Changes: Samson

PERFORMER	Peter Röders 1977-1983
	Herbert Langemann 1986-1988
	Matthias Bullach 1989-1991
	Klaus Esch 1992-present
DEBUT	1978
DESIGN	Kermit Love

Revision as of 21:56, 9 July 2015

Sesamstrasse054-(Uli-von-Bödefeld,-Tiffy-and-Samson-in-their-workshop) — Samson with Uli von Bödefeld and Tiffy

SSNewYear08 — Samson in *Sesame Street Stays Up Late!*

Samson is a character from Sesamstrasse, the German co-production of Sesame Street.

Together with bird Tiffy, he was one of the first two local Muppets on Sesamstrasse, and remained a regular character until 2010. Episodes featuring the character as a regular re-aired until 2014. Samson had his latest appearances in a series of live performances with Ernie, Bert and the NDR radio philharmonic orchestra in the winter of 2013^[1], and appears in promotional material for the 40th anniversary of the show. In more of a guest status, he will make yet another appearance on Sesamstrasse in Elmo's tree house in late 2013.

Characterization

Samson is a sweet, big shaggy brown bear. He has a black spot on his nose and two large sneakers on his feet. He is big and tough, and a little clumsy.

Samson lives in a cave, and he loves lying in his hammock, cuddling with his "Schnuffeltuch" (his security blanket), and dancing. His best friend is Tiffy. Samson is best known for saying "uuiuuiuui!" ('oy oy oy!') when he's confused, and for his trademark song "Ich bin Samson, und ich schaff's!" (I am Samson, and I can do anything).

Samson represents the psychological age of a five year old.

History

Samson has been the main full body character on Sesamstrasse since the German street sequences started in 1978. Like the early Muppets on the show, he was designed and built by Kermit Love. In the documentary Samson und das Krümelmonster, Kermit Love explains how Samson was originally created as a teddy bear, since teddy bears were very popular in Germany. The teddy bear 'grew and grew, until he became Samson'. According to Kermit Love, children are not afraid to be trampled by the giant bear: he is their friend, because he is a puppet. Since Samson is a walkaround character, most of his body language comes from his feet and the way he walks, which is why his shoes are so large.

Trivia

Members of the American audience might remember Samson from the 1993 international special Sesame Street Stays Up Late!.

Just like in its American counterpart, German Sesame characters like Samson have gone through some changes in appearance over the decades (see below).

Samson has a cousin named Simson who looks exactly like him, except that Simson wears different colored sneakers and a straw hat/bow tie ensemble, which gets later replaced by a large baseball cap. Simson was made from the old Samson costume #2, and appeared numerous times during the 1990s.

↑ Sesamstrasse.de - Konzert Video: Das Tierstimmen-Ratequiz (posted 2012-11-22)

[1] Sesamstrasse.de - Konzert Video: Das Tierstimmen-Ratequiz (posted 2012-11-22)

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{character|image=samson.jpg|performer=[[Peter Röders]]|note=1977-1983|performer2=[[Herbert Langemann]]|note2=1986-1988|performer3=[[Matthias Bullach]]|note3=1989-1991|performer4=[[Klaus Esch]]|note4=1992-present|more=|debut=1978|design=[[Kermit Love]]}}
-[[Image:samson.jpg|thumb|300px]]
+[[Image:Sesamstrasse054-(Uli-von-Bödefeld,-Tiffy-and-Samson-in-their-workshop).jpg|thumb|300px|Samson with Uli von Bödefeld and Tiffy]]
-'''Samson''' is a character from ''[[Sesamstrasse]]'', the German co-production of ''[[Sesame Street]]''.
+[[Image:SSNewYear08.jpg|thumb|300px|Samson in ''Sesame Street Stays Up Late!'']]
+'''Samson''' is a character from ''[[Sesamstrasse]]'', the [[Germany|German]] co-production of ''[[Sesame Street]]''.
-Samson is a sweet big shaggy brown bear. He has a black spot on his nose and two large sneakers on his feet. He is big and tough, and a little clumsy. He lives in a cave, and he loves lying in his hammock and dancing. His best friend is [[Tiffy]]. Samson is best known for saying "uuiuuiuui!" ('oy oy oy!') when he's confused, and for his trademark song "Ich bin Samson, und ich schaff's!" (I am Samson, and I can do anything).
+Together with bird [[Tiffy]], he was one of the first two local Muppets on ''Sesamstrasse'', and remained a regular character until 2010. Episodes featuring the character as a regular re-aired until 2014. Samson had his latest appearances in a series of live performances with [[International Ernie#germany5|Ernie]], [[International Bert#germany4|Bert]] and the NDR radio philharmonic orchestra in the winter of 2013<ref>[http://www.sesamstrasse.de/sendungsinfos/sesamstrasse/sesamstrasse1691.html Sesamstrasse.de - Konzert Video: Das Tierstimmen-Ratequiz] (posted 2012-11-22)</ref>, and appears in promotional material for the 40th anniversary of the show. In more of a guest status, he will make yet another appearance on ''Sesamstrasse'' in Elmo's tree house in late 2013.
-Samson represents the psychological age of a five year old.
+==Characterization==
-Samson has been the main full body character on Sesamstrasse since the German street sequences started in [[1977]]. His original performer was [[Peter Röders]], who played the bear for six years. Nowadays, opera singer [[Klaus Esch]] plays Samson.
+Samson is a sweet, big shaggy brown bear. He has a black spot on his nose and two large sneakers on his feet. He is big and tough, and a little clumsy.
+Samson lives in a cave, and he loves lying in his hammock, cuddling with his "Schnuffeltuch" (his security blanket), and dancing. His best friend is Tiffy. Samson is best known for saying "uuiuuiuui!" ('oy oy oy!') when he's confused, and for his trademark song "Ich bin Samson, und ich schaff's!" (I am Samson, and I can do anything).
-Samson was designed by [[Kermit Love]]. In a German documentary, Kermit Love explains how Samson was originally created as a teddy bear, since teddy bears were very popular in Germany. The teddy bear 'grew and grew, until he became Samson'. According to Kermit Love, children are not afraid to be trampled by the giant bear: he is their friend, because he is a puppet. Since Samson is a walkaround character, most of his body language comes from his feet and the way he walks, which is why his shoes are so large.
+Samson represents the psychological age of a five year old.
-Just like in its American counterpart, German Sesame characters like Samson have gone through some changes in appearance over the decades:
+==History==
-[[Image:Samson-1978-2000.jpg]]
+Samson has been the main full body character on ''Sesamstrasse'' since the German street sequences started in [[1978]]. Like the early Muppets on the show, he was designed and built by [[Kermit Love]]. In the documentary ''[[Samson und das Krümelmonster]]'', Kermit Love explains how Samson was originally created as a teddy bear, since teddy bears were very popular in Germany. The teddy bear 'grew and grew, until he became Samson'. According to Kermit Love, children are not afraid to be trampled by the giant bear: he is their friend, because he is a puppet. Since Samson is a walkaround character, most of his body language comes from his feet and the way he walks, which is why his shoes are so large.
+==Trivia==
-Samson has a cousin named [[Simson]] who looks exactly like him, except that Simson wears a baseball cap. Simson was made from the old Samson costume #2, and appeared numerous times during the 1990s.
+*Members of the American audience might remember Samson from the [[1993]] international special ''[[Sesame Street Stays Up Late!]]''.
+*Just like in its American counterpart, German Sesame characters like Samson have gone through some changes in appearance over the decades (see below).
+*Samson has a cousin named [[Simson]] who looks exactly like him, except that Simson wears different colored sneakers and a straw hat/bow tie ensemble, which gets later replaced by a large baseball cap. Simson was made from the old Samson costume #2, and appeared numerous times during the 1990s.
+<gallery spacing=small captionalign=center widths=200 position=center hideaddbutton=true>
+SamsonTiffyandLiloTeaParty.jpg
+Sesamstrasse-(Samson,-Tiffy-and-intruder-Wolfgang-Völz).jpg|Samson in his cave with friend Tiffy and intruders
+Sesamstrasse057-(Samson-in-the-snow).jpg|Samson in the snow
+Sesamstrasse-Samson-Bibo-Hängematte01.jpg|Samson and "[[Big Bird|Bibo]]"
+CarollSpinney-ComicStrip-Sesamstrasse-GermanCharacters.jpg|[[Caroll Spinney]] drawing of the character (1980s)
+Sesamstrasse070-(Samson-hammock-accident).jpg|Samson's hammock accident
+SamsonDancing1989.JPG|Samson dancing
+Samson Sesamstraße.png|Samson on his scooter
+Sesamstrasse-2000-SlightlyDifferentLookingSamson.jpg|Slightly different look in 1999/2000
+Samson2000Opening.jpeg
+Sesamstrassepic.jpg|Samson's last ''Sesamstrasse'' title card
+</gallery>
+[[Image:Samson-1978-2000.jpg|center|600px]]
+<references />
 [[Category:International Sesame Street Characters]]
 [[Category:Muppet Characters]]
 [[Category:Sesamstrasse Characters]]
+[[Category:Full-Bodied Muppets]]