Two-Headed Monster
From Muppet Wiki
Herry Monster discovers that "Two Heads Are Better Than One."
The Two-Headed Monster is, as the name implies, a monster with two heads. He speaks gibberish that resembles baby talk, and many of his skits have to do with either cooperation or sounding out parts of words that suddenly show up. Skits with the Two-Headed Monster usually take place with the monster behind a brick wall.
The creation of this monster was inspired by performers Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt playing around on the set one day, saying that they were a monster with two heads.[1]
Since 2003, the Two-Headed Monster has made an appearance in each Journey to Ernie segment, with Big Bird asking both heads if they'd seen Ernie, and the monster pointing in both directions.
The question of whether the monster is a singular being or not has led to semantic confusion, typified by this exchange between Bert and Ernie in A Muppet Family Christmas:
- Bert: Now, who let the Two-Headed Monster be Santa Claus?
- Ernie: Yeah, but, Bert, he said he'd never been in a play before... I mean they said it... um... both of him said it.
Contents |
Sketches
| Picture | Summary | Earliest Known Appearance | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Run | Episode 1446 | The monster sounds out the word "run," and starts running.
|
 | Trumpet Practice or Sleep? | Episode 1576 | One head wants to play the trumpet, but the other head wants to sleep. |
 | Pillow | Episode 1706 | The monster shares a pillow. |
 | Headphones | Episode 1709 | One head is listening to some funky music on some headphones. The other head wakes up and asks to listen to the music, but the first head doesn't want to stop listening. They fight over the headphones, which get longer as they struggle. After seeing this, they both shout share, each head takes a speaker, and walks off-screen while the music becomes completely audible to the viewer. |
 | Listening | Episode 1933 | Kermit the Frog explains the importance of listening, using the monster as an example. |
 | Emotions. | Episode 2073 | The monster shows his emotions. |
 | Pencil | Episode 2096 | The monster finds a pencil with a broken point, and demonstrates the fun you can have with it. |
 | Pat | Episode 2107 | After sounding the word "pat," The monster pats each other, and they stop crying. |
 | Newspaper | Episode 2122 | The monster finds a newspaper, and uses it to cover itself when it rains, and then uses it as a telescope.
|
 | Lullabye | Episode 2123 | At night, one of the heads of the monster sings his other head a lullaby. |
 | Car Crash | Episode 2164 | The monster drives an old green jalopy as they sound out "seatbelt" and "safety." They buckle up, and go for a drive that proves to be very short, since they get into a huge auto accident (as an old stock car crash sound effect is heard). |
 | Sad | Episode 2228 | The monster, after telling itself a joke, reads "SAD" and suddenly gets emotional. |
 | Honk | Episode 2257 | After sounding out the word "honk," several Honkers suddenly appear and honk their noses. The left half of the monster then honks the right half's nose (and hurts him). |
 | Shapes | Episode 2292 | The monster observes different shapes. |
 | P vs R | Episode 2363 | The monster fights over the letters P and R, one of them displaying P foods and the other one displaying R foods (and a radio). They have a picnic, which is cut short because of another r-word: rain. |
 | Hiccups | Episode 2367 | The monster tries to cure itself of the hiccups. |
 | Shoe Sizes | Episode 2395 | The monster's heads can't agree on which shoes to wear. They eventually agree on something: the shoebox. |
 | Telephone | Episode 2448 | The monster finds a TELEPHONE, and reads the word. |
 | Hat | Episode 2477 | After sounding the word "hat," The monster shares one giant straw hat. |
 | Manners | Episode 2483 | The monster learns to use manners while eating with a spoon. |
 | Story | Episode 2615 | The monster takes turns reading itself a story. |
 | Shadow | Episode 2690 | The monster sounds out the word "shadow" and then sees one of itself projected behind them. |
 | Bubbles | Episode 2786 | The monster blows bubbles.
|
 | Quiet | Episode 2874 | The monster observes the letter Q, then the word QUIET. |
 | Tap | Episode 2977 | The monster spells the word "tap," then tap-dances away. |
 | Suprise | Episode 3006 | The monster demonstrates surprise. |
 | Follow Arrows | Episode 3007 | The monster's arrows point in opposite directions, so they straighten the arrows out and follow them. |
 | Cheese | Episode 3098 | After sounding out the word "cheese," the monster poses for many pictures. |
 | Milk Carton | Episode 3120 | After drinking cartons of milk, The monster reuses the cartons as toy trains. |
 | Fast and Slow Music | Episode 3172 | Hoots the Owl convinces the monster that whether music is fast or slow, it's still enjoyable. |
 | Mom | Episode 3187 | The monster sounds out the word "mom," and then the viewer sees the monster's mother. |
 | The How Many Game?? | Episode 3409 | The monster appears on one of Guy Smiley's game shows. The monster has to bring in two of something. The monster brings in one bowling ball, four sheep, and three cows, but then realizes that the monster has two heads. |
 | Feet | Episode 3425 | The monster sounds out "feet," and then the camera trucks back to reveal a pair of live feet on some grass. |
 | Toothbrush | Episode 3426 | The monster learns how to use a toothbrush. |
 | Mountains or Seashore? | Episode 3480 | The monster is in a disagreement about where to go for vacation: the mountains or the seashore. Cookie Monster says he likes both, better than going to Cucamonga for the National Cookie Convention. Two-Head gets inspired, and heads off for Cucamonga, leaving Cookie to choose between the mountains and the seashore.
|
 | Twinkle, Twinkle | Episode 3698 | The monster sings "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."
|
 | Mad | Episode 3823 | The monster gets mad when the word "MAD" appears on-screen. |
 | Snowman | Episode 3790 | The monster has built a two-headed snowman and struggles with how to apply a carrot nose. |
 | Dance | The monster sounds out the word "dance" at a disco. | |
| Hop | The monster sounds out the word "hop" and starts hopping. | |
 | Playground or Zoo | The monster argues over whether to go to the playground or the zoo. | |
| Same and Different | The monster sees a cardboard cut-out of himself wearing hats. The monster decides to find a hat that matches, and then both the monster and the cardboard cut-out faint. |
Casting history
- Richard Hunt and Jerry Nelson • (original performers – 1991)
- David Rudman and Jerry Nelson • (1992 – 2002)
- David Rudman and Joey Mazzarino • (2003 – )
Appearances
Two-Headed Monster, from Big Bird in China
- Sesame Street (1978-present)
- The Muppet Movie (Rainbow Connection finale)
- Big Bird in China
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (Wedding scene)
- Follow That Bird
- The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
- A Muppet Family Christmas
- Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting
- Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake
- The Rosie O'Donnell Show (guest appearance, unknown date)
- Elmopalooza
- Peter and the Wolf
- What's the Name of That Song?
Book appearances
- The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures (1983)
- Big Bird Can Share (1985)
- Splish-Splashy Day (1989)
- Sleep Tight! (1991)
- The Monsters on the Bus (2001)
- Clap Your Hands! (2002)
