The Ringmaster

The Ringmaster was a character seen in a series of eleven animated sketches on Sesame Street. He was a character very much like the ringmasters seen in most circuses. The sketches he appeared in taught children how to count numbers of various animals.

Each sketch began (and ended) with a number of red dots appearing on-screen, which then turned into whatever numeral was to be featured in the sketch. Then the numeral became part of a 3x4 grid of squares and flickered as it appeared.

In the Ringmaster sketches, the top-hatted character boldly announced however many animals would be performing whatever tricks. With a whip he made the animals rearrange themselves in many patterns, despite the fact that their number remained unchanged.

Sketches
2 - The Ringmaster enchants two green snakes while playing his silver saxophone.

3 - The Ringmaster presents a trio of high-flying felines (cats to us) who fall into a barrel of water.

4 - Four lordly lions perform a balancing act.

5 - Five fantastic floating fools fall from the big blue blimp.

6 - A sketch featuring six acrobatic grey monkeys.

7 - The Ringmaster introduces seven swimming seals.

8 - Eight polar penguins show off their skating prowess.

9 - Nine blue elephants emerge from a small pink two-door sedan.

10 - The Ringmaster treats us to the balancing feats of ten brown bears.

11 - Eleven purple dogs perform after racing out of a doghouse. This segment was included in Old School: Volume 2.

12 - The Ringmaster takes off his top hat, and twelve yellow finches fly out of it.