Beautiful Day Monster

Beautiful Day Monster got his name from his first appearance, on The Ed Sullivan Show, where he tried to ruin a girl's beautiful day. He made several appearances in the early years of Sesame Street (including one sketch in which he had four eyes) and other Muppet projects. As the top picture shows, wherever he went, destruction and mayhem soon followed. After 1969, Beautiful Day Monster and most of the other monsters were replaced by friendlier looking monsters with brighter colors.

Although the monster was known as "Beautiful Day Monster" behind the scenes, he has had many names on Sesame Street, such as Fred (in an early Sesame Street skit), Harold, Lulu and Windy. He was also a contestant on a 1969 Sesame Street game show where he was named Ralph and had a wife, also a contestant. For a few scenes, the monster was turned into a female character with a dark black wig, a necklace and a pink ribbon.

A small Beautiful Day Monster - used in the original Ed Sullivan sketch when the monster has shrunk - was used alongside the regular sized monster to demonstrate the difference between 'little' and 'big' (as seen in Adventure in the Arts: The Muppets on Puppets and Sesame Street, where he was known as Frank.)

On The Muppet Show, the Beautiful Day Monster puppet was reconstructed, and his teeth were removed, giving him a less frightening appearance. In one memorable Muppet Show sketch in Episode 108, he asked a travel agent (Paul Williams) about the cost of a trip to Pittsburgh. No matter what the travel agent offers, the monster asks, "You got anything cheaper?" This was his only major appearance in a Muppet Show sketch. He was normally just part of a group of monsters on The Muppet Show.

Filmography

 * The Ed Sullivan Show ("Happy Girl Meets a Monster," voice by Jim Henson)
 * Sesame Street Pitch Reel
 * The Muppets on Puppets
 * Sesame Street (Frank Oz) (Jim Henson)


 * Pure Goldie
 * Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (voiced by Jerry Nelson and puppeteered by Frank Oz)
 * The Muppet Show: Sex and Violence
 * The Muppet Show
 * Episode 103: Joel Grey ("Comedy Tonight")
 * Episode 108: Paul Williams (Travel Agency sketch)
 * Episode 109: Charles Aznavour ("I Feel Pretty")
 * Episode 113: Bruce Forsyth (At the Dance)
 * Episode 114: Sandy Duncan
 * Episode 116: Avery Schreiber (Gonzo's Opening Gong only)
 * Episode 119: Vincent Price
 * Episode 121: Twiggy (Gonzo's Opening Gong only)
 * Episode 122: Ethel Merman
 * Episode 202: Zero Mostel
 * Episode 203: Milton Berle
 * Episode 204: Rich Little
 * Episode 208: Steve Martin
 * Episode 211: Dom DeLuise
 * Episode 219: Peter Sellers (Gonzo's Opening Horn only)
 * Episode 222: Teresa Brewer ("Cheesecake")
 * Episode 317: Spike Milligan (Gonzo's Opening Horn only)
 * Episode 320: Sylvester Stallone (Gonzo's Opening Horn)
 * The Muppet Movie ("Rainbow Connection" Finale)
 * The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
 * Muppet Meeting Films
 * The Jim Henson Hour (Dan Redican)
 * The Cosby Show (Kevin Clash)