Two-Headed Monster



The Two-Headed Monster is, as the name implies, a monster with two heads. The Two-Headed Monster first appeared on Sesame Street in 1978. He speaks gibberish, and many of his skits have to do with either cooperation or sounding out parts of words that suddenly show up. Skits with the Two-Headed Monster usually take place with the monster behind a brick wall.

The creation of this monster was inspired by performers Jerry Nelson and Richard Hunt playing around on the set one day, saying that they were a monster with two heads. According to a 30th Anniversary trivia game featured on ctw.org in 1998, the monster's heads are named Frank and Stein. The names have never been used on the show itself, however.

Since 2003, the Two-Headed Monster has made an appearance in each Journey to Ernie segment, with Big Bird asking both heads if they'd seen Ernie, and the monster pointing in both directions.

The question of whether the monster is a singular-being or not has led to semantic confusion, typified by this exchange between Bert and Ernie in A Muppet Family Christmas:
 * Bert: Now, who let the Two-Headed Monster be Santa Claus?
 * Ernie: Yeah, but Bert, he said he'd never been in a play before...I mean they said it...um...both of them said it.

Casting History

 * Richard Hunt and Jerry Nelson • (1978 - 1991)
 * David Rudman and Jerry Nelson • (1992 - 2002)
 * David Rudman and Joey Mazzarino • (2003 - )

Appearances

 * Sesame Street (1978-present)
 * The Muppet Movie (Rainbow Connection finale)
 * Big Bird in China
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan (Wedding scene)
 * Follow That Bird
 * The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
 * A Muppet Family Christmas
 * Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting
 * The Rosie O'Donnell Show (guest appearance, unknown date)
 * Elmopalooza
 * Peter and the Wolf
 * ''What's the Name of That Song?)

Individual Skits

 * Dance
 * The Two-Headed Monster sounds out the word "dance" at a disco.


 * Run
 * The monster sounds out the word "run," and starts running.


 * Hop
 * The monster sounds out the word "hop," and starts hopping.


 * Shoes
 * The monster's heads can't agree on what shoes to wear. They eventually agree on something: the shoebox . This is one of the few times the monster's feet are shown.


 * Feet
 * The Two-Headed Monster sounds out "feet," and then the camera pans back to reveal a pair of live feet on some grass.


 * Playground or Zoo
 * The monster argues over whether to go to the playground or the zoo.


 * Cheese
 * After sounding out the word "cheese," the monster poses for many pictures.


 * "Pat"
 * After sounding the word "pat," tge Two-Headed Monster pats each other, and they stop crying.


 * Honk
 * After sounding the word "honk," several Honkers suddenly appear and honk their noses. The left half of the monster then honks the right half's nose (and hurts him).


 * Same and Different (3-part sketch)
 * The monster sees a cardboard cut-out of himself wearing hats. The monster decides to find a hat that matches, and then both the monster and the cardboard cut-out faint.


 * Mom
 * The Two-Headed Monster sounds out the word "Mom," and then the viewer sees the monster's mom (who possesses only a single head, suggesting that polycephaly is not necessarily hereditary).

Book Appearances

 * The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures (1983)
 * Big Bird Can Share (1985)
 * Splish-Splashy Day (1989)
 * Sleep Tight! (1991)
 * The Monsters on the Bus (2001)