Telly Monster

From Muppet Wiki

Telly and his best friend Baby Bear.

Telly, in his original, television-obsessed form.

Mr. Hooper and David meet Telly, who made a packing crate with a hole in it his home. His habit of watching television just inches away from the set was perceived as a bad example to children.

Telly plays the tuba.

Reporter Telly.

Telly with Ray Charles, Elmo and the Kids.

Telly Monster is a slightly neurotic young monster who lives at 1304 Sesame Street.

Telly was initially conceived as a monster obsessed with watching television; his name is short for Television Monster. In his early appearances on Sesame Street, Telly had antennae coming out of the top of his head, and his eyes would whirl around when he watched TV. A segment of his first appearance appears on the Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days DVD set. This one-note personality, along with the antennae and whirling eyes, was soon dropped, and Telly became the worrying, easily frustrated character he remains today (however, in the Talk, Listen, Connect episode Deployments, he is still shown to be an expert on TV and computers).

Telly was originally performed by Bob Payne for his first few appearances, then by Brian Muehl who used a low, gruff-sounding voice. Muehl also developed Telly's worrywart personality, making Telly a character who always needed reassurance in order to be confident. When Marty Robinson took over in 1984, he originally used a voice similar to the one that Brian used for Telly, but it later evolved into the more excited-sounding voice he has today.

Telly is often paired with Oscar the Grouch, whom he often tries to befriend against tremendous odds. The two were traveling companions in Follow That Bird, and Telly is a member of Oscar's fan club, the Grouchketeers. The two starred in two recurring sketches together: "Ask Oscar," which Telly introduced; and "Sneak Peek Previews."

In recent years, Telly has often been seen in the company of his good friend Baby Bear. Telly has a great love of triangles, and owns a pet hamster named Chuckie Sue. Telly has a favorite toy doll which he named "Freddy." (When Telly was a baby monster, his favorite toy was a stuffed animal horse which he named "Clark" before he got "Freddy"). He also plays the bassoon, the tuba and, of course, the triangle. He also occasionally appears as a Monster on the Spot reporter. He also often jumps on a pogo stick, after Mr. Handford taught him how to in a 1993 episode.

Modern versions of the Telly puppet have moveable eyelids to let his eyes widen, a handy technique when the monster is in panic mode. There are also two Telly puppets that have been interchangeably used throughout the show. The more frequently used version is a "sack puppet", similar in design to Cookie Monster or Rowlf the Dog, where the arm sleeves are directly attached to the base of the puppet. The second version is a full-body version of the character, with legs and feet attached. The puppet's arms are stuffed, with visible arm sleeves similar in design to the arms of Ernie or Fozzie Bear.

Filmography

• Sesame Street
• Big Bird in China
• Don't Eat the Pictures
• The Muppets Take Manhattan
• Follow That Bird
• The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
• Learning About Letters
• Sleepytime Songs and Stories
• Sesame Street, Special
• Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting
• The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
• Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake
• Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration
• Sesame Street's All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Streets Forever
• Sesame Street Stays Up Late
• We All Sing Together
• The Great Numbers Game
• Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic
• Elmopalooza
• Peter and the Wolf
• The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
• CinderElmo
• The Street We Live On
• Let's Make Music

Book appearances

• The Sesame Street Circus of Opposites (1981)
• City (1982)
• A Baby Sister for Herry (1984)
• Lovable, Furry Old Grover in Please Don't Push the Red Button (1984)
• A Silly Sesame Street Story: The Three Little Pigs (1984)
• Big Bird's Book of Rhymes (1985)
• Ernie's Finish the Picture (1985)
• Follow That Bird Activity Book (1985)
• Follow That Bird coloring book (1985)
• Find the Shapes (1986)
• Through the Year (1986)
• The Runaway Soup and Other Stories (1987)
• Colors (1987)
• Shape Up! (1987)
• Big Bird's Square Meal (1988)
• Going Places (1988)
• A New Playground on Sesame Street (1988)
• Oh, I Am So Embarrassed! (1988)
• The Sesame Street ABC Book of Words (1988}
• Come As You Are (1989)
• The New Who's Who on Sesame Street (1989)
• Museum of Monster Art (1990)
• How to Get to Sesame Street (1991)
• Sesame Street 123 (1991)
• We're Counting on You, Grover! (1991)
• What Do You Do? (1992 edition)
• Grover's 10 Terrific Ways to Help Our Wonderful World (1992)
• Happy and Sad, Grouchy and Glad (1992)
• We're Different, We're the Same (1992)
• Elmo's Mother Goose (1993)
• From Trash to Treasure (1993)
• Around the Corner on Sesame Street (1994)
• Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book (1994)
• Sesame Street Stays Up Late (1995)
• B is for Books! (1996)
• Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book (1996)
• Pumpkin Patch Party (1997)
• The Sesame Street Word Book (1998)
• Watch Out for Banana Peels (2000)
• Elmo's ABC Book (2001)
• Clap Your Hands! (2002)
• Elmo Look and Find (2002)
• Get Up and Go Songs (2003)
• Elmo's World: Sports! (2004)
• Fun with Friends (2004)
• Boo! (2005)
• Hooray for Our Heroes! (2005)
• Red or Blue, I Like You! (2005)
• Fly Away with Big Bird (2006)
• Name Those Shapes (2006)
• Friendly, Frosty Monsters (2007)
• Music Player Storybook (2007)
• Rosita's Easter on Sesame Street (2007)
• Sesame Street Super Sticker Book (2007)
• What Makes You Giggle? (2007)
• Color Carnival (2008)
• Storybook ABCs (2008)
• Count to 10 (2009)
• Love, Elmo (2009)

See also

• Telly Songs
• Telly's Alternate Identities
• International Telly Monster
• The Two-Headed Monster's Mother
• Sesame Street Monsters