Oscar the Grouch

 Oscar the Grouch  is, without a doubt, the most famous Grouch in the world & also 1 of the key characters on Sesame Street. He lives in a trash can  right between Big Bird's next & 123 Sesame Street. In fact, he loves trash  so much that he's rarely seen outside of his  trash can. His trademark song is " I Love Trash " explaining his love of trash. 1 tradition is, whenever  Oscar  sings " I Love Trash ", his signature song, he is always shown at his trash can, & nowhere else.  Oscar 's birthday, according to Sesame Street Magazine, is June 1st.

Like all Grouches,  Oscar 's mission in life is to be as miserable & grouchy as possible, & pass that feeling on to everyone else. When a visitor knocks on his trash can  -- invariably interrupting him from a nap or an important task,  Oscar  greets them with a snarl. He complains that he wants to be left alone, although when he's left entirely to himself, he's dissatisfied -- there isn't anybody around to irritate or complain to.  Oscar  has said that: " I don't really like being happy. But then, sometimes somebody will give me a nice bag of trash, & I 'm going to get a chance to look through it. So that makes me happy. But I don't like to be happy. I 'd like to be miserable. But being happy makes me miserable. So I like being miserable, so that makes me happy. But I don't like being happy. That makes me miserable. But being miserable makes me ... I 'm a mess."

 Oscar  has had many pets but his closest companion is his worm, Slimey. He also has a girlfriend, a Grouch named  Grundgetta , although a romantic relationship between 2 Grouches is understandably rocky. Grundgetta usually calls him  Oskie  while he occasionally calls her  Grungie.  Oscar  & Grundgetta, in addition to being a "couple", are best friends as well.  Oscar  & Grundgetta  have been friends for "a very long time", as stated by  Oscar  & Gordon's sister Olivia.

 Oscar 's family includes his grandmother, Granny Grouch, who appeared in season 2 of Sesame Street, & was the 1st indication on the series that Grouches are a separate species. Since then  Oscar  has been visited by his grandfather, Grandpa Grouch  & his mother,  Mrs. Grouch, & sometimes babysits his niece,  Irvine. He has 2 brothers, Ernest  &  Otto  along w/ a sister named  Bunny. In both episode 0131 & A Special Sesame Street Christ mas,  Oscar  revealed that he also has a father.

 Oscar  is 43 years old, according to performer Caroll Spinney.

Origins
According to Sesame Street Unpaved, "The character of  Oscar  was inspired by a nasty waiter from a restaurant called Oscar's Tavern in Manhattan. Jim Henson & Jon Stone were waited on by a man who was so rude & grouchy that he surpassed annoying & started to actually amuse both Jim & Jon. They were so entertained that going to Oscar's Tavern became a sort of masochistic form of luncheon entertainment for them, & their waiter forever became immortalized as the world's most famous Grouch." In the Ask Henson.com web column, Jim Henson Company Archivist Karen Falk said that the restaurant was named Oscar's Salt of the Sea -- & went on to say, "Some of the designs that we have in the Archives were done by Jim Henson on Oscar's paper placemats!"

While Jim Henson's 1st  Oscar  sketches were colored purple, the original  Oscar  puppet was orange (Henson later said in an interview that this change was made cause the early cameras couldn't capture the color right). In chapter 9 of the book The Wisdom of Big Bird, Caroll Spinney says that the  Oscar  puppet was rebuilt about a month after Sesame Street started taping. Jim tore apart the original puppet, & a new puppet was built. An early version of the green  Oscar  debuted on The Flip Wilson Show in 1970 &  Oscar 's explanation for that was that he had vacationed at Swamp Mushy Muddy, where the dampness had turned him green overnight. In a 2003 appearance,  Oscar  stated that while his time in Swamp Mushy Muddy made him appear green, he is still in fact orange underneath all the slime & mold. (with an exception, he's just never taken a bath).

 Oscar  explained his family roots & fur color again in a Life Magazine article in 2009, "Most of the family was orange . But I had a lovely vacation in Swamp Mushy Muddy resort. It was so dark & dreary I kind of turned green . It's mostly moss. I like it — it goes with my eyes. I accidentally took a bath once, turned orange again & washed all the moss off, so I went right back to Swamp Mushy Muddy, & here I am."

In his introduction to the book Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street (which also contained his lunch from yesterday, grape juice, & something unidentifiable),  Oscar  tells how he ended up on Sesame Street, saying he was a normal when Joan Ganz Cooney & Jon Stone decided to create the show, they hired Jim Henson, who bugged him until he agreed to be on the show for the 1st episode only. He headed of to Swamp Mushy Muddy after the production wrapped, disgusted, but discovered that his agent, Bernie, had signed a contract to have him on the entire run of Sesame Street.  Oscar  became so mad he that he turned green (a fictous explanation around how he became green ), but figured the show wouldn't run for more than 6 months anyway (obviously disappointed).

Caroll Spinney says that  Oscar 's voice on another New York resident -- a Bronx taxi driver who drove him to his 1st day performing the character. On entering the cab, the driver snapped, "Where to, Mac?"

 Oscar 's 1st line on Sesame Street, in episode 1, was "Don't bang on my can ! Go away." This would sum up his personality as it would remain for over 40 years.

Performing Oscar
During season 1 of Sesame Street, the street set was arranged in such a way that Spinney, who is right-handed, was forced to operate  Oscar 's head w/ his left hand. A subsequent redesign of the set allowed Spinney to switch hands.

When Big Bird &  Oscar  (both performed by Caroll Spinney) are required in a scene together, Jim Martin (or sometimes, Matt Vogel), often operates  Oscar  to a vocal track by Spinney so the latter can perform Big Bird.

At the 2003 Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala,  Oscar  is performed by Paul McGinnis.

Transportation
 Oscar  has many forms of transportation. He can move w/ his legs sticking out of his trash can, as seen in early 70s Sesame Street episodes (portrayed by Hervé Villechaize), in the specials Christ mas Eve on Sesame Street, Don't Eat the Pictures & various stage shows. He also often has Bruno the Trashman  carry his  trash can  around while he's inside. While the puppet  Oscar  frequently moves outside of the trash can  on his own his limbs are rarely shown. A rare moment where his full body was shown was in episode 3958. In a few episodes he has also made a few out-of-his- trash-can appearances during which the top half of his body is shown. Also, when he sings, " I 'm Sad Because I 'm Happy" we see his feet splash in the mud but his voice is off-screen.

 Oscar  has a car, The Sloppy Jalopy, which was used in Follow That Bird & episodes of Sesame Street. The Sloppy Jalopy's New York license plate says "SCRAM".  Oscar  has also been seen driving a broken-down taxi.

Trivia

 * According to Caroll Spinney's book The Wisdom of Big Bird,  Oscar 's eyebrow has never changed in the entire run of Sesame Street. It is the same eyebrow that graced the Grouch's face when he was still the orange  Oscar  of Season 1.
 * In the show's early years enthusiastic young viewers frequently mailed gifts of trash  to  Oscar  in care of the Children's Television Workshop, eliciting dismay from the mailroom staff. An Information Department staff member wrote in March 1971, "Aside from an unopened can of sardines, which are probably perfectly good,  Oscar  has been gifted with a box of old sneakers (not a box of Snickers), a ratty old bathing cap, some stale poppy seeds & some used Kleenexes. On the other side of the coin, an adult fan sent a $50 check to purchase a new  trash can . We may soon need one for his fan mail!"
 *  Oscar  doesn't have a nose, but 1 episode explained that he has a "cute" nub hidden among his fur.
 * When appearing on the game show 1 vs 100,  Oscar  revealed his age to Bob Saget claiming he's 43 years old & has always been 43.
 * In A Muppet Family Christ mas,  Oscar  shares his trash can  as a bed w/ Rizzo the Rat stating that he never had a rat in his  trash can  before & that it might be nice. He also complained that he hated "Deck the Halls", as when it came time for him to sing the line "Follow me in merry measure" he shouted " I will not sing this song!".
 * Along with his girlfriend  Grundgetta  & the rest of his fellow Muppets,  Oscar  participated in singing "Just One Person" at Jim Henson's Memorial. (Just One Person)
 * On the show, the lid on  Oscar 's trash can  opens by swinging up, with the back edge still attached. In illustrations,  Oscar  normally wears the lid like a hat. & whenever  Bruno  carries the  trash can, the lid hangs from the side.
 *  Oscar  claims to own a cell phone. He says of it, "but it weighs 7 pounds — it's an old one Jim Henson threw away."
 *  Oscar  eats a lot of the same foods that people like. However, he prefers them mixed together in unusual combinations. He paid Ernie & Bert a visit once & traded his ice cream cone for a banana with ice cubes & gravy on it. Another time, he invited Candice Bergen to join him for lunch, which would consist of clam tuna pie with chocolate sauce & anchovie s.
 * For Sesame Street's 40th season, Sesame Workshop created an online promotion spoofing Facebook called "Muppetbook". For his profile,  Oscar  said he likes Anchovy milkshakes, but dislikes that he likes anchovy milkshakes. Among his other dislikes were r a i n b o w s, candy & chocolate . He lists his favorite songs as " I Love Trash ", "All You Need Is Trash" & "I Wanna Hold Your Trash"

Sesame Street Live Appearances

 * Big Bird 's Sesame Street Story
 * Around the World
 * Silly Dancing
 * Sleeping Birdie
 * Let's Play School
 * When I Grow Up
 * Let's Be Friends
 * Everyone Makes Music
 * Out of This World
 * 1-2-3 Imagine!
 * Big Bird & the ABCs
 * Super Grover ! Ready for Action
 * When Elmo Grows Up
 * Elmo 's Green Thumb
 * 1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends
 * Elmo 's Super Heroes!

Design team

 * Jim Henson (designer)
 * John Lovelady (original  Oscar  builder)