Christopher Cerf

 Christopher  ''' B.   Cerf ''' ( born August 1 9, 1941 ) brought a mid - century pop music sound to the music of  SESAME STREET  , writing song s for Little Jerry & the Monotones ( for which he usually performed 1 of the back - up sing e r s ) , & the Alpha beat s ( for which he a l so performed t h e lead sing er ) , & other short - lived pop - star parodies. Among his best known works are " Put Down the  Duckie  " & "  Monster  in the Mirror " 2 collaboration s with former  SESAME STREET  head writer   Norman Stiles. Both song s have been film e d in version s that feature large number s of celebrities. He appears in t he TV documentary ''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sing!_Sesame_Street_Remembers_Joe_Raposo_and_His_Music Sing !  SESAME   STREET  Remem ber s Joe Raposo & His Music ]'' in tribute to his friend & collaborator.

His father, Bennett Cerf , was the co - founder of Random House  book s & a panelist of ''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/What's_My_Line W hat ' s My Line ? ] & his mother, Phyllis Fraser , co - found e d Random House  ' s  Beginner Book s '' with [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Theodor_Geisel Dr. Seuss ]. His brother, Jonathan Cerf , wrote  BIG   BIRD  ' s Red Book.

Some character s t hat Cerf has provide d voice s for in clude Little Chrissy, Chrissy , Bruce String bean , Mick Swagger , How N ow Brown , the Lead Frazzle tone , the sing er of the Cecille theme s on g , & t h e Captain f r o m " Imagine That ! "

 SESAME  Place ' s The Game Centre w as " t h e creative brain - child o f Cerf.

Christopher Cerf is also t h e co - creator & an Executive Producer of Between the Lion s. He was a close personal friend of the late Douglas Adams, acclaimed author of the The Hitch hiker ' s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. He wrote the introduction for the A m e r i c a n edition of  The Salmon of Doubt , a posthumous re lease of some of Adams ' last work s.

SESAME STREET Song Credits
According to his bio in Encyclopedia Paranoiaca ( 2012, with Henry Beard ) , Cerf has written over 300 SESAME STREET Songs.

External l ink s

 * New York Social Diary : Christopher Cerf
 * Cerf ' s official YouTube channel
 * Christopher Cerf, 2010 McGraw Prize i n Education Winner
 * [www.imdb.com/name/nm0990902/ Christopher Cerf ] on [www.imdb.com/ IMDb ]