Pam Arciero

 PAM   Arciero  ( born May 8 th, 1954  ) is a very talented  Muppeteer  as well as a voice - over artist who is best known in the world of  the Muppet s  for her incredible work o n  SESAME STREET . For almost 35 year s,  Pam   Arciero  has served as the primary performer for  GRUNDGETTA  to  Caroll Spinney  ' s  OSCAR THE GROUCH .

Only a few years before joining  SESAME STREET , she had auditioned for the role of  Mr . Snuffleupagus  after Michael Earl  left the  show. She didn ' t get the part , but she eventually became a  Muppeteer  in  1 9 8 2.

 Arciero  earned her Master ' s in Puppetry from the University o f Connecticut  & has performed characters for numerous shows outside of the  SESAME STREET  /  Muppet  sphere, including  The   Great   Space   Coaster  ,  Allegra ' s   Window  ,  Between t h e Lions  ( replac ing  Kathryn Mullen  as Leona ) ,  Eureeka ' s   Castle  &  Lomax ,   t h e   Hound   o f   Music  ( a s Louise ).

Arciero has also been active in t he world of theater, including a stint at the Orpheum Theater with  Little Shop of Horror s  , & serving as director  for several live show s at  SESAME   Place  & E l Capitan Theater i n Los Angeles.

 Arciero  has serve d as Artistic Director for t h e prestigious O ' Neill Puppetry Conference  since  2 00 2  & continue s to participate i n puppetry work shop s & other event s across t he country.

Life as GRUNDGETTA  & working w /  CAROLL SPINNEY
For over 35 years,  Pam   Arciero  has served as the performer  for  GRUNDGETTA  t o  CAROLL SPINNEY  ' s  OSCAR THE GROUCH  , taking over the  character  following  Brian Muehl  leaving the  Muppet  business.

 Pam   Arciero  has been had a great honor & privilege working alongside  Caroll Spinney  for over 30 year s. When asked in an interview what working w / Spinney  h a s been like, Arciero said : "  Carroll  is a blast , a child a t heart &  he  is both the  GROUCH  & the  BIRD  at different times . You can sit at dinner & be talking with  him  in  BIG BIRD  mode , & someone will do something stupid &  Oscar  will blast out of  him  a t full force . My favorite  OSCAR  quote is " If you don ' t want t o be a murder er , don’t hang out with peo ple who should b e kill e d. "  Grouch  words to live by . He  also is a wonder f ul story tell e r & a great friend . "

When asked in that same inter view on what some o f her favorite moment s as  GRUNDGETTA  are  Arciero  said : "  Oscar  &  Grungy  almost got married , &  th  ey  had a fantasy about having  Grouch  kid s .  Th  ey  decided it might make them happy , so they bailed out of the wedding . Little did they know that way to be truly  grouchy  is to get married . They also went o n vacation t o  Camp Mushy  muddy  , &  th  ey  did a wonderful  song  floating down a  swamp  in an old tire .  Andrea Martin  played  Edith Prickley  a s a shoe sale s man , &  she  tried to get  Grundgetta  some shoe s.  JERRY NELSON  played Professor Piggens ( as a human ) who tried to teach   GRUNDGETTA  to be a real  GROUCH  a l a  My Fair Lady. T h at w a s just great. "

CAROLL SPINNEY /  PAM   ARCIERO  Muppets  Pairing s

 *  OSCAR THE GROUCH  /  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  OSCAR THE GROUCH  /  Nani Bird  ( soon )
 *  BIG BIRD  /  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  BIG BIRD  /  Nani Bird 
 *  BIG BIRD  /  Pammy 
 *  GRANNY BIRD  /  Nani Bird 
 *  GRANNY BIRD  /  GRUNDGETTA  ( soon )

Muppeteer Credit s

 *  SE SAME STREET  :  GRUNDGETTA  ( 1 9 8 4  - present ),  Sally Wilson  ,  Little Lizzy Hammer toe  ,  Telly Monster  ( assistant only ) ,  Abby Cadabby  ( assist a nt ) ,  Kat ie  , "  Let ' s Go Driv ing  "  daughter  ,  Ernie  ’ s  friend  from "  DON ’ T  Throw T hat  TRASH  o n t h e Ground  " ,  Vanessa  ,  Rosa  ,  Robin  ,  Kermit the Frog  ’ s right hand i n "  I Love My Elbow s  "
 *  SESAME  Beginning s  :  Nani Bird 
 *  The Muppet s Take Manhattan  :  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  Follow That  BIRD  :  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  Little Muppet Monsters  : Penguin
 *  SESAME   STREET  : 2 0 & Still  Count  in g  :  GRUNDGETTA ,  Telly Monster  ( assist ant )
 *  T he Muppet s Celebrate  JIM   HENSON  :  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  JIM HENSON  ’ s memorial service  : Herself /  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  SESAME   STREET  Stays Up Late 
 *  The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss  : Lulu ' s Dog
 *  SESAME   STREET  4D  :  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  Play With Me  SESAME 
 *  SESAME   STREET  : A Is for Asthma  :  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  SESAME   STREET  Jam : A Musical Celebration 
 *  Getting Ready to Read  :  Pammy 
 *  Learning About Letter s  : Dentist
 *  Elmo  cize 
 *  Telling the Truth  : Sheep
 *  Learning to Share  :  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  Elmo  palooza 
 *  Elmo  Saves Christ mas  :  GRUNDGETTA 
 *  A Magic al Hallo ween Adventure  : Green Surprise Monster
 *  Panwapa 
 *  Elmo  ’ s Chris t mas  Count  down 
 *  Abby  in Wonder land 
 *  A Muppet s Chris t mas : Letters to San ta 

Trivia

 *  Arciero  i s left - handed.

External l in k s

 *  SESAME  Beginning s  Press Kit
 * PAM ARCIERO on IMDb
 * O ' Neill Puppetry Conference
 * Voice 1 2 3 . com
 * Muppet Mindset inter view