Elmo

Elmo is a muppet on the children's television show Sesame Street. He is a furry red Muppet monster with googly eyes and an orange nose. He currently hosts the last full segment on Sesame Street, called Elmo's World, which is aimed at toddlers. more...

He is accompanied by his goldfish, Dorothy, and silent Charlie Chaplin–like characters named Mr. Noodle and Mr. Noodle's Brother Mr. Noodle.

History

The character is supposed to be about three and a half years old, and characteristically refers to himself in the third person. He is often described as overly optimistic and annoying which became the butt of many jokes among the entertainment industry about him. Some critics correlate the rise in Elmo's popularity with the "dumbing down" of Sesame Street.

Sesame Street-staff writer Nancy Sans once described Elmo's origins. "There was this extra red puppet lying around and the cast would pick him up sometimes and try to create a personality, but nothing seemed to materialize." The puppet was performed by Caroll Spinney in the early-1970s, Brian Muehl from 1979-1981, and Richard Hunt from 1981-1984. Sans continues that "One day , Kevin Clash, a talented puppeteer, raised him up and brought energy and life into Elmo and from that day forward we would all write for Elmo. Kevin's performance inspired the writers to develop Elmo's character. The lesson here is never think you're unimportant because you never know what is going to happen." Should Clash be unable to perform Elmo, John Tartaglia is the current backup performer.

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