Inside jokes (Sesame Street)

Sesame Street productions mentioning names of performers, employees, different productions, and other pieces of inside information.

Sesame Street

Street Scenes / Stories
Picture	Description
	Episode 1090 The airplane pilot whom Big Bird chats with turns out to be named Cooney, as he reveals in his intercom announcement.
	Episode 1257 Olivia asks Telly Monster to name some M words. He instead lists some TV shows that start with M. Included in his list is "Muppet Show."
	Episode 1446 The names Big Bird lists when he sings "What's Your Name" include two producers, the director, and five writers from Season 12: "Lisa, Jon, or Dulcy; Emily or Ray; Judy, Sara, Norman."
	Episode 1655 When Bob and Big Bird sing "The Phone Book Alphabet", they mention the names Epstein, Napoli, Myhrum, Singer, and Stone.
	Episode 1708 Most of the names yelled out during the mail call are the same as the Sesame Street staff, including Lisa Simon, Joan Ganz Cooney, Emily Squires, Ozzie Alfonso, Dulcy Singer, Janet Shapiro (researcher from seasons 10-13), Jon Stone, Thelma Moses, Al Hyslop, and Jeff Moss.
	Episode 1710 The Echo Rock award for best letter writer went to a kid named Norman Stiles. Al Hyslop also receives "most organized" and Joseph A. Bailey gets "best nutrition."
	Episode 2304 Olivia performs at Birdland. At one point, a bird named "Tooter" knocks on her dressing room door and points out she has "five minutes to curtain."
	Episode 2697 Luis gets a call at the Fix-It Shop from someone trying to reach the "DiNapoli Pizza Parlor."
	Episode 2718 Oscar and some Grouches imagine what Grouch poet writer Henry Wadsworth Wrongfellow must look like, having never seen him before. Oscar pictures him with a beard to hold his pencils in, a trait associated with Jon Stone.
	Episode 2942 The credits of As the Worm Turns features spoof names of the actual Sesame Street production staff, including Inchy Slinger (Dulcy Singer), Misa Slimon (Lisa Simon), Sluggo Stone (Jon Stone), Grub Geiss (Tony Geiss), Planeria Di Crapoli (Victor DiNapoli), Catter Pillips (Bob Phillips) and Mikey Maggotuso (Mike Pantuso).
	Episode 3059 In the cold open, Oscar sets up the two letters sponsors of the day. When he realizes they've neglected to mention the number of the day, he alerts Ralph of the mistake (referencing Ralph Mensch, the series' technical director).
	Episode 3097 Telly's cast is seen with signatures from "Marty" and "Pam."
	Episode 3122 Super Nanny (Penny Pipkins) completely cleans Oscar's trash can, still not knowing anything about Grouches and their very different lifestyle. Looking inside his nice, shiny clean trash can, Oscar laments, "Oh, look at that! 24 years of dirt destroyed! How will I ever get it that messy again?!"
	Episode 3376 A bus ad advertises "Kalvin Clash: The Scent of a Man", a spoof of Calvin Klein products.
	Episode 3395 Ernestine the Telephone Operator serves as the operator for the Furry Arms Hotel. She responds to one caller, telling her today's sponsors and mentioning how the show is a production of the Children's Television Workshop. She adds, "I think you should know that by now, Ms. Cooney."
	Episode 3453 Baby Bear tries to come up with a new name for himself. He proposes "Dave," "Marty" and "Norman."
	Episode 3501 In the library, one patron is seen with a copy of The Sesame Street Book & Record.
	Episode 3518 Bob tells Renata Scottie that he will get her in touch with a certain dog piano player he knows.
	Episode 3749 Big Bird tries to answer Snuffy's question as to what his aunt's last name is. One of his guesses is "Robinson."
	Episode 3852 Baby Bear and Telly think up various names to give Little Murray Sparkles; among the many ideas Baby Bear names is "Epstein."
	Episode 3964 Using the Letter of the Day, K, Elmo decides to become "King Kevin."
	Episode 3970 Rosita and Baby Bear find the spinning part of a pinwheel. As they try to think of what it could be, Baby Bear puts in on his neck, thinking it may be a bow tie, and says, "Wocka Wocka," Fozzie Bear's catchphrase.
	Episode 3982 Hooper's Store runs out of cookies for Cookie Monster. Alan offers him some rice cakes instead (rice cakes being what the show's prop makers use for cookies on the show).
	Episode 3994 Bob keeps photos of Joe Raposo and Mike Renzi atop his piano.
	Episode 4048 Baby Bear walks along Sesame Street reciting a grocery list: "A loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of butter." Later, in Episode 4119, Gordon is buying the same items at Hooper's Store.
	Episode 4054 Papa Bear reads from a book of bear names when trying to come up with a name for their new baby. One of those listed is Fozzie Bear, which Baby Bear calls a terrible name for a bear.
	The Street We Live On is essentially a one-hour self-referential special made explicitly to showcase an inner examination of Sesame Street from Elmo's point of view.
	Episode 4117 Maria fixes a toaster belonging to Frank Oz.
	Episode 4138 A red toaster that Maria was going to work on belongs to Matt Vogel.
	Episode 4173 In Abby's fantasy, Prince Oscar bids farewell to a subject named Eric, then tells him to give his regards to Mary (Jacobson).
	Episode 4175 A trio of Lackawanna Ladybugs are seen having a picnic and singing the classic song.
	Season 40 features at least one hidden gem in every episode.
	Episode 4203 Stickers on Slimey's racecar read "Weber," "Carter," "Mazz-A-Rino," and "Clash Automotive."
	Episode 4217 Maria finds Mrs. Mazzarino's cat outside her window. The cat is named "Segi", Mazzarino's adopted daughter's name.
	Episode 4305 The localized Spanish version of "EXTRA Sesame Street" is renamed "EXTRA Plaza Sésamo."
	Episode 4411 The Noble Prize for Counting awarded to the Count features an image of Jerry Nelson on it.
	Episode 4608 Elmo's book, When Dinosaurs Walked on Sesame Street, is shown to be written by Annie Evans and illustrated by Rickey Boyd.
	Episode 4811 Elmo is seen reading a book, To Infinity And Biondo.
Inserts
Picture	Description
	In an Ernie and Bert sketch, Ernie briefly sings "Go U Northwestern," the fight song to Jim Henson's high school, Northwestern High School in Maryland.
	The names in the song "J Friends" are also the names of people behind the scenes: Joe (Raposo), Jane (Henson), Jim (Henson) and Joan (Ganz Cooney).
	In a sketch about the Princess and the Cookie, Kermit calls to Jon to get a tight shot of the cookie being placed under the mattress.
	In various editions of Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School, written on the blackboard is "JON + BEV."
	There are a number of scenes where a framed picture of Joe Raposo is used as decoration. Most notably, it hangs on the wall in Don Music's apartment, and in the home video Count it Higher: Great Music Videos from Sesame Street, Count von Count has a picture of Joe Raposo on top of his television. In Episode 3994, Bob has two picture frames of Joe Raposo and Mike Renzi on his piano.
	A Sesame Street sketch that takes place in Manny's Casting Office with a tiger and a banana features a photo of Joe Raposo on the wall.
	A segment where the letter N talks about what words it starts ends with it telling viewers not to be noisy at night. During this scene, kids are shown putting away copies of The Sesame Street Book of People and Things and The Sesame Street Book of Puzzlers. (EKA: Episode 1092)
	A sketch with a lavender Anything Muppet, a set of teeth and a brush features a framed photo of Miss Piggy on the wall. Another sketch taking place in the old west features the same photo on the wall.
	A little Anything Muppet boy appearing in the game show "What Is It?" is named "Little Sammy Pottle" (named after composer Sam Pottle.
	In a Sesame Street News Flash sketch, The Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe tells Heather and Johnny not to fight; Brian, Lisa and Cheryl not to watch too much television; and Polly and Kate to go to bed when the frog says. The first five children named hold the same first names as Jim and Jane Henson's five children, and Polly and Kate are named after Jon Stone's children.
	Similarly, in an Alphabet Chat sketch about the letter O, Jon Stone's name appears on the clapboard as director.
	Don Music attempts his own remake of the "Sesame Street Theme Song."
	In "The Addition Game", Guy Smiley introduces a contestant as Mrs. Frances Oznowitz, a Lavender AM woman.
	At the beginning of "The Ten Commandments of Health," an alert for Dr. Stone is heard over the loud speaker.
	Chet O'Brien's former vaudeville team of himself and his brother Mortimer - Chet and Snooks - were referenced in a few sketches. A pair of Anything Muppets play the pair in a Don Music sketch, two cowpokes share their names in an Old West sketch ,and two of the Three Little Pigs are named after them in a sketch with Kermit.
	A cartoon depicts the life cycle of a frog: from an egg, to a tadpole, and into adulthood. At the close of the short, the frog shouts, "Hey, Kermit!"
	In the Monsterpiece Theater sketch "Upstairs, Downstairs," a picture of Dr. Teeth can be seen on the wall.
	At the beginning of the Detective Grover sketch, photos of Dr. Teeth and Roosevelt Franklin's Mother can be seen by the bookshelf.
	In an American Express ad spoof with Bert and Ernie, an Anything Muppet director takes Gordon off set for lunch while also acknowledging crew member Dulcy.
	Ernie brings home a puppy; Bert suggests calling it Jim, or Norman.
	Sesame Street News Flash: Old MacDonald: In this skit from the mid-1980s, Kermit begins by talking to a pig on the farm. "You remind me of somebody, I just can't figure out who."
	Kermit cries, "Dulcy, we got the wrong Dwarves again!" in a Sesame Street News Flash sketch.
	In the skit "Numberella," party guests can be heard using the words "rev" and "flooper." Both of these words are Doozer slang.
	Ernie displays what trees will be wearing each season in a fashion show sketch. His two summer models are named Caroll and Debbie (Spinney).
	In "Alone in a Swamp", Oscar and Grundgetta pass a sunken boat named "Ol' Victor D."
	When Kermit directed Forgetful Jones in "Oklahoma!," Frank Biondo's name appears as the cameraman on the clapboard.
	The chef at O'Brien's Fast Food is named "Chet."
	A segment from William Wegman dresses Fay Ray up in a series of animal costumes. One outfit meant to depict a frog prompts the kids n voiceover to dub her Kermit the Dog.
	In a season 21 sketch, Guy Smiley takes his audience to lunch at "Chez Normie," restaurant of the semi-stars. Among their clientele are Mr. O'Brien and Ms. Simon.
	On their way to Earth, The Martians encounter three "pigs in space" wearing spacesuits.
	In an edition of "The Adventures of Prairie Dawn" where Prairie saves energy, the ending of her TV show features the audio from the ending scene of episode 2991.
	In the Colambo sketch, "The Great Plum Plunder", the title appears on a newspaper headline. The byline for the article is listed as "J. Mazzarino", the writer (and lead performer) of the sketch.
	In "Save Your Energy for Me," a photo of Bert and Dulcy Singer is seen on a young girl's wall.
	The segment "Worms in Space" featured a voice-over introduced by Jerry Nelson in the same way he used to introduce "Pigs in Space" on The Muppet Show.
	In Elmo's World: Bugs, Elmo says a ladybug is going to be late for the ladybugs' picnic.
	In a sketch, Elmo introduces kids talking about their imaginary friends. Elmo presents his own imaginary friend, Shannon (named after Kevin Clash's own daughter).
	"Ladybugs' Picnic" briefly plays on a tape player in the Jane Tuesday segment "The Case of the Letter L."
	In a season 36 insert, Action Elephant is interrupting Maria from reading her book entitled, The Monsters of Venice.
	At the end of Elmo's World: Skin, a chameleon asks Elmo if he can play "Rainbow Connection" on his piano.
	The models in the "Meal or No Meal" sketch are named after various Muppeteers, including Joey, Erica, Carmen, Leslie and Paula.
	In a season 38 insert, Baby Bear sings the chorus of "I in the Sky" under his breath as he draws a capital I.
	In the "Super K Cereal" commercial, the cereal box shows it's under the "Kingsley's" brand.
	In "President Elmo the Musical," the penguin and chicken team images seen on the scoreboard are based on the models used for The Muppet Show and subsequent productions.
	In a spoof of Downton Abbey, "Upside Downton Abbey," photos seen on the wall feature Harvey Kneeslapper and Prince Pedro.
	In "Prince Elmo the Musical," Elmo's castle is modelled after that of The King of Eight.
	A statue of Mr. Johnson appears in the park in "Repair Monster the Musical." Also seen in the segment is a coffee cup from the "Coffee Plant" sketch.
	In the "Cookie's Crumby Pictures" segment, "Les Mousserables," a statue of Mr. Snuffleupagus appears during one sequence, replacing the Elephant of the Bastille.
	In the "Lord of the Crumbs" segment of "Cookies Crumby Pictures," a statue of A. B. C-more is seen in the background.
	In the "Furry Potter and the Goblet of Cookies" segment of "Cookies Crumby Pictures," some school flags depict images of Sammy the Snake, Chicago the Lion and Little Bird. On the walls are also portraits of Herry Monster, the Amazing Mumford and the Witch from Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree. Additionally, Elmo and Abby are depicted as statues and The Dragon is used as stone heads.
	In a "Super Grover 2.0" sketch, hanging on the wall of a pineapple's art studio are a painting of the Operatic Orange (from the 1971 animated segment) and a painting of a loaf of bread, container of milk and a stick of butter. Mr. Noodle is also dipicted in a "Son of Man" spoof.
	The opening theme to "Orange is the New Snack" features close-ups of several characters from various Sesame Street co-productions, including Putri, Chamki, Griotte, Dr. Ruster and Tuktuki.

Movies

Follow That Bird

Picture	Description
	The plane Big Bird takes to Oceanview, IL is announced by the airline employee as CTW (Children's Television Workshop) 1138.
	During the credit crawl at the end of the film, the Count refers to Joan Ganz Cooney as "Mom," a reference to Cooney's role as co-founder of The Children's Television Workshop.

The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland

Picture	Description
	In The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland, two Fraggle Rock books can be seen on Elmo's shelf: What's a Fraggle? and Traveling Matt's Adventures in Outer Space.

Specials and Home Videos

Picture	Description
	In the special Out to Lunch, Grover Knover's motorcycle features the Henson Associates logo on it.
	In The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street, Grover mentions that among the people Kermit would like to thank for his award is "someone called Jim."
	In the resource video For Me, For You, For Later and a season 42 episode, Mr. Hooper's image is depicted on the dollar bills in place of George Washington.
	In the 2012 video Elmo's Alphabet Challenge, the background during the Just Dance spoof is based on one from the Pinball Number Count series.
	In The Cookie Thief, the ladybugs from "Ladybug's Picnic" are rendered in a painting. Other paintings feature likenesses of Harvey Monster, Kermit the Forg, Mr. Noodle ("Man with Cookie") and Ernie and Bert (in "The Cream").
	In When You Wish Upon a Pickle, a store seen during the opening credits features many throwback items, including one of the King of Eight's knights, the clock from "Pinball Number Count," the Typewriter, the letter B portrait from the Beetles' "Letter B," a sign of the Sesame Street News Flash logo, a striped barrel from Big Bird's nest, an LP of Bob Sings! and a rug based on the "Geometry of Circles" animation.

Sesame Beginnings

Picture	Description
	In Moving Together during "Buggy Baby Boogie," a framed picture of Ethel Mermaid is used as a decorative in Cookie Monster's Grandma's house.
	In Make Music Together during "Swing Baby Swing," Louie has two framed pictures of the two Alphabeats on his shelf.

Storybooks

Picture	Description
	In The Sesame Street Storybook, Jim Henson and Frank Oz are pictured in the upstairs windows of 123 Sesame Street in the frontispiece. Michael Frith is also pictured in a poster on the wall.
	In The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Kermit Love, and Michael Frith are pictured in the audience of the circus.
	In the book The Exciting Adventures of Super Grover, during the scene where they put on the play of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Bert wears a bear costume that somewhat resembles Fozzie Bear, complete with orange fur and a porkpie hat.
	In the storybook Don't Forget the Oatmeal! there is an issue of Sesame Street Magazine with Bert and Ernie on the cover, as Bert and Ernie are checking out. Among the other magazines is an issue of "Stars" with Miss Piggy on the cover. Rubber Duckie can also been seen on the cover of a box of "Rub-A-Dub" soap pads in the grocery store.

Sesame Street comics

Picture	Description
	"Issue #1: Little Castle Built By Prairie" Prairie Dawn is seen playing with dolls of The King of Eight and his jester. Her cardboard castle is topped with an "8" flag.
	"Issue #1: The Count Counts" The Count is seen by a car from "Nelson Motors" and a salesman resembling Jerry Nelson.
	"Issue #3: Shadow of a Snout" A Red Fraggle doll is used in a demonstration of shadows.

Other

Picture	Description
	In a "Grovercize" segment in Kinect Sesame Street TV, one of the participants' wall features a clock based on the one seen in the Pinball Number Count segments. In a Letter R edition of "The Letter Tree" segment, a rabbit uses the magic words, "A la peanut butter sandwich!" to make himself disappear.
	Among the custom-made products on the shelves of Hooper's Store are boxes of "Sonia's Toaster Brand Bread Crumbs."
	The YouTube-released "Elmo's Christmas Dream" from 2014 featured an appearance of Sam the Robot as a small toy robot in Elmo's room, and flying past in their imagination.

International Sesame Street

Shalom Sesame

Picture	Description
	In an animated segment of "Here is Your Life" for an olive oil jug currently living in a museum (seen in the Chanukah episode), pictures from Ernie and Bert's trip to Egypt and Cookie Monster as a king can be seen on the wall.

Sesame English

Picture	Description
	In "Tingo the Superstar," the slate used by the characters on a film shoot lists "M. Gutierrez" on camera, named after one of the show's actual camera operators, Manny Gutierrez.
Bernstein Airport	In "Niki's Big Surprise," the airport announcement system is heard at one point saying, "Paging, Dr. Bernstein."

Sesamstraat

Picture	Description
	Arjan Smit is wearing an unlicensed Animal T-shirt in several sketches.

Sesamstrasse

Picture	Description
	Even long after moving away from Sesamstrasse in 2005, Tiffy apparently left her mark: Her name can be found in graffiti form on an electrical box on the sidewalk (as late as 2018).

Plaza Sésamo

Picture	Description
	In Episode 835, during Maria's song about hands, scenes of kids drawing are shown. Some kids are seen drawing Plaza Sésamo characters, including Kermit the Frog.
	In Episode 885, Pancho's radio studio is covered with various posters featuring the Sesame Street characters and the book "Elmo's World: Music!".
	In various episodes, official Plaza Sésamo party supplies are seen being used by the characters.
	Also in assorted episodes, a photo of Big Bird is used as a stamp on various letters and packages (including a letter sent to Abelardo by Big Bird himself).
	In one episode, La Abuela reads "C is for Cooking: Recipes from the Street", but with a modified, Spanish cover.
	Images of the Sesame Street characters are seen all over the plaza, such as on magazine covers, newspapers and posters.
	In a healthy tip closing insert, Mauricio Barcelata and a parrot show Pancho pictures of people who keep their hair neat. A picture of Roosevelt Franklin is used.
	In a 2010 episode, an image of the Swedish Chef appears on the cooking section of Pancho's newspaper (but with eyes drawn in with marker).

See also

• Season 40 Hidden Gems