Oscar the Grouch Does Crowd Work

On Sunday, May 25, we took a field trip to Seattle's Egyptian Theater to see the West Coast premiere of the documentary film I Am Big Bird.

The movie tracks the rise and rise of puppeteer Caroll Spinney, the man inside the Big Bird costume/puppet on Sesame Street. He's also the performer behind Oscar the Grouch. It's standard fare as far as documentaries like this go, but entertaining and particularly moving if you're a fan of the Muppets. There are even a few revelations that pack a punch, and not just because of the contrast between the child-like innocence of an 8-foot tall yellow bird puppet versus the adult man who inhabits the suit.

Caroll Spinney, Oscar and various puppets.
[Photo courtesy of the I Am Big Bird website.]

Spinney and his wife attended the screening and during the Q and A session after the movie, Spinney brought out Oscar the Grouch. That is, the actual Muppet he uses when filming for Sesame Street.

A room mostly full of adults suspended disbelief and engaged with Oscar as if we were a bunch of preschoolers. Oscar became real. Oscar is real. Some patrons even asked questions directly to Oscar, and the Grouch never skipped a beat, saying things to fans that Spinney himself cannot. Though, to be fair, Spinney is saying those things to fans, but in a way he can't.

A fuzzy green puppet ran that room for ten minutes, and he was like Don Rickles on a cruise ship. See I Am Big Bird when you can. It's worth the time and attention even if you're not a major Muppet geek. The documentary shows how the right performer, in the right role, can make a major impact around the globe. And in Spinney's case, it's all for the positive.

Halloween on the Street: Learning Shapes

We'll start with something light and kid friendly:

Nice, eh? It was done by Jack Davis for Sesame Street Magazine. Davis did cartoon art and illustrations for many print advertisements as well as magazine illustrations, most notably for EC and Mad. He also did a fair amount of movie posters and contributed character design work for the Rankin and Bass animation team.

Thank Mr. Davis for the excellent look of the creeps and heroes in the forever excellent Mad Monster Party.

And if you like fun, and really, who doesn't? Visit Sam Henderson's Magic Whistle Tumblr for more great finds and absurd humor.

Smiley Sings

Hello tender-hearts. Beltane, aka That Ol' Pagan Summer, arrived on May 1, and we missed an opportunity to wish you a happy one.

From our broom closet, we can peer through the slats of an air vent, where we can see the window at the end of the hall, and even though your average Western calendar says it's still spring, it sure looks like sweet, sweet summer out there.

Here's Sesame Street's frequent game show host, Guy Smiley, demonstrating his vocal prowess with "I'll Love You In Springtime." The Muppet crooner is of the Ed Ames/Robert Goulet school of delivery. It's pure Brylcreem and Pepsodent:


[courtesy of Sesame Street]

A Squirrel on Water Skis, and the Squirrel Has a Machine Gun

First we must wish Kermit the Frog a happy 56th birthday. That Muppet is an inspiration for life.

And in the spirit of juxtaposition that often fueled Kermit's comedy we bring you this slightly stale news item that's worth seeing if you haven't already:


[Courtesy of our news partner KING 5]

In case that video renders weird, here's a link. Despite our usual distaste for animals-as-weapons and/or espionage agents, it would have been pretty badass to have a spy network of crows. It could go so horribly, biblically wrong.

We Pause Now to Bring You This Important Message:

"Lulu's Back in Town"

[Courtesy of NantoVision1]

We'll be right back after these messages.

from Sesamstrasze
"Im Garten eines Kraken"

[courtesy derhuebiii]

For the equally delightful English-language version, click here.

Good Night Kermit

It's old news by now but The Typing Monkey must acknowledge the passing of Kermit Love, who died on Saturday June 21.

Love's work -- not the least of which included collaborating with Jim Henson to create and build both Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus -- is the kind of behind-the-scenes effort that subtly, almost secretly, makes the world a better place to live.

The New York Times obituary says virtually everything you need to know, but we won't discourage you from reading more about him elsewhere.

However this excellent quotation from Caroll Spinney, the man who performs as both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, says much about Kermit Love, and makes The Typing Monkey like him even more: "He looked very much like Santa Claus but was a little bit more like the Grinch."