21 Talk

Harvey Kneeslapper

Performer:

Frank Oz

Anything Muppet:

Large Lavender Live Hand

Harvey Kneeslapper appeared on Sesame Street as a mad practical joker, always pulling pranks on others. Usually, his pranks involved either letters or numbers, which he would slap onto his victims (whom were often made from Fat Blue Anything Muppets, one of which was a look-alike, and sound-alike, of Mr. Johnson). Two of his victims have also made recurring appearances in sketches involving Harvey with letters or numbers. In most of his skits, he played his prank well on his victims but, on rare occasions, Harvey's pranks backfired on him, such as the time he filled up an entire closet and waited for somebody to open the door. Harvey's pranks have mostly backfired on him whenever he explains his prank to the audience.

He once appeared in a Sesame Street News Flash sketch, where he made a prank call about somebody standing out in a snowstorm.

Eventually, his raucous laugh became too hard on Frank Oz's throat, and Harvey, who was always considered a one-joke character, was dropped from the show.^[1] Even after Harvey stopped appearing in new segments, his existing segments continued to be used in new episodes up until Season 32.

Harvey later made a cameo appearance in a 2010 episode, where he slaps a "7" on Wolfgang's beach ball.

1 Sketches
2 Songs
3 Book appearances
4 Sources

SketchesEdit

Picture	Summary	Earliest Known Appearance	Description
	Do You Want Me To Keep An Eye On Your Hat?	Episode 0288	Harvey asks a man, "Do you want me to keep an eye on your hat?" The man says yes. Harvey then puts a letter I on top of the man's hat, crushing it in the process.
	Wanna see something funny?	Episode 0343	In the park, Harvey comes up behind a man, asks him, "Wanna see something funny?" and then holds a mirror up. The man sees nothing funny... until he looks at Harvey! Video: Old School: Volume 1 (2006)
	Do You Know Where I Wanna Be?	Episode 0303	Harvey asks a man, "Do you know where I wanna be?" The man doesn't know. Harvey says, "I wanna B here!", and then slaps a B onto the victim's chest.
	X Marks the Spot	Episode 0560	Harvey says, "X marks the spot!". A man asks, "What spot?" Harvey puts a spot and a letter X on the man.
	Robin Hood's Merry Men	Episode 0729	Ernie, performing as Robin Hood, is interviewing some potential new "merry men". After the first two applicants turn out to be sad and angry, respectively, Ernie hires the third (Harvey) on the spot because he seems suitably merry... only to fire him just as quickly after he goes overboard rattling off one-liner jokes. Online: Sesamestreet.org (SSvideo)
	News Flash: Man In Snowstorm	Episode 0750	Part 1: Kermit has received a phone call which tells him that there is someone who has been standing out in a terrible snow storm for a long time. Kermit asks everyone who passes by if they are that person, but everyone he asks has only been out in the snow for a short time. Kermit refuses to give up, however, and tells us to stay tuned. Part 2: Kermit, now shivering a little, is still looking for the person who's been standing out in the snow for a long time. He even asks Farley, who has been out for only a short time. Still no success yet. Part 3: Kermit is now buried up to his neck in snow, colder than ever. He calls the attention of passerby Harvey Kneeslapper, who tells Kermit that he is the one who made the call, which was a prank call. As it turns out, Kermit was the one standing out in the storm. Video: The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street (1998, clip of part 3 only)
	Harvey Kneeslapper and The Pogo Stick	Episode 0796	Harvey is bouncing on a pogo stick. He asks a man if he'd like to try it, and the man replies, "I'd love to!" Harvey then slaps a big number 2 on the man's shirt. Video: Old School: Volume 2 (2007)
	Three Sticks	Episode 0938	Harvey is looking down and saying "Three sticks!" A man asks "Three sticks where?" Then Harvey says "3 sticks right here!" and sticks a number 3 on the man's head.
	Harvey Gets his #5	Episode 0991	Harvey explains to the audience that he is holding a joy buzzer in his hand and plans on asking somebody to give him five, shocking his victim's hand. However, when he asks a victim to "Gimme five!", the other man slaps a number 5 on him. Online: Sesamestreet.org (SSvideo)
	Confetti	Episode 1129	Harvey sets up a bucket of confetti above a door, so that whoever pulls the rope attached to the bucket will get the confetti dumped on them. Instead, a little girl walks by and pulls the rope, so that the confetti lands on Harvey! Two variations of this sketch were made. Online: Sesamestreet.org take 1: (SSvideo)
	Picture of U	Episode 1197	Harvey goes to a man and asks, "Do you mind if I take a picture of you?" The man gives him permission, but Harvey asks, "What's down there?" When the man looks down, Harvey slaps the letter U on top of the man's head, takes a picture of it, and says "Thank U!" before he leaves.
	Do Ya Have an A on Ya?	Episode 2477	Harvey asks a passerby if he has an A on him. The passerby doesn't, so Harvey puts one on him.
	Dion	Episode 2608	Harvey approaches a man and says, "Knock, knock!" The man asks, "Who's there?". Harvey says, "Dion." The man asks, "Dion who?" Then Harvey slaps the letter D on the man's chest and says, "D on you!" Online: Sesamestreet.org (SSvideo)
	Wanna C?	Episode 2612	Harvey Kneeslapper looks inside a paper bag and laughs and asks his next victim, "Wanna see?" The man says yes, so Harvey puts a letter C on him.
	Would You Like One?	Episode 2623	Harvey holds a cookie and asks his next victim if he wants one. He answers "Sure", and Harvey sticks a number 1 onto his shirt.
	Harvey and the Mailman	Episode 3110	Harvey tells the Fat Blue mailman that he has a letter for his mother: the letter R! (Note: A similar practical joke was pulled in The Muppet Show episode 115, which also included the letter R and was pulled by another Frank Oz character, Fozzie Bear.)
	Away From		In his first appearance, salesman Harvey asks Tony if he gets attacked by monsters and run over by crowds. Herry Monster attacks him and a crowd walks all over him, so the answer is yes. Harvey has a simple solution for Tony: AWAY FROM! The next time those things happen to Tony, he can get AWAY FROM them.
‎	OPEN the Door		Part 1: Harvey hangs an "OPEN" sign on a closet and has filled it with so many toys that when somebody opens it, all of the toys in the closet will fall on that person. A girl opens the closet, but none of the toys fall out. When Harvey opens it after she leaves, they fall all over him. Part 2: Harvey has refilled the closet. A boy tries to open it, but the door is stuck. When the boy has left, Harvey opens the closet, and the toys land on him again. Part 3: Harvey has refilled the closet again. The boy and girl come by again and open the door. Instead of toys falling, the closet leads to another place. After the two of them have gone through and closed the door behind them, Harvey opens the closet, and the toys fall on him. Online: Sesamestreet.org part 1: (SSvideo) part 2: (SSvideo) part 3: (SSvideo)
	Sticky Four		Harvey Kneeslapper tells a man that "stickys" are really useful. The man asks, "What's a sticky for?". Then Harvey slaps a number 4 on the man's chest and says, "This is sticky, and it's a four!". Online: Sesamestreet.org (SSvideo)