Grover the Assistant
From Muppet Wiki
From his early appearances as a nameless monster in the first season to his emergence as a loveable, furry old pal, Grover has been an active and eager assistant in lectures and performances, notably those by Kermit the Frog, Herbert Birdsfoot, and The Amazing Mumford. As Children's Television Workshop researcher Gerald S. Lesser put it in Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street, Grover "seeks opportunities to be helpful even when this places great physical and mental burdens upon him; often ends up in total exhaustion as he amiably extends himself to the utmost to co-operate."
| Picture | Theme | Earliest Known Appearance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 | In | Episode 0056 | Kermit talks about the word "in," and the monster wants to help him teach. Kermit has a big box that he wants the monster to get inside, but he can't seem to grasp the concept of IN ... he gets beside the box, on the box, and under the box. Finally, he reveals why he can't get in the box: because "Fred" is already inside it. |
 | Nine Blocks | Episode 0080 | Kermit and Grover count nine blocks. |
 | Over and Under | Episode 0198 | Herbert Birdsfoot demonstrates "over" and "under" by having Grover lie on a mattress. Then Grover lies under the mattress, and Herbert drives the point home by adding more objects over Grover. |
 | The AN Family | Episode 0231 | Grover and Herbert Birdsfoot discuss the AN family. |
 | Counting to 20 | Episode 0235 | Grover and Herbert Birdsfoot count to 20.
Online: Web Video Player |
| | The ET Family | Episode 0263 | Grover and Herbert Birdsfoot discuss the ET family. |
| | The OP Family | Episode 0270 | Grover and Herbert Birdsfoot discuss the OP family. |
 | The Letter M | Episode 0276 | Herbert Birdsfoot wants to demonstrate the letter M. Grover enters, making "Mmmmm" noises, so Herbert recites a poem full of M words, having Grover make the "Mmmmm" sound at intervals. When the poem is over, Herbert discovers that Grover's mouth is stuck together after eating peanut butter. |
 | Long and Short Ladders | Episode 0276 | Kermit has Grover show the difference between short and long with ladders. He's amazed that Grover can carry the long ladder by himself, but then sees that Grover is on both ends. |
 | Mumford's Pineapple Subtraction Trick | Episode 0280 | The Amazing Mumford begins his magic subtraction trick with four pineapples, and makes them disappear one at a time. Grover then makes Mumford disappear. |
| Here and There | Episode 0292 | Kermit and Grover demonstrate "here" and "there". |
 | Alphabet | Episode 0296 | Grover and Herbert Birdsfoot recite the alphabet. |
 | Counting blocks | Episode 0309 | Herbert Birdsfoot arranges three blocks for Grover to count. No matter how the blocks are arranged, they still add up to three. Herbert asks Grover to count some oranges as well. Grover confesses that he's good at counting blocks -- but he doesn't know how to count oranges! Online: Web Video Player |
| | Raising and Lowering Trick | Episode 0311 | The Amazing Mumford performs his "Up and Down Trick" by raising and lowering Grover. |
 | The Amazing Mumford's Suspension act | Episode 0332 | Grover volunteers to be the Amazing Mumford's assistant when he performs a magic trick. The trick involves Grover sitting on top of a platform held up by a pillar, which Mumford will yank from underneath the platform, and the platform will not fall. The trick works for Mumford ... but not for Grover when he tries the trick on Herry. |
| Short and Long | Episode 0560 | Grover does things for a long time while Kermit does things for a short time. Grover gets worn out and asks to switch places, and then they demonstrate by tickling each other.
The Sesame Street Podcast: Ticklish (edited) |
 | Up and Down | Episode 0693 | Kermit has Grover help him demonstrate up and down by having Grover climb UP a sky-high flight of stairs -- while Kermit takes the elevator to the top. Exhausted, Grover faints and rolls DOWN the staircase. |
 | Grover turns into a rabbit | Episode 0712 | Grover watches The Amazing Mumford as he practices a magic trick, to make a rabbit magically appear out of his hat. Though he fails to get a rabbit to come out of his hat, both are oblivious to the fact that Grover turns into a rabbit. ( Video: Old School: Volume 1 (as a Season 3 Classic Cut) |
| | Rhyming Trick | Episode 0725 | Grover volunteers to assist Mumford in his rhyming magic trick, making three things come out of his hat that rhyme with knee. Grover guesses the first one, but doesn't get the last two right. |
 | Heavy and Light | Episode 0900 | Kermit and Grover demonstrate the difference between heavy and light. Grover carries heavy objects, and Kermit carries light objects. Grover gets tired, and asks Kermit if he can carry something light for a change. Kermit obliges. He carries a giant sandwich... while Grover picks up a helium balloon, which carries him away! |
 | Light and Dark | Kermit (Steve Whitmire) intends to talk about light and dark, so he turns his living room lamp off. Grover enters, leaving the door open so that the room doesn't stay dark. He tries to help by eliminating all light in the room so neither of them can see.
Video: Playtime with Grover | |
| | Near and Far on Ice Skates | A full-body walk-around version of Grover demonstrates near and far by ice skating, with Kermit the Frog giving commands in voice-over. | |
| | Short and Long | Grover assists Zoe in demonstrating the difference between short and long, first by hopping and then hugging.
Video: Playtime with Grover |
