Oscar the Grouch

  Muppeteer :   CAROLL SPINNEY   Design Team:  JIM HENSON  • (  Designer  ) John Love lady • ( Original  OSCAR   builder  )  Earliest Known Appearance: Episode 0001  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  that is right between BIG BIRD ' s NEST & 123 SESAME STREET. In fact, he loves  TRASH  so much that he ' s rarely seen out side of his  TRASH CAN  ever. His trade mark 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 show n singin at his  TRASH CAN  , & nowhere else.  OSCAR  ' s birthday, according to  SESAME STREET  Magazine , is June 1  s t.

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 o n his  TRASH CAN  - - invariably interrupting him from a nap or an important task,  OSCAR  greet s the m wit h 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 any body a round to irritate or complain to.  OSCAR  has said th a t : " 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 t hat make s 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 make s me miser able . But being miser able m ake s 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 understand ably rocky.  GRUNDGETTA  usually calls him  OSKIE  while he occasionally calls her   GRUNGIE .  OSCAR  &  GRUNDGETTA , in addition to being a " coup le " , are best friends as well.  OSCAR  &  GRUNDGETTA  have been friend s for " a  very  long time ", as state d by  OSCAR  & Gordon ' s sister Olivia i n episode 2107. Elmo & Telly Monster both consider  OSCAR  to be a close friend, although  OSCAR  disputes this since Telly & Elmo are the 2 m o n s t e r s that  OSCAR  just doesn ' t like a t all.  OSCAR  reluctant l y confirmed in GROUCHland that Elmo w as, how eve r , indeed his friend.

 OSCAR  ' s family  include s his grand mother. Granny  GROUCH , who appear e d in season 2 of  SESAME STREET  , & was the 1 st indication on the series that  GROUCHES  are a completely separate species. Since then  OSCAR  has been visited by his grandfather, Grandpa  GROUCH  & his mother ,  M R S . GROUCH  , & some time s babysit s his niece ,  Irvine . He has 2 brother s,  Ernest  &  Otto  a long w / a sister name d  Bunny . In both episode 0131 & A Special  SESAME   STREET  Christ mas,  OSCAR  revealed that he also has a father.

 OSCAR  is 4 3 year s old according t o performer   CAROLL SPINNEY .

Origins
According to  SESAME STREET  Un paved, " 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 s o 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 i m mortalized as the world ' s most famous  GROUCH  . " In the [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Ask_Henson.com Ask Henson. com ] web column,  JIM HENSON  Company Archivist Karen Falk sa id that the rest aur a nt was name d  OSCAR  ' s Salt o f the S e a - - & w e nt on to s a y , " Some of the designs that we have in the Archive s were done by  JIM  on  OSCAR  ' s paper place mat s ! "

While  JIM HENSON  ' s 1 st  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 19 7 0 &  OSCAR  ' s explanation for that was that he had vacationed at Swamp Mushy  MUDDY , where the dampness had turned him green over night. In a 2003 appearance,  OSCAR  stated that while his time in Swamp Mushy  MUDDY  made him appear green , he is still in fact orange under neath all t he slime & mold. ( with an except ion, he ' s just never take n a ba th ).

 OSCAR  explained his family  root s & fur color again in a Life Magazine article i n 200 9, " Most of the  family  was orange . But I had a lovely vacation in  Swamp Mushy  MUDDY  resort . It was s o dark & dreary I kind of turn ed green . It ' s mostly moss . I like i t — it goes with  my  eyes .  I  accident ally took a bath once , turned orange again & wash ed all the moss o ff , so I went right back to  Swamp Mushy  MUDDY  , & here I a m . " "

In his introduction to the book  SESAME   STREET  : A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the  STREET  ( which also contained h is lunch from yesterday, grape juice , & something unidentifiable ) ,  OSCAR  tells how he ended up on  SESAME STREET  , saying he was a n o r mal  GROUCH  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 1 st episode only. He headed off to Swamp Mushy  MUDDY  after t he production w r a p p e d, disgust ed , but discovered that h i s 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 fictitious explanation around how he became green ), but figured the show  wouldn ' t run f or more than 6 month s any wa y ( obviously disappoint e d ).

 CAROLL SPINNEY  says that  OSCAR  ' s voice on another New York resident - - a Bronx taxi driver who drove him to his 1 st day performing  the character. On entering the cab, t he driver snapped , " Where t o , Mac  ? "

 OSCAR  ' s 1 s t line o n  SESAME STREET , in episode 1  , was " Don ' t bang on my  CAN  ! Go a way . " This would sum up his personality as it would remain for over 40 year s.

Performing OSCAR
During season 1 of  SESAME STREET , the set of the street was arranged in such a way that  SPINNEY  , who is right - handed , w as force d t o operate  OSCAR  ' s head w / his left hand. Eventual l y, a subsequent r e design of the street let  SPINNEY  switch hand s.

Also, when  OSCAR  & BIG BIRD ( characters both performed by  CAROLL SPINNEY  ) are required in a scene together  ,  Jim Martin  often operates  OSCAR  to a vocal track by  SPINNEY  , letting  SPINNEY  perform BIG BIRD. Or sometimes,  MATT VOGEL  operates the BIG BIRD suit to a vocal track by  SPINNEY  , letting  SPINNEY  perform  OSCAR .

At the 2003 Annual  SESAME  Workshop Benefit Gala,  OSCAR  is performed by Paul McGinnis.

For his Sprout appearances on on February 21, 2015 ,  OSCAR  was preformed by  ERIC JACOBSON . Sometimes lip - syncing to  CAROLL SPINNEY  ' s vocal s, other time s doing the voice himself.

Transportation
 OSCAR  has many forms of transportation. He can move w / his legs sticking out of his  TRASH CAN , as seen in early 1970 s  SESAME STREET  episode s ( portrayed by Hervé Villechaize  ) , in the specials Christ mas Eve on  SESAME   STREET  ,  DON ' T  Eat the P i c t u r e s & various stage shows. He also often had  BRUNO THE  TRASH  MAN  just carry his  TRASH CAN  around while he ' s i n side. 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 episode s he has al so made a few o u t - o f - his -  TRASH  -  CAN  appearances during which the top half of his body is show n. Al so, when he sing s , "  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 say s " SCRAM ".  OSCAR  has also been seen driving a broken - down taxi.

Trivia

 * According to  CAROLL SPINNEY  ' s book The Wisdom o f  BIG   BIRD  ( & the Dark  GENIUS  of  OSCAR   THE   GROUCH  ) : Lessons from a Life in  FEATHERS ,  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 Chil dren ' s Television Work shop, eliciting dismay from the mailroom staff . An Information Department staff member wrote in March 1 9 71 , " Aside from an unopened can of sardines , which are probably perfectly good ,  OSCAR  has been gifted with a box of old sneaker s ( not a box of Snickers ) , a ratty old bathing cap , some stale poppy seeds & some used Kleenex es . On the o the r side o f the co in , an adult fan sent a $50 check to purchase a new  TRASH CAN  . W e may soon need 1 for h i s f a n mail ! "
 *  OSCAR  temporarily turned white ( & nice ) in the  SESAME STREET  Live show  Elmo  ' s Coloring Book in 1997.
 * Although he doesn ' t have a nose visible t o the TV audience, he insists he has one ( as well as ear s ) , as he did in an early 90 s episode when Ruby kept giving him a hard time about i t . Years earlier , another episode had explain ed that he h as 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 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 t his song ! ".
 * Along with his girlfriend  GRUNDGETTA  along with the rest of his fellow Muppet s,  OSCAR  participated in sing ing " Just One Person " at  Jim Henson  ' s Memorial.
 *  CAROLL SPINNEY  is also a golf fan & brought  OSCAR  t o the 2007 Irish Open at Adare Manor, where the puppet posed with Padraig " the  GROUCH  " Harrington , the eventual tourney winner.
 *  OSCAR  has become somewhat of a mascot for  WASTE  reduction &  WASTE  manage ment, including Canada ' s  WASTE  Reduction Week , the Japan e s e E c o Ki ds Project , & various u n official u se s.
 *  OSCAR  claims to own a cell phone . He says of i t, " but it weighs 7 pounds — it ' s an old 1  Jim HENSON  th rew a w ay . "
 *  OSCAR  makes a cameo appearance in the film Night a t the Museum : Battle of the Smithsonian . He tries to get recruited into Kahmunrah ' s army, alongside Darth Vader from Star Wars , as evil people can join , but Kahmunrah find s him " mild l y  GROUCHY  . "
 * On the show , the lid on  OSCAR  ' s  TRASH CAN  opens by swinging up , with the back edge still attached . In illustrations ,  OSCAR  normally wear s the lid l ike a hat . & whenever  BRUNO  carries the  TRASH CAN  , the lid hang s from the side.
 *  OSCAR  eats a lot of the same foods that people like . However, he prefers them mixed together in unusual combination s . He paid Ernie & Bert a visit once & traded his ice cream cone for a banana with ice cubes & gravy on i t . Another time , he invited Candice Bergen to join him f or lunch , which would consist of clam tuna pie with chocolate sauce & anchovies.
 * For  SESAME STREET  ' s 40 t h season,  SESAME  Workshop created an online promotion spoofing Face book c all e d " Muppet b o o k " . For his profile ,  OSCAR  said he like s Anchovy milkshake s , but dislike s that he like s anchovy milk shakes . Among his other dis like s were r a i n b o w s , candy & chocolate . He list s his favorite song s  a s "  I LOVE TRASH  " , " All You Need Is  TRASH  " & "  I  Wanna Hold Your  TRASH  "

SESAME STREET Live Appearances

 *  SESAME  Jamboree ( 1982 - 1984 )
 * Around the World ( 1983 )
 * Save Our  STREET  ( 1985 - 1986 ; 1986 - 1987 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  Goes Hollywood ( 19 86 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  & the ABC s ( 1987 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  ' s  SESAME   STREET  Story ( 19 88 )
 * Silly Dancing ( 1 989 )
 * Sleeping  BIRDIE  ( 1990 )
 * Let ' s Play School ( 19 90 )
 * When I Grow U p ( 1993 / 1994 ; 1995 / 1996 )
 * Let ' s Be Friend s ( 199 4 )
 *  Elmo  ' s Coloring Book ( 1 997 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  ' s Sunny Day Camp Out ( 1999 )
 * Everyone Makes Music ( 2001 )
 * Out of This World ( 2003 )
 * 1 - 2 - 3 Imagine ! ( 1996 )
 *  Super   Grover  ! Ready for Action ( 2005 )
 * When  Elmo  Grow s Up ( 2 00 7 )
 *  Elmo  ' s  GREEN   THUMB  ( 2 00 8 )
 *  Elmo  ' s Super Hero es ! ( 2010 )
 * Can ' t Stop Singing ( 20 12 )

== Case s where  OSCAR   THE   GROUCH  & BIG BIRD ( characters both performed by Muppeteer  veteran  CAROLL SPINNEY  ) have appeared in the same scene ==

TV / Movies / Specials

 *  SE SAME STREET   ( 19 69 - present )


 * Episode 0131 ( 19 70 )
 * Episode 2483 ( 19 88 )
 * Episode 2485 ( 19 88 )
 * Episode 2977 ( 1 992 )
 * Episode 3158 ( 1 993 )
 * Episode 3656 ( 1 997 )
 * Episode 3664 ( 1 997 )
 * Episode 3698 ( 1 998 )
 * Episode 3699 ( 1 998 )
 * Episode 3790 ( 1 998 ) (  MATT VOGEL  operating the BIG BIRD puppet to a vocal track by  CAROLL SPINNEY  )
 * Episode 3797 ( 1 998 )
 * Episode 3831 ( 1 999 ) (  MATT VOGEL  operating the BIG BIRD puppet to a vocal track by  CAROLL SPINNEY  )
 * Episode 3845 ( 1 999 )
 * Episode 3863 ( 2 000 )
 * Episode 3866 ( 2000 )
 * Episode 3879 ( 2 000 )
 * Epi sode 39 5 8 ( 2 00 1 ) ( repeat of 3 7 9 0 ( 1 9 9 8 ) ) (  MATT VOGEL  operating the BIG BIRD puppet to a vocal track by  CAROLL SPINNEY  )
 * Episode 3986 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 3991 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 3992 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 3995 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 3996 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 3997 ( 2 00 2 ) (  Matt Vogel  operating the BIG BIRD puppet to a vocal track by  Caroll Spinney  )
 * Episode 3998 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 4004 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 4030 ( 2 002 )
 * Episode 4057 ( 2 004 )
 * Episode 4065 ( 2 004 )
 * Episode 4081 ( 2 004 )
 * Episode 4131 ( 2 006 )
 * Episode 4141 ( 2 007 )
 * Episode 4142 ( 2 007 )
 * Episode 4181 ( 2 008 )
 * Episode 4253 ( 20 10 )
 * Episode 4266 ( 20 11 )
 * Episode 4412 ( 20 13 )
 *  SESAME STREET  Theme Intro ( Episode 41 87 ( 2009 ) - present )
 * Christ mas Eve on  SESAME   STREET  ( 1978 )
 * A Special  SESAME   STREET  Christ mas ( 1978 )
 * Don ' t Eat the Pictures ( 1983 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  in China ( 19 83 )
 *  DON ' T  Eat the P i c t u r e s ( 1 9 8 3 )
 * Follow That  BIRD  ( 1985 )
 * The Muppets : A Celebration of 30 Years ( 19 86 )
 *  SESAME   STREET  Home Video Visits the Hospital ( 1 99 1 )
 *  SESAME   STREET  Home Video Visits the F i r e house ( 1991 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  ' s Birth day or Let  Me  Eat Cake ( 1 99 1 )
 * Elmo Saves Christ mas ( 19 96 )
 * Quiet Time ( 1 997 )
 * Learning to Share ( 1997 )
 *  Elmo  palooza ( 1 998 )
 *  The Adventure s of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  land  ( 1 999 )
 * What ' s the Name of That Song ? ( 2 00 4 )
 * A Celebration of  Me ,  Grover  ( 2 00 4 )


 * The Colbert Report ( 200 5 - present )

Book s

 *  SESAME   STREET  ( comic book ) ( 19 7 0 s - present )
 *  OSCAR  ' s Book  ( 1975 )
 *  How t o B e a  GROUCH  ( 1976 )
 *  Ernie  ' s Work of Art ( 1979 )
 *  A Day in the Life of  OSCAR   THE   GROUCH  ( 1981 )
 *  OSCAR  ' s  ROTTEN  Birthday  ( 19 81 )
 *  Bert  & the Missing Mop Mix - Up ( 1983 )
 *  Ernie  ' s Little Lie ( 19 83 )
 *  Count  All the Way t o  SESAME   STREET  ( 19 85 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  Can Share ( 19 85 )
 *  It ' s a De a l !  ( 1986 )
 *  O h, Bro th e r !  ( 1987 )
 *  Imagine T hat !  ( 1987 )
 *  Friend s to t he Rescue (  BIG BIRD  Story Magic )  ( 19 8 7 )
 *  A Birth d a y Surprise (  SESAME   STREET  )  ( 1 9 87 )
 * Don ' t B e Shy ( 1987 )
 * T h e Day  Snuffy  Had the Sniffle s ( 1 988 )
 * Oh,  I  Am So Embarrassed ! ( 1988 )
 *  A  GROUCH  ' s Christ mas  ( 1990 )
 * A  BIRD  ' s Best Friend ( 1990 )
 *  BIG BIRD  Play s the Violin ( 1990 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  Is  YELLOW  ( 1 99 0 )
 * The Poky Little Puppy Come s to  SESAME   STREET  ( 1997 )
 *  SESAME   STREET  color ing book s ( Sony ) ( 2010s )
 *  BIG   BIRD  at Home ( 2 0 11 )

Audio

 * Camping in Canada ( 1 9 8 1 )

Songs
''Itch & S c r a t ch ( 1993 )
 * Ju st Three Co lo rs ( 1972 )
 * Simple Song ( 1 9 7 2 )
 * Singing in the Shower ( 1986 )
 * Great  BIG  Beautiful World ( 1 99 8 )
 * If You ' re Happy & You Know It ( 2001 ) from K i d s ' Favorite Son g s 2 ( album )
 * I s I t A live ? ( 2002 )

SESAME STREET Live

 * Around the World ( 1 9 8 3 )
 * Save Our  STREET  ( 1 9 8 5 - 1 9 8 6 ; 1 9 8 6 - 1 9 8 7 )
 * Silly Dancing ( 1 989 )
 * When I Grow U p ( 1 99 3 - 1 9 9 4 ; 1 9 9 5 - 1 99 6 )
 * Elmo ' s Coloring Book ( 1 99 7 )
 * When  Elmo  Grows Up ( 2007 )
 *  Elmo  ' s  GREEN   THUMB  ( 2 00 8 )