The Big Bad Wolf

for other uses, see Wolves

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Blue wolf, 1970s.

Green wolf, early 1980s.

Purple wolf, late 1980s.

Gray wolf, 2007.

The Big Bad Wolf is a famous fairy tale character, professional windbag, and connoisseur of pork and baskets of goodies. He continually engages in the good-natured pursuit of the Three Little Pigs and Little Red Riding Hood. He has been seen on Sesame Street in many different incarnations over the years, most commonly performed by Jerry Nelson. The character debuted in "Sesame Street News Flash" segments which reenacted or spoofed his stories, but later began making appearances on the street itself.

The earliest version of the Big Bad Wolf appeared in 1971, as a blue, shaggy wolf with an angry expression, a variation of the early Herry Monster puppet. One "News Flash" segment about the Three Pigs' feelings substituted a green Big Bad Wolf. By 1988, the character had been redesigned, and a purple puppet was used most often (and would also be used for Jackman Wolf). Other versions of the puppet with different fur colors have also popped up from time to time. However, all the puppets have had a moving eyebrow mechanism.

The Big Bad Wolf has occasionally shown range outside of blowing down houses and chasing pigs. In a 1980 News Flash with Cookie Monster as Little Red Riding Hood, he appeared as Dr. Wolf, tending to Cookie's sick grandmother. On another occasion, he invaded Ernie and Bert's apartment, where Bert assumed he was merely Ernie in another disguise. (When the skit was adapted into book form as The Many Faces of Ernie, the Big Bad Wolf was replaced by Frazzle.) The wolf was also a member of Guy Smiley's studio audience in a skit where Smiley takes his entire audience out to lunch. He also appeared in a Monsterpiece Theater skit parodying Dances with Wolves, in which the wolf and a female pig discuss their differences and dance with each other.

In the late 1990s and beyond, in his now mostly standard purple form, the Big Bad Wolf frequently played key roles in street storylines and in videos. He showed a flair for civil service as well, functioning as City Nest Inspector in Episode 3980, and using his hurricane breath to determine whether Big Bird's new nest was safe and could withstand the elements. In Episode 4035, the Big Bad Wolf's brother Leonard visited Sesame Street and taught Elmo and Rosita that not all wolves are the same.

On the video front, he appeared in the direct-to-video production Sing, Hoot & Howl. He also appeared in The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street, providing security as "Pig Control," helping Grover recite his speech for Kermit without being bothered by the Three Little Pigs. Additionally, the Wolf starred in the direct-to-video Peter and the Wolf; as performed by Noel MacNeal, this was his most substantial role to date. He also appeared in the opening of Abby in Wonderland.

In 2007, the Big Bad Wolf was revamped again in a gray variation using a similar puppet pattern. In Episode 4145, he appears on Sesame Street to terrorize the pigs as Prairie Dawn provides a Special Report for Fairy Tale News. He acted more like a thespian than the normal wolf usually does, and after he'd blow down a house, he would sing "Huff and puff!" This puppet alternated the role with the purple version in Season 38 as seen in Episode 4149.

Casting history

• Jerry Nelson: 1971-present
• Kevin Clash: 1980s
• Joey Mazzarino: 2004-2006
• Marty Robinson: 1990s-2006
• Tyler Bunch: 2007

Book appearances

• Grover's Little Red Riding Hood (1976)
• Big Bird's Red Book (1977)
• The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
• Elmo Visits the Dentist (2007)
• Friendly, Frosty Monsters (2007)

See also

• The Big Bad Wolf (Muppet Classic Theater)