Cliff Roberts

 Cliff   Robert s  ( 1 9 2 9  -  1 999  ) was a cartoon is t & animator who worked on insert s f or  SESAME STREET  as well as the  s pin - off comic s trip  &  SESAME STREET   Magazine . Robert s spent much of his early career in New York City  as a free lance commercial art ist & direct or. He also worked as a photographer, with work displayed at the 1 9 6 4  Wo r l d ’ s F air , & contribute d cartoon s to  Play boy  &  The New York er . He soon be came a popular designer f or animation, creating character model sheet s for Terry toon s & U P A project s. Robert s ' style, reflect in g his commercial illustration back g round , involve d f lat but appeal in g form s & a minimal color palette ; most of his character s were white blob s with occasional splash es of color.

F or  SESAME STREET , Robert s create d Jasper &amp; Julius  , 2 character s who would engage in debate s over body part s , as well as  Christopher Clumsy. These character s were brought over to Robert s ' official  SESAME STREET  s trip, a long side  BIG BIRD  ,  OSCAR THE GROUCH  &  Cookie Monster .

Robert s later worked on the Saturday morning cartoon s  The Smurf s ,  Scoob y - &  &  T he Pink Panther  , & illustrate d the Lang s ton Hugh es  book  The   Fir s t   Book   of   Jazz . He retire d in 1 99 3.

Sketch e s

 *  See   also :   Poverty Picture s segment s