see Barkley at the end; and since then, I set my alarm to wake up on time when the TV guide said that new episodes with Barkley in them were coming on, and I would practically wear out VHS tapes with Barkley featured on them. When I was little, we had a tape of Big Bird in China, and I would watch the scene where Barkley was teased by the Monkey King on the Great Wall over and over and over -- I couldn't get enough of it! And of course, when Get Up and Dance came out in 1997, I would put it on almost every day, just for the few minutes that Do the Dog played; I can practically remember that whole scene backward, because of how often I rewound the tape -- I still listen to that dance every single day! Now that I've grown up, I think of Barkley as sort of like my own doggy, as though he were physically here with me; I love to imagine myself playing with him, and all sorts of things like that -- he's an immense comfort for me, and I know he loves me just as much as I love him!
Anthony Strand
My name is Anthony Strand. I’m a writer for the Tough Pigs website and the co-host of Movin’ Right Along, a podcast where I watch Muppet movies two minutes at a time. I’ve been watching Sesame Street as far back as I can remember. In fact, my earliest TV-related memory is watching the birth of Gabi, and then running out to the kitchen to tell my mom that Maria and Luis had their baby and it was a girl. As I got older, I never stopped watching Sesame Street, and now I get to share it with my kids. My favorite Sesame Street character is Ernie because I can relate to him a lot. He's a goofball who loves joking around with his best friend, but he's also a thoughtful guy who loves looking out the window and imagining himself as an astronaut or a sailor. More than anyone else, he shows the audience that people are all complicated. We all have a variety of personality traits, and Ernie is the perfect example of that.
Matthew Littlemore
My name is Matthew. My brother and I have been fans of Sesame Street for over 20 years, and the show honestly never fails to impress me and put a big smile on my face, and I don’t think a day has ever gone by where I didn’t see my brother watching Sesame Street. I can’t even begin to choose a favorite song, they’re all beautiful. Some of the happiest memories from my childhood actually involve Sesame Street. We had DVDs and VHS tapes with Sesame Street episodes and direct-to-video specials, and me and my brother watched episodes broadcast on PBS Kids whenever they came on. My absolute favorite character is the Count von Count. I always have the happiest feeling whenever I see him, he gets so much joy out of just counting everything in sight and helping others with counting and math, including the viewers. It’s absolutely wonderful, and for the longest time, I’ve always found myself counting along with him in each scene he was in. One of my earliest and fondest memories of Sesame Street as a toddler was whenever The Count played his singing pipe organ to find the number of the day, I never ever get tired of those segments, it’s such a brilliant concept. It’s amazing how Sesame Street has been going strong for 53 years now, and I have a very strong feeling that it will make it to 100.
Tori Pace
Hello Street fans! My name is Tori Pace. I consider myself a superfan of the show. Like so many, I grew up watching Sesame Street and being educated and entertained. My favorite character is a human and she inspired me so much that I reached out to her and had an opportunity to interview her on my YouTube talk show!
Madeline Fretz
Hi, I'm Maddie. If you know me, you know that I’m a big fan of children's television, including Sesame Street. There hasn’t been a time in my life when I haven’t loved the show. I’ve watched it on DVDs and on YouTube and I never get tired (well, except for the time I took a break). The show is absolutely perfect for kids, running for more than fifty years and teaching the things you learn in school in a fun and exciting way. My favorite character on the show is Oscar the Grouch, mainly because he showed children that not everyone on the street was happy and that you needed to have an edge. Oscar teaches the lesson that you can be mean and messy on the outside but secretly have a heart of gold on the inside. Thanks for reading! Now Scram!
Alix Arrigo
My name is Alix, I’m an artist, puppeteer, and a massive muppets fan. My relationship with Sesame Street is that this show truly changed my life and helped me build up my language more, from classic episodes to the new generation, Sesame Street was definitely one of the hugest parts of my childhood. My favorite Sesame Street character would probably have to be Little Jerry. Because I remember ever since I was a kid, I was just obsessed with his songs, still does to this day. But I also like Telly Monster because of what I’ve noticed in his characteristics, I see that he sometimes worries about certain things so I can tell that he has anxiety, because sometimes when he is in a specific situation, he overthinks, worries a lot, and sometimes tends to panic, and as someone like myself who has very high anxiety, I can relate to him. I think he contributes to the fact that it’s ok to feel anxious even when going through difficult times.
Alex Harris
My name is Alex Harris, and I’ve been watching Sesame Street for as long as I can remember. In fact, some of my earliest memories involve the show playing in the background. Since the show means so much to me, picking a favorite character to write about was almost like asking a parent who their favorite kid is. But one character I’ve always admired was Grover. I like Grover because he’s the source of a lot of the show’s funny moments, especially when he’s paired with Mr. Johnson. I also like that even though he’s not very good at it, he always wants to help people, something I can relate to whenever I accidentally make things worse. On a more personal note, my house caught on fire in the summer of 2013 while my family was out of town, destroying all my possessions (except the ones I brought with me). When my sister ordered a Snuggle Bear to replace the one she lost in the event (having previously believed she saved it), I was presented with the option to replace one of my old stuffed animals I lost, and I chose my Grover doll. That’s how much he means to me.
Marcelo Bottaro
Hey there, I’m Marcelo Bottaro. I’m a puppeteer and puppet teacher from Brooklyn, New York, and a Die Hard Muppet fan. Growing up watching Sesame Street, the show grew such a great impact on me and who I am today. Watching every episode with my mother and sharing the fun memories of the show with all the characters, songs, and meanings to each episode and how to become smarter, kinder, and stronger (this saying was done years later but around the time of the late 90s early 2000s I knew this show taught me those things).
There have been a lot of characters on the how over the years some who are still on the show to this day and some that have made a few appearances and then they never came back, me personally while I love the human characters on the show and they do contribute so much to the show, The Muppets are my main favorite part of what makes Sesame Street so wonderful. With the Muppets of Sesame Street, it is so difficult to choose which one is my favorite because all of them contribute so much to the show, showing that there are many different types of people in the world where we can get along, some who are anxious and some who don’t wanna be bothered. For me, my favorite Muppet on Sesame Street would defiantly have to be both Rosita and Murray Monster. The reason I go with both Rosita and Murray Monster is that growing up in a Latino household, on TV there were shows that had some Spanish-speaking characters that were very relatable and Rosita was one of them, she still remains one of my favorite Sesame Street monsters on the show, as for Murray Monster I miss him dearly and wish he would come back on the show since he’s another favorite of mine. Especially whenever he would visit a school with his little Lamb Ovejita learning about different schools and what they teach there.
Overall, to me, these two share a significant action of diversity in culture, where people and monsters are from, and how we can continue to learn about different things we never thought of.
Avery Vandenhouten
Hi! My name is Avery Vandenhouten. I’m an actor/writer who hosts a show where I cover nostalgic, obscure, or otherwise strange content on my YouTube channel Avery Talks About Stuff. Having covered old-school content for a couple of years now I’ve grown to appreciate Sesame Street (and the work of Jim Henson altogether) from a whole new perspective than I already did. For as long as I can remember I have loved Sesame Street. Our family didn’t have cable until I was older so I relied on PBS for most of the shows I watched when I was little. I was homeschooled and didn’t know any kids my own age so I had no way of knowing that the show was a comfort for way more than just me. From characters like Linda the Librarian who taught us about sign language and deaf culture to Bert and Ernie who showed us how two very different people can care for each other deeply, to Mr. Hooper who taught us how to be a good neighbor - and then how to say goodbye - there were so many characters to choose from that I had a really difficult time picking just one to write about. Today I’m spotlighting Big Bird. He’s been there for so long that I think a lot of people overlook him, but the truth is that Big Bird is the kindest bird one could know (not that I know too many birds personally) and that kindness has always resonated with me. He’s willing to do anything for his friends, whether it’s proving Santa exists to make sure his friends get their presents or literally being on the verge of taking out the Wicked Witch with a baseball bat to defend the store, he’s such a strong character while still being calm and soft-spoken. As a soft-spoken kid myself, it was important that I saw a character who was mild-mannered but still wasn’t afraid to ask questions. Every person, be they kid or grown-up alike could use a Big Bird in their lives.
Juliana Moore
Ultramarine blue fur, globular head, wide eyes, and an even wider mouth. Long wiry arms with floppy hands that are ever flailing around his little potbelly. This is the Grover I love.
My name is Juliana Moore, and like many of you, I grew up watching Sesame Street, but my first encounter with Grover was as a child in a picture book. In The Monster at the End of This Book (1971), furry blue Grover warns of a monster lurking in the back cover. He begs and pleads with the reader to puh-leeeeez not turn another page, and his reaction to the inevitable flipping of pages is to become more and more unhinged. I remember thinking, wow this guy cares so much he's willing to look like a total fool! Turns out the fuss was all for nothing as we discover there is no scary monster at all, just cute and loveable old Grover, groaning with embarrassment. For me, the deal was sealed right there. Grover had my back and I would have his. The view that our fears are only as big as we make them would be a common theme in his role on Sesame Street. In one of my favorite musical segments, Grover wakes one morning to an unrecognizable monster in the mirror (his own reflection) staring back at him. Startled, he sings, "wubba wubba wubba wubba woo woo woo" which helps him feel better. This muppety mantra is a kind of peace deal he's made with himself, a sense of safety he can summon no matter how lost or alone he feels. Maybe I can do the same?
Grover contains a monster mash of multitudes. In fact, he seems to exist within and because of contradictions. He is free-spirited yet deeply fearful, hard-working, and terrible at every job he tries, wise one minute and witless the next. He is undeniably obnoxious and yet never unloveable. With his bad posture and an oscillating voice that is anything but soothing, he soothes, sings out of tune, gets on his friends' nerves, and messes up again and again (and again). Through it all, the love flows and grows from the purest of hearts he wears on his sleeve. Sometimes he's even a superhero! But that is another story.
Michael Wermuth
My name is Michael Wermuth, and I am writing about one of my favorite Sesame Street characters, but first, a little of my history with the show. I am unsure when I first watched Sesame Street, likely very young when I did. Over the years there have been periods when I have watched the show a lot and periods when I have watched new episodes less regularly. I know I watched it regularly until about season 23, then I watched less until season 25, watching a lot in seasons 25 and 26 before focusing less, then watched a lot again in season 30, and so on. I think the last time I was really watching newer episodes on a real regular basis was around season 42. It is hard to pick one favorite character. There are so many great ones. But I chose to pick Herry Monster. Such a great character, such an underrated character. He was on the show a lot when I was a kid, yet there weren’t many toys of him, and he’s often been left out of specials and movies and such. He started to be used a lot less in the last few years before Jerry Nelson died. This was around the time that Cookie Monster and Grover were recast and able to appear in street stories again, so maybe they felt less of a need for Herry. I am glad that Peter Linz recently took over, though he has not made a whole lot of appearances.
Joseph Scarbrough
Hello, I’m Joseph Scarbrough. I got to know Noah, aka Thomperfan, through a Classic Sesame Street group on Facebook, and when he asked if I would care to write about my favorite SESAME STREET character, I was happy to oblige. PBS was on quite frequently in my house growing up, so SESAME STREET was an integral part of my developing years, and I honestly can hardly remember a time when it wasn’t a part of my life, and looking back on the era of SESAME STREET that I grew up with, it really wasn’t that difficult for me to figure out who my favorite character is. Even though things gradually began to change on the street when I was growing up with it, one thing that was still relatively the same about the show as a whole was that even in the late 80s and early 90s, it was Big Bird who was still the quintessential forefront of SESAME STREET, and that had more of an impact than anyone may realize. For people like myself, and especially even older than me, Big Bird was, without a doubt, the first friend that any of us ever had; we could always count on that tall, yellow bird to be a trusted source of happiness, friendship, and love during our early, informative years – and what made it work so well was because Big Bird was written to represent all of us at that age: sure, he was big for his age, but inside that huge yellow mass of feathers was an everychild who loved to have fun, and learn about new things, as all of us did at that age . . . we understood him, and he understood us because he was us. For all of the funny, quirky, and even absurd Muppet characters who entertained us with their wacky antics and silly routines, Big Bird, despite living up to his namesake, was the most real and genuine one of them all, and it is for this very reason that I would say that he is my favorite character, and why even as an adult, he continues to hold a special place in my heart.
Dave Hulteen Jr.
I’m Dave Hulteen, Jr. Muppet fan and professional artist! I’ve done illustrative and graphic design work for several Muppet performers, production staff, and The Jim Henson Company. I have been influenced and inspired by Sesame Street for over four decades, and my favorite character is Abby Cadabby. Abby came along well after I was watching the show as a kid, but everything about her is so magical and classic. Her performer, Leslie Carrara Rudolph often says, “kindness is a superpower” and that extends to every aspect of her performance. As a fairy, Abby allows kids to really stretch their imagination and be silly, fun, and creative. As a Sesame Street Muppet, she brings a fun and rambunctious spirit that I believe with my whole heart Jim Henson would have been overjoyed with. She’s the best!!
Dondré Pryce-Lalla
Hi. I’m Dondré Pryce-Lalla. I’m an aspiring puppeteer and I've been a Muppet fan my whole life. Of course, Sesame Street is no exception. It was one of the first shows I’d ever seen and I was instantly infatuated with it and always have been. It’s a very different show now than when I was born (2003, so Season 34), but it’s still a very good and necessary one for today’s ever-changing social climate.
My personal favorite Muppet from the Street has always been Elmo. Yes, I’m sure part of that is due to the overexposure that the character had (and still does). But the character is one that Sesame definitely needed at the time, and I would argue still does today. All the male characters at the time had a particular ‘gimmick’. Oscar was, well, ‘grouchy’. The Count was a friendly Dracula of sorts who liked to count things. Bert & Ernie were your ‘opposites attract’ comedy duo. None of these characters are bad, far from it! But the only one who stood out as a character without a gimmick was Big Bird, being the every-child of the show. Elmo was different. He was a character that, much like Big Bird, children, particularly younger children, could not only laugh with but relate to. Elmo was sweet and loving. Children are sweet and loving. Elmo is vibrant and full of life. Children are vibrant and full of life. Elmo can be downright hilarious at times. Children are that way too. That personality just resonates with them because, in a way, Elmo is them. This is something that Kevin Clash perfected and Ryan Dillon continues to emanate.
Not to mention, I really enjoy a lot of Elmo-centred media. Elmo in Grouchland, while not perfect, I still find enjoyable, not a year goes by when I don’t watch Elmo Saves Christmas every December, and Elmopalooza just might be my favorite piece of Sesame Street media (next to Follow that Bird). I watched it on VHS religiously growing up. I know some aren’t really fans of him, but I’ve always loved him. And chances are, I always will.
Gweneth Keith
I'm Gweneth and I've had Sesame Street in my life since the day I was born. It was the first show that introduced me to puppets, which is a huge part of who I am and why I became an illustrator. I have a special place in my heart for Grover. Since he is mom's favorite character, growing up my brother and I were surrounded by Grover books, plushies, clothes, and Christmas ornaments. As a character, Grover is silly and witty, but he also teaches us to not be afraid of making mistakes. Also, he reminds us to call ourselves cute every chance we get. It's no wonder he is a classic and continues to be everyone's lovable, furry pal to this day!
Zahire Watts
Hello, this is Zahire. I am, of course, a great big Sesame Street fan. I love every single character that I know on the show, but one of my favorite characters that I’m making this paragraph about is Julia. She has autism just like me and in many ways and can relate to her. Julia does things in her own way, she is sensitive to certain sounds, and she draws very well and so am I. I feel like she contributes to the show by helping kids and their parents discover what autism is and how people with autism are very special. You know, when I saw Julia flapping her hands when she is excited, it reminded me of how I used to be in elementary school flapping my hands when I’m playing with the computer. She would cover her ears when there is a pretty harsh sound like I used to cover my ears when the drying machine’s buzzer goes off. As I grow up, I feel like growing up with autism is a bit tough, but I'm pretty sure with some kindness, caring, and understanding from others, I’ll get by. So, I would like to congratulate Sesame Street and Sesame Workshop for bringing such an amazing character like Julia to life.
Kyle Wilkinson
Hi, I'm Kyle Wilkinson and I'm a huge fan of Jim Henson's work that I've gotten to experience throughout my childhood into adulthood. I will say that I LOVED the Muppet Show growing up but Sesame Street has been around for 52 years as I'm writing this but in this case 53 to be exact. I watched the show ever since I was able to sit up or even watch it when I was an infant. My baby book says that I REALLY enjoyed the show during that time. My eyes would be glued to the television set. The season that I remember getting to watch and can almost relive in my mind is Season 23. I would have been 10 going on 11. Now, most kids during that age start to get out of shows like this but not me. There were times I thought my parents weren't going to understand why would I want to watch a show for kids. I would sometimes change the channel when they would come into the living room just so they weren't looking at me funny or saying “Why are you still watching this?” but later on I stopped watching it altogether. During those times I was getting into more adult things plus Cartoon Network was finally added to our cable network. Got into older animation but that's for another story.
I've always enjoyed Big Bird's character. CBS Toys made a 13" Big Bird doll in the early 80s that I had growing up. I liked him cause of his personality, always asking questions (which I still do to this day. I'll tell someone that Sesame Street taught me to ask questions about stuff), being himself, and understanding that grownups can mess up too. He even brought up the whole idea that sometimes grownups aren't always going to believe you till they see it themselves. Yes, I'm talking about the Snuffy incident but there are other things from my childhood I can remember that happened to me. He's always been the everyman or everykid or maybe I should say every bird for the watchers. And that is my 2 cents on my life with the show and my favorite character. Peace Out!
Emily Sullivan
Hi! My name is Emily. I have been a huge Sesame Street fan ever since I can remember. Growing up I had all of the merchandise and videotapes from the show and would see Sesame Street Live and visit Sesame Place annually. Currently, I own accurate replicas of Elmo and Abby Cadabby’s suits from Sesame Place and perform with them for birthday parties and other events and continue to support and watch Sesame Street to this very day.
Of all the characters, both the muppets and humans of Sesame Street, there always has been one character that stands out from the rest and holds a special place in my heart. That character is Zoe. Zoe resonated so much with me growing up as a child and I always thought that she was just like me. She was curious about everything around her, upset when she didn’t get her way, and always jumped for joy and showed so much emotion whenever she was excited. These were a lot of the traits I had growing up and just made me connect with her even more. I was also extremely fond of her storylines with Elmo…ESPECIALLY with Rocco recently becoming a viral sensation. Their chemistry together was just that classic comedy zinger shtick and I just always loved when Zoe annoyed the heck out of Elmo. Overall I just love Zoe because she is just really outgoing and always tries to include everyone, even though she may not know how.
Justin Tonglet
I’m Justin, and while Sesame Street was such a huge influence on me as a child and stayed with me through adulthood, there has been nothing more joyful than sharing my love for the show with my own children, who are big fans themselves now. My favorite character is hard to pinpoint as it changes often, but I will say I have a fondness for Sherlock Hemlock, who was such a fun character as the clueless detective, and I wish they were able to use him more often today.
Kevin Williams
My name is Kevin Williams, and my earliest memories of the early 1970s of television include the opening theme song to Sesame Street which, when it came on, saw me in my baby buggy bumping down the hall to get to the TV. My whole life has been surrounded by my love of this particular street. Big Bird has also always been my go-to favorite character and it appears that he always will be. It’s always been something about his friendliness, the acceptance, the love, the sharing of curiosities, and just being “there” to bring joy. I’ll always be thankful to Sesame Street for teaching me about friendship, caring about people, animals, and the environment. Now, I need to visit the set and meet Big Bird! Somehow.
TheMaxOfTheMaximum
Hi, I’m Matt, and Sesame Street was a show I loved dearly as a kid, which was thanks to their fun songs, engaging stories, strong morals, and most importantly, their memorable cast. If I had to pick a favorite character, it'd be Grover. I absolutely adore his "trying to help but always failing" personality. He always manages to get a laugh out of me whenever he does anything. With the number of jobs he's had and how he always seems to mess up, Grover's the kind of character you could put in any situation and the jokes would write themselves.
Hugh H. Davis
As a child of the 1970s, I, like many, have never known a world without Sesame Street or the Muppets. While some might have moved on from one or both as they got older, my own love and passion for them have simply grown with me, and so my fandom (some might call it an obsession) moved from young viewer to fan to collector. Besides keeping up with fan forums (going back to the days of print and MuppetZine and the early rec.arts.muppets message boards to ToughPigs and its forum in recent years), I have published and presented as a “Muppet Scholar.” As a literature teacher, I often brought the Muppets into my classroom and my own studies, and I know my joy in combining all things Henson with learning and literacy began with my earliest viewings of Sesame Street. I often have explained to students that they have known and seen literature allusions long before they knew the literary term or even possibly the original sources, and that is one reason that my favorite character is Sherlock Hemlock. I could pick others whom I also hold in high regard (Ernie has long been at the top of the list, as has lovable old Grover, and Carroll Spinney’s two most famous characters were some of the first I could identify), and I could always fall down the rabbit hole of explaining Super Grover as Quixotic character, but the world’s greatest detective was, as best my memory can recall, the first recurring character I sought out. Since he didn’t appear as often as the main Street characters, it became a lottery win for me when segments would air with Sherlock in them.
From almost as early as my memories of watching Sesame Street, I was aware of Sherlock Holmes. This mostly came from the Basil Rathbone films running on a local TV station, but various Holmes films and items would pop up, and I have always associated that type–replete with deerstalker hat, cape, and magnifying glass–as the super detective, an archetypal hero defined through the intellect. Even when Sherlock Hemlock stumbled through a case, I got the parody and saw that the key thing remained observation and deduction. I could learn from him and laugh at the same time, for he reinforced the idea that the smartest man in the room (or TV studio, or on the Street) could enter and resolve a situation. I now get the inversion built into the character, but as a preschool viewer, I loved the idea that being smart leads to success; this Sherlock was as heroic to me as any who bested Moriarty or faced the Baskerville hound. First Sesame Street and then The Muppet Show also helped stoke and inspire my interest in older references and gags. Just as the use of older actors as guests on The Muppet Show (such as Edgar Bergen and Roy Rogers) helped trigger my further interest in their earlier works and energize my personal viewing habits, Sherlock Hemlock served a similar purpose for me on Sesame. As I said, I could recognize the allusion to Conan Doyle’s detective, plus I knew many Holmes films, but I also could recognize that Jerry Nelson’s Hemlock voice was an imitation of Ronald Colman. Each piece I recognized, the smarter I felt, and the more I wanted to see and discover. Egad! Sherlock Hemlock was my gateway to a world of film, literature, and intellect.
Ezmanify
My name is Ezra, and while admittedly Elmo was the Sesame Street character who I always looked forward to seeing the most when I was a kid, the character who I have consistently loved throughout my entire life has always been Big Bird, who is undeniably the purest and most wholesome character in the show. Big Bird always evoked a warm but also relatable presence whenever he was on screen. While he is a child with children’s interests and excitability, he still had his own level of wisdom that he could sometimes pass on to the audience and even to his older adult friends on Sesame Street. But the show never strayed from the fact that he was only six years old. Both his excitement and playfulness and his sorrow and tenderness made it very easy for the children watching to identify with Big Bird, which mainly came from Caroll Spinney’s performance which strongly capture the emotions of the character. With his huggable yellow design, his soft, light voice, and his kindhearted personality, Big Bird was the epitome of the pure wholesomeness that Sesame Street stood for.
Julia Gaskill
My name is Julia Gaskill (she/her), and I’ve been a writer for the Muppet fan site ToughPigs.com for over ten years. I grew up watching Sesame Street, much like everyone else, and still to this day have a profound love of the show. It’s hard to pick a favorite Sesame character, but when pressed I think I have to go with Cookie Monster. Is he a super one-note character? Absolutely. Are there other characters who have had more chances to shine over the years? Certainly. Does he never falter in putting a smile on my face? One hundred and ten percent. Those googly eyes, the overuse of the word “me”, those cookie crumbs flying everywhere – what’s not to love? Cookie Monster adds some chaotic antagonism to a show all about education and growth. Sure, we get to see Cookie sometimes implement self-restraint and show kids the importance of impulse control, but really I’m just here to see him do the exact opposite and shovel those gosh darn delicious cookies into his mouth. Classic!
Geddes Gibbs Jr.
My name is Geddes Gibbs Jr., an upcoming voice-over actor, and puppeteer. I’ve been in connection with Sesame Street before in the days of my childhood. Every morning, I wake up and tune in to PBS Channel 13 at 7 am to catch the show coming on. If I had to choose who my favorite Sesame Street character is, it would be Abby Cadabby. She’s fun, kind, magical, and full of joy and happiness. With her magic wand, she knows how to turn things into greater things; you know, when they're not pumpkins. Above all that, it doesn’t stop the entire Sesame Street gang from being her friend.
Randall Jackson
My name is Randall Jackson. I grew up with Sesame Street ever since I was born. From 2001-2010, I would watch it on non-school days and nowadays I mostly only watch it if a celebrity I know about is involved. Seasons 30-34 were the best seasons, in my opinion, everything past that and until the present became disappointing, yet there are new episodes that I still enjoy and consider my favorites from a particular season, but if I could have an overall favorite episode, it would have to be between Seasons 30-34.
My favorite Sesame Street character is Telly Monster. I know it’s unusual to like him as a favorite character, given not everyone recognizes him, and fans of the more popular and recognizable characters often mistake him for Elmo or Oscar The Grouch. Telly is not only my favorite character because he’s purple (my favorite color), but also because I relate to his constant anxiety. What I believe Telly contributes to the show is the key to soothing anxiety and relieving oneself of trauma or stress disorders. What I also like about Telly is that he has hobbies, like bouncing on a pogo stick and playing the tuba. There are episodes that I feel provided the best example of how Telly can teach children to overcome insecurity. One of my favorite episodes involving him is a 2001 episode where he expressed uncertainty about how he can make music while Luis fixes his tuba before Gabi, Bob, and Ernie gave him some alternatives to occupy him until his tuba was fixed. Another example was in a 2002 episode, where his old friend, The Grand High Triangle Lover entrusted him to take care of his favorite triangle. Telly took the job very seriously, but at one point lost the triangle, due to a collision with a rollerskating penguin. Maria convinced a shameful Telly to confess to The Grand High Triangle Lover, who forgave him and said he did the right thing by being honest. And in a 2003 episode, he accidentally hit his best friend Baby Bear on the nose while playing basketball. Despite Baby Bear not having a serious injury, Telly continued to stall Baby Bear by refusing to play any games, fearing he might hurt him. What Telly didn’t realize up until the end was that he wasn’t hurting Baby Bear physically, he was hurting Baby Bear emotionally, and when he does realize this, he apologizes and goes back to playing with Baby Bear again. In both of these episodes, Telly overcame his fears and faced a better outcome than he would have otherwise.
I know that Telly doesn’t make a whole lot of appearances in new episodes anymore and it’s so disappointing, but he’s my favorite character, nonetheless, and is a great role model for anyone overcoming stress or anxiety in any situation.
Melissa
Hi, I’m Melissa, My favorite character is Gonger because I love his & Cookie Monster’s “Foodie Truck” segments. Not only is it a great way to learn where food comes from, but it’s also a great way to try healthy recipes! I’ve tried the recipes for Cocoa Cashew Smoothies, Apple slice & Peanut Butter sandwiches, beach pudding cups, overnight oats, and Mango Salsa. They’re all very delicious! Someday, I will try the recipes for Dino Dip & Iced Mint Tea. I also love the cute & funny way Gonger pronounces the names of certain foods, like “heggs” instead of “eggs,” and “blue-ba-berries” instead of “blueberries.”
Ingeborg Svea Norden
I'm older than Sesame Street, but not by much; I was less than a year old when the show first aired. By the time I was in kindergarten, I loved it; I would sit on the laundry-room steps at home to watch TV, imagining myself on the 123 building's stoop. Mr. Hooper, Luis, and Maria felt as familiar as Mom's friends from down the block. Even though I don't have children today, I'm still interested in Sesame Street from a technical and historical viewpoint; the show has needed to keep up with both educational research and children's social environment. Of the characters still appearing on Sesame Street, I find Rosita most relatable: we're both musical, bilingual, and physically affectionate. If the street were a real place, I'd love to spend a day snuggling with Rosita's family.
Bryan Seastrom
When I was a baby in the early 80s, my mother plopped me down in front of the television and I was instantly in awe of the charming and friendly neighbors on Sesame Street. They could have been fury, feathery, grouchy, warm, human, or Muppet. It didn’t matter, they instantly became my 2nd family growing up. I was hooked on the songs and stories, but I was mostly drawn to the relationships between the characters. How did they interact and play off of each other? This fascination continued as I grew up. I never officially grew out of the show and I always found myself checking back in with “the family” over the years to see what they were up to. What new neighbors were moving in? Has Miles started school yet? Who’s taking care of Hooper’s Store? This show actually became the earliest influence on my path to a career in the entertainment industry as both an actor, a puppeteer, and a writer.
It’s hard to choose a favorite character because I really, truly, and genuinely love them all. If Oscar is the Sesame Muppet with the most nuance, as Sonia Manzano has said, I’d say Big Bird is a close match. Funny enough, both characters were created by Carroll Spinney. Big Bird was the everykid. He was everyone’s best friend. He was friendly, warm, funny, smart, and persistent. He was the kid on the street that the kids at home watching would relate to. We would look to Big Bird to help us figure out all of the big questions kids were asking. What is love? Where do babies come from? What does it mean when someone dies? How does Santa come down the chimney? Through Big Bird, we also learned that family is not defined by blood or species in Follow That Bird. He’s gone through the full range of emotions and we’ve seen him go from the little kid that was always learning and making mistakes to being a big brother figure to characters like Elmo and Zoe. He’s grown up before our eyes. He brings sunshine to the street!
Max Goudiss
Hello, everybody. Let me introduce myself: I’m Maxwell Morton Goudiss or just Max Goudiss. I’ve been growing up with the show through my childhood memories of merchandise, videocassettes, CD-ROM games, and even books. In fact, I even went to a Sesame Street Live show and Sesame Place when I was a kid. And I personally enjoy watching clips of Sesame Street segments and episodes online, especially the classic ones. Today I’m here to talk about my favorite character on the show. And which favorite character might you ask is my favorite? If I have to choose between a Muppet or a human, I’d say it would have to be a Muppet which is Roosevelt Franklin. You’re probably wondering why I’m choosing a now-retired character over a popular core one. Well, believe it or not, Roosevelt was one of the main characters on the show for a while. In fact, he even has his own record album, The Year of Roosevelt Franklin. However, after a while, he was officially dropped from the show when people began to criticize his negative African-American stereotype and how his rowdy elementary school didn’t set a good example for children. In spite of all that, he did however taught concepts on the show like family, pride, respect, geography, and not drinking poison. He was a cool kid who loved to scat, rhyme, and sing the blues. His mother takes obvious pride in his knowledge and achievements which includes knowing his alphabet, numbers, the days of the week and even spelling his name. So, despite Roosevelt’s obscurity in recent years and the negative criticism he received, his contributions as a Muppet who loves the skin he’s in leaves an impact on how people should be proud of who they are and how special they are inside each and every one of them. As Roosevelt Franklin himself once said, “You are as great as you want to be and nobody can put you down.”
Daniel Joseph Pena
Hi, my name is Daniel Joseph Peña a Dominican and American dancer, singer, and actor from New York. My relationship with Sesame Street is I grew up watching it knowing every character, loving the music, going to the live shows & Sesame Place, and now working there as a performer. I loved how the show always made me feel seen with the character Rosita, who reminded me much of my Latin family. That's why I loved her. From her singing all the Latin songs and just dancing and enjoying life and loving hard Rosita has taught me to take pride in where I'm from. She's my favorite character because of how relatable she is! I love that she demonstrates that no matter what your language no matter what your name we’re all the same! I also love when she says "Que Sabraso". She's also so funny and the queen of the street truly. No matter where she is, who she’s with, or what she’s doing, Rosita always stands out and that's why I was always drawn to her. She’s my Latin representation on the show. Gracias, Rosita! Te QUIERO mucho!
Gee Bee
I can’t imagine what my childhood or life would have been like without Sesame Street, created by Joan Ganz Cooney. I was lucky enough to be born right around the time that the show began, so I got to know it in the best years of its prime. It would be difficult to define my favorite aspect of the show. The Muppets, cartoons, education, and song and dance sequences were magic. The early Sesame Street Muppets, such as Ernie and Bert, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Cookie Monster, Grover, Roosevelt Franklin, Prof. Hastings, The Count, etc. will always have a special place in my heart. However, none of it would have worked at all without the awesome human actors: Loretta Long as Susan; Matt Robinson/Hal Miller/Roscoe Orman as Gordon; Bob McGrath as Bob; Will Lee and Mr. Hooper; Northern Calloway as David; Sonia Manzano as Maria; Emilio Delgado as Luis; etc. Sadly, not all of them are still with us and some were done a disservice by Sesame Workshop. There were also numerous talented puppeteers behind the scene, such as Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Ricard Hunt, Caroll Spinney, and Jim Henson who created them all, as well as a wealth of musical talent, such as Joe Raposo; Jon Stone; Jeff Moos, etc. Nothing lasts forever and the show is barely recognizable to someone from my time, but the spirit lives on with many classic episodes available for all to see. Long live the spirit that created such a genius and unique show and may we always remember the education, values, and sense of humor that it was originally all about.
Spencer Griffin
Hi, everyone. My name is Spencer Griffin, and my fascination with Sesame Street has existed even before I could talk. It introduced me to a world of colorful, fascinating characters, while at the same time educating me about literacy and numeracy in clever, exciting ways that no other shows could, thus heightening my lifelong love of language (See what I did there? That sentence was brought to you by the letter L!) My favorite character on the show?! That’s very hard to say!! There are many!! It might be a three-way tie between Ernie, Grover, and Cookie Monster. All three of these characters are silly and optimistic and provide fodder for a lot of the comedic aspects of the show. On the other hand, I do realize that these three often cause trouble for characters just trying to live their lives without interruption or chaos. Ernie has Bert, Grover has Kermit, and Cookie Monster has Prairie Dawn. Bert, Kermit, and Prairie are all great characters too that represent my more introverted, less silly side. And as I’ve gotten older, even Oscar the Grouch has held a more special place in my heart since I now understand that he’s not a “bad guy” so much as he is just a misunderstood loner. He, too, has (or had) a foil in the form of Telly Monster. Unlike Ernie, Cookie, and Grover, however, Telly was very neurotic, always worried about what he did and said in front of his “best friend,” Oscar, and how that would affect him later on. Telly is sort of a fave of mine for his neurotic yet nice nature, which I can relate to. So how can I possibly choose one favorite?! I’ve already described EIGHT!! EIGHT favorites! Ah, ah, ah. Speaking of which, I’m gonna add The Count in as a 9th fave character! If he were the one writing this paragraph, I’m sure he’d choose so many more characters that it would fill up at least a few pages! Sesame Street has characters that transcend the mere “cutesy” factor that most children’s television show characters have, esp. the ones aimed at Pre-K students. They are multi-dimensional, complex characters underneath their seemingly flimsy façade of fluff and felt, and they will forever hold a special place in my heart, no matter how old I get! Happy 53rd Anniversary, Sesame Street! May you be around for many years to come!
Noah Darden
Yep. I’m doing one of these, too. I, like the other people I gathered for this post, began watching Sesame Street before I was able to talk in full sentences, and I kinda just never left it. Sure, there are tons of other shows that I like to watch as well, but this one, like Thomas the Tank Engine, is one that remains a constant. In a way, I’ve spent so much time with these colorful puppet icons that it feels like I know them on a deeper/personal level. Now when it comes to which one is my favorite, it’s really pretty simple. When I was little, I would’ve said Elmo, because he was one of my main virtual playmates, alongside Thomas, Steve, Blue, Dora, Boots, Moose, and Zee. He was just someone I really loved hanging out with and still do to this day. But now that I’m a young adult, now that I’ve discovered my love for food, eating food, and cookies, Cookie Monster takes the top dog spot. But that doesn’t mean I love Elmo any less. They’re both my favorite characters in the show, and most likely always will be.
And that’s it! Now you’ve gotten to hear the impact that this simple television experiment turned worldwide non-profit organization had on 38 different people from different parts of the world. This would usually be the part where I talk about how great Sesame Street is and how I couldn’t be more grateful for its existence, but come on. Not only has everyone said something along the lines of that already, but this blog post is literally me and my friends talking about how much we love the show and its characters. If that’s not enough proof that Sesame Street is amazing, I don’t know what is.
However, if you’re interested in seeing some other things I made for this momentous occasion, click on one of these links below.
Here is a link to a giant Photoshop masterpiece I made, filled with as many characters and easter eggs as possible.
And this is a list I made of the 55 moments I consider to be the best of the best that Sesame Street has to offer.
Well, I guess there’s only one thing left to say: Thank you to everyone who read this post, and thank you to Sesame Street and everyone at Sesame Workshop for making this world a better place. If any of you have any memories or words you’d like to say about this show, please put them in the comment section.
Anyway, that’s all the time we have for today. I’ll see you all next time. Bye!
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