Harvey Kneeslapper





Harvey Kneeslapper appeared on Sesame Street as a mad practical joker, always pulling pranks on others. Usually, his pranks involved either letters or numbers, which he would slap onto his victim (particularly one Fat Blue character). On rare occasions, Harvey's pranks backfired on him, such as the time he filled up an entire closet and waited for somebody to open the door.

He once appeared in a Sesame Street News Flash sketch, where he made a prank call about somebody standing out in a snowstorm.

Eventually, his raucous laugh became too hard on Frank Oz's throat, and Harvey, who was always considered a one-joke character, was dropped from the show. Even after Harvey stopped appearing in new segments, his existing segments continued to be used in new episodes up until Season 32.

Individual Skits

 * Do You Want Me To Keep An Eye On Your Hat?
 * Harvey asks a man, "Do you want me to keep an eye on your hat?" The man says yes. Harvey then puts a letter I on top of the man's hat, crushing it in the process.


 * Wanna see something funny?
 * In the park, Harvey comes up behind a man, asks him, "Wanna see something funny?" and then holds a mirror up. The man sees nothing funny... until he looks at Harvey! This segment was included as a bonus segment in Old School: Volume 1.


 * Do You Know Where I Wanna Be?
 * Harvey asks a man, "Do you know where I wanna be?" The man doesn't know. Harvey says, "I wanna B here!", and then slaps a B onto the victim's chest.


 * X Marks The Spot
 * Harvey says, "X marks the spot!" Fat Blue asks, "What spot?" Harvey puts a spot and a letter X on Fat Blue.


 * News Flash: Man In Snowstorm
 * Part 1: Kermit has received a phone call which tells him that there is someone who has been standing out in a terrible snow storm for a long time. Kermit asks everyone who passes by if they are that person, but everyone he asks has only been out in the snow for a short time.  Kermit refuses to give up, however, and tells us to stay tuned.
 * Part 2: Kermit, now shivering a little, is still looking for the person who's been standing out in the snow for a long time. He even asks Farley, who has been out for only a short time.  Still no success yet.
 * Part 3: Kermit is now buried up to his neck in snow, colder than ever. He calls the attention of passerby Harvey Kneeslapper, who tells Kermit that he is the one who made the call, which was a prank call.  As it turns out, Kermit was the one standing out in the storm.


 * Harvey Kneeslapper and The Pogo Stick
 * Harvey is bouncing on a pogo stick. He asks Fat Blue if he'd like to try it, and Fat Blue replies, "I'd love to!" Harvey then slaps a big number 2 on Fat Blue's shirt.


 * Three sticks
 * Harvey is looking down and saying "Three sticks!" A man asks "Three sticks where?" Then Harvey says "3 sticks right here!" and sticks a number 3 on the man's head.


 * Harvey Kneeslapper and his Joy Buzzer
 * Harvey explains to the audience that he is holding a joy buzzer in his hand and plans on asking somebody to give him five, shocking his victim's hand. However, when he asks a victim to "Gimme five!", the other man slaps a number 5 on him. This skecth can be viewed at Sesamestreet.org.


 * Picture of You
 * Harvey goes to Fat Blue and asks, "Do you mind if I take a picture of you?" Fat Blue gives him permission, but Harvey asks, "What's down there?" When Fat Blue looks down, Harvey slaps the letter U on top of Fat Blue's head and takes a picture of it.


 * Confetti gag
 * Harvey sets up a bucket of confetti above a door, so that whoever pulls the rope attached to the bucket will get the confetti dumped on them. Instead, a little girl walks by and pulls the rope, so that the confetti lands on Harvey! This sketch can be viewed at Sesamestreet.org.


 * Do Ya Have an A on Ya?
 * Harvey asks a passerby if he has an A on him. The passerby doesn't, so Harvey puts one on him.


 * Harvey Kneeslapper and The Mailman
 * Harvey tells the Fat Blue mailman that he has a letter for his mother: the letter R! (Note: A similar practical joke was pulled in The Muppet Show episode 115, which also included the letter R and was pulled by another Frank Oz character, Fozzie Bear.)


 * Would Ya Like One?
 * Harvey holds a cookie and asks his next victim (whom he addresses as Brad) if he wants one. Brad says "sure", and Harvey sticks a number 1 onto his shirt.


 * Toys in The Closet
 * Part 1: Harvey hangs an "OPEN" sign on a closet and has filled it with so many toys that when somebody opens it, all of the toys in the closet will fall on that person. A girl opens the closet, but none of the toys fall out. When Harvey opens it after she leaves, they fall all over him.
 * Part 2: Harvey has refilled the closet. A boy tries to open it, but the door is stuck. When the boy has left, Harvey opens the closet, and the toys land on him again.
 * Part 3: Harvey has refilled the closet again. The boy and girl come by again and open the door. Instead of toys falling, the closet leads to another place. After the two of them have gone through and closed the door behind them, Harvey opens the closet, and the toys fall on him. These sketches can be viewed at Sesamestreet.org.


 * Wanna See?
 * Harvey Kneeslapper looks inside a paper bag and laughs and asks his next victim, "Wanna see?" The man says yes, so Harvey puts a letter C on him.


 * Dion who?
 * Harvey tells a man and says, "Knock, knock!" The man asks, "Who's there?" Harvey says, "Dion." The man asks, "Dion who?" Then Harvey slaps the letter D on the man's chest and says, "D on you!" This sketch can be viewed at Sesamestreet.org and on the Sesame Street Video Player.


 * Ya Wanna Sticky?
 * Harvey Kneeslapper asks a man "Ya wanna sticky?" The man asks "What's a sticky for?" Then Harvey slaps a number 4 on the man's chest and says "That's a sticky 4!" This segment can be viewed at Sesamestreet.org.


 * Robin Hood's Merry Men
 * Ernie, performing as Robin Hood, is interviewing some potential new "merry men". After the first two applicants turn out to be sad and angry, respectively, Ernie hires the third (Harvey) on the spot because he seems suitably merry... only to fire him just as quickly after he goes overboard rattling off one-liner jokes. This sketch can be viewed at Sesamestreet.org.


 * Tell a Joke
 * Luis is feeling glum, Susan is feeling a bit tired, and Bob is feeling terriffic. However, Bob informs them that they'll all feel worse in a moment, because he sees Harvey Kneeslapper coming by. Harvey wants to tell them a great joke, but they aren't in the mood for jokes, which Harvey says is the best time for jokes, as he sings a song about telling jokes. During the song he tells a number of jokes, which make the others leave, one by one, before the song is finished. This song can be viewed at Sesamestreet.org.

Book Appearances

 * The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)
 * Big Bird's Busy Book (1975)
 * How to Be a Grouch (1976)