Beautiful Day Monster

PERFORMER	various
DEBUT	1966
DESIGN	Jim Henson designer
	Don Sahlin builder

Beautiful Day Monster in his namesake sketch on The Ed Sullivan Show.

Beautiful Day Monster with Mr. Hooper holding the CTW logo.

Early version of Beautiful Day Monster.

A flattened Beautiful Day Monster gets mailed to Pittsburgh cheaper.

A 1976 sketch of Beautiful Day Monster drawn by John Lovelady.

Beautiful Day Monster, rebuilt for The Muppets, seen with Sweetums.

On staff of Up Late with Miss Piggy on The Muppets.

Beautiful Day Monster is a blue Muppet monster best remembered from his appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969, ruining a girl's beautiful day. Three years before, he began life as The Crown-Grabber in an unaired commercial for Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. He has made several appearances in the early years of Sesame Street, on The Muppet Show, and several other Muppet projects. Wherever the Beautiful Day Monster goes, destruction and mayhem soon follows.

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," "Snookie," "Lulu," and "Windy." He was also a contestant on a 1969 Sesame Street game show, "The Mr. and Mrs. Game," where he was named "Ralph" and had a wife, also a contestant. For a few sketches, the monster was turned into a female character with a dark black wig, a necklace and a pink ribbon. He was sometimes an opponent of Ernie and Bert, using subtle tricks such as disguises to steal cookies; nevertheless, Ernie used to call him "that silly monster". He also appeared as a friend of Cookie Monster, in the "Here and There" sketch. As a particularly frightening monster, he demonstrated his dreadful vocal power when he pronounced the B, chasing Kermit away and creating a spooky light effect. In the "Mr and Mrs Game" sketch, he answered his favourite sport was "scaring people". He also liked to eat broken ukuleles. After the first season, Beautiful Day Monster and most of the other early Sesame monsters were replaced by friendlier looking monsters with brighter colors.

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', where he was known as "Frank."

For The Muppet Show, the Beautiful Day Monster puppet was reconstructed and his teeth removed to give him a less frightening appearance. In one memorable 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 offered, Beautiful Day Monster asked "You got anything cheaper?" until the agent dropped a weight on him, flattening him enough to send him by mail. This was his only major appearance in a Muppet Show sketch, although he appeared several times behind Gonzo during the final moment of "The Muppet Show Theme" (being hit by Gonzo's mallet in the first season, or interfering with a huge tuba in the next ones). The flattened version of the puppet would appear in the At the Dance sketch in the next episode, wearing a wig and dancing with Rowlf. In episode 114, he plays the barman in the rendition of "A Nice Girl Like Me" by Sandy Duncan. In episode 119, he wanders the ballroom accompanied by a lot of bats, causing a remark by Mildred Huxtetter, "This man is absolutely batty". His only appearance in a UK spot is in episode 202, in which he mocks Sam the Eagle and attacks him with a custard pie.

A rebuilt version of Beautiful Day Monster first appeared in The Muppets as a background character, and has popped up frequently since. During The Muppets Take the Bowl he walked by during the "Parade of Obscure Characters," where Kermit offhandedly acknowledged him by name, a rare occurrence for the character.

Filmography

• Wheels, Flutes and Crowns (as The Crown Grabber)
• The Mike Douglas Show
• The Ed Sullivan Show
  • "Happy Girl Meets a Monster," (voiced by Jim Henson)
  • "What Kind of Fool Am I?"
• Sesame Street Pitch Reel
• The Muppets on Puppets
• Sesame Street (Frank Oz, Jim Henson, Caroll Spinney)
• 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
  • "The Muppet Show Theme" (Seasons 2-5)
  • Episode 103: Joel Grey ("Comedy Tonight")
  • Episode 108: Paul Williams (Travel Agency sketch, performed by Richard Hunt)
  • Episode 109: Charles Aznavour ("I Feel Pretty", At the Dance)
  • Episode 113: Bruce Forsyth (At the Dance)
  • Episode 114: Sandy Duncan ("A Nice Girl Like Me")
  • Episode 116: Avery Schreiber (Gonzo's Opening Gong only)
  • Episode 119: Vincent Price (At the Dance, Audience)
  • Episode 121: Twiggy (Gonzo's Opening Gong only)
  • Episode 122: Ethel Merman
  • Episode 201: Don Knotts (Audience)
  • Episode 202: Zero Mostel (UK Spot, with Kermit and Sam in the Prop Room, performed by Jerry Nelson)
  • Episode 203: Milton Berle
  • Episode 204: Rich Little
  • Episode 208: Steve Martin
  • Episode 211: Dom DeLuise
  • Episode 214: Elton John (Audience)
  • 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 only)
• The Muppet Movie (the "Rainbow Connection" finale)
• The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
• Muppet Meeting Films
• The Jim Henson Hour
  • "Power" (performed by Dan Redican)
• The Cosby Show
  • "Cliff's Nightmare" (performed by Kevin Clash)
• The Muppet Show Theme Music Video
• The Muppets (performed by Bill Barretta)
• Kermit's Party
• Muppets Most Wanted
• The Muppets 2015 Presentation Pilot
• The Muppets
  • "Hostile Makeover"
  • "Walk the Swine"
  • "Pig's in a Blackout"
  • "Swine Song"
  • "A Tail of Two Piggies"
  • "Little Green Lie"
• Warburtons commercial
• The Muppets Take the Bowl
• The Muppets Take the O2

Sesame Street sketches

Picture	Summary / EKA	Description
	More and Less Episode 0004	Cookie Monster drinks Kermit's glass of milk, which he was going to use to explain "more" and "less." When Kermit insults Cookie Monster, several of Cookie Monster's monster pals gang up on Kermit, prompting him to point out that now there are more monsters and less frogs.
	Kiss From A Monster Episode 0005	Ernie laughs when Alice Braithwaite Goodyshoes says "Bleah!" after getting kissed by a monster. Bert says that Ernie would react the same way if he got kissed by a monster. "No, I wouldn't. I'd think it was funny!" says Ernie. Then the Beautiful Day Monster shows up and kisses Ernie, who says, "Bleah!" Bert laughs.
	Song of 5 Episode 0006	Beautiful Day Monster, Thudge, an early Grover, Flute-Snatcher, and Snerk make a cameo in the Song of 5.
	How many? Episode 0009	Ernie shows Bert how many legs a dog has, how many legs a table has, and how many eyes a monster has, but Bert denies that the monster has four eyes. Apparently, the four-eyed monster (Beautiful Day Monster, with two extra eyes) shows up proving he indeed has four eyes.
	Everybody Scratch Episode 0012	Ernie and Bert have difficulty scratching their backs, so both help each other scratch their back. While Ernie's itch takes a little too long to scratch, he introduces a film called "Everybody Scratch". After the film, Ernie notices that Bert has stopped scratching his back; Beautiful Day Monster is.
	Big and Small Episode 0015	Kermit presents a lecture on big and small with the Beautiful Day Monster and a small monster. Splurge comes in at the end to show what a really big monster looks like.
	The Boy, the Girl and the Jellybeans Episode 0016	A boy and girl share a bag of jellybeans, but they're scared away by a monster. They make friends with the monster, and share the jellybeans with him. (3-part sketch)
	Balloons Episode 0021	Big Bird happens upon Beautiful Day Monster (Jim Henson) and they challenge each other on what they know about balloons. The monster asks if Big Bird knows what happens when he bites a balloon, then proceeds to do so, popping them. Big Bird calls him out on his mean act, but the monster produces a giant sized balloon for him in consolation.
	Through The Hoop Episode 0023	Ernie demonstrates the word "through" with the help of Beautiful Day Monster and Bert, who holds a hoop.
	Kermit on Hair Episode 0028	Kermit talks about hair. According to Kermit, "Hair is a part of you. It is not a part of me, because I am a frog." He points out that some people have hair on their heads, while others have it on their faces. But if you have hair all over your body (like Beautiful Day Monster, who emerges brushing himself and singing "A pretty girl is like a melody ...") then you're a monster!
	Lulu's Back in Town Episode 0030	Tony sings "Lulu's Back in Town". Lulu turns out to be the Beautiful Day Monster, with a wig and necklace.
	Kermit on the Letter F Episode 0033	Kermit plans to talk about the letter F, but Beautiful Day Monster delivers an E instead, so he fixes it by using an ax and chopping off the bottom line of the E to make it look like an F.
	Subtracting Cookies Episode 0041	Ernie struggles to save a plate of cookies for Bert. Beautiful Day Monster disguises himself as a baker and a little girl to trick Ernie out of four of the five cookies, but Bert blames Ernie.
	Pick Your Pet Episode 0067	Lucy Jones asks a series of questions to the animals, asking them questions that would relate to a cat. Her time runs up before she can ask Beautiful Day Monster any questions, and she has to choose, so she chooses Beautiful Day Monster, who acts like a cat when she finds out what she got, and she is happy with her pet.
	Kermit's B Sound Lecture Episode 0068	Kermit presents a highly-descriptive lecture about making a B sound, complete with providing us a demonstration, and teaches the Beautiful Day Monster how to make a B sound. Turns out, the monster's B sound results as a "BAAAAAAAH!" which scares off Kermit and fogs up the screen.
	Kermit's Between Lecture Episode 0070	Kermit demonstrates between by using a ping-pong ball, a donut, and a Beatles record sitting on a table, with the donut between the record and the ball. Beautiful Day Monster comes along and proceeds to eat everything. Kermit fears he will also get eaten, but the monster thanks him with a kiss.
	The Mr. and Mrs. Game Episode 0072	Beautiful Day (as "Mr. Monster") has to match up his answers with that of his wife.
	Windy Episode 0074	Tony sings about his girlfriend Windy. Windy is Beautiful Day Monster dressed up in a wig.
	Broken ukulele Episode 0080	Part 1: Ernie encounters a sobbing Beautiful Day Monster, who is crying because his ukulele is broken. Ernie shows him a few things one can do with a broken ukulele, but that doesn't stop the monster from crying. Ernie then offers to fix the ukulele. Part 2: Ernie brings back the ukulele, all fixed. And what does the monster do? He eats it!
	Monsters Look at "A" Episode 0083	Monsters, including an early Grover, Flute-Snatcher, Cookie Monster, Beautiful Day Monster, and Scudge, are looking at something. Fred's son appears, and is reprimanded with "Eyy!" After a few times, Fred's son turns toward the viewer and yells "A!", revealing that the group is staring at the letter A.
	Monsters Whisper "C" Episode 0089	Monsters, including an early Grover, Cookie Monster, and Beautiful Day Monster, pass on the message, "See." The wide shot reveals that the monsters were whispering about the Letter C. Caroll Spinney performs Cookie Monster here.
	F Cheer #5 Episode 0094	Beautiful Day Monster is part of a group of cheerleaders who cheer up to the letter F. When the leader asks what "ABCDEF" spells, they are all stumped, and Beautiful Day Monster comments on how weird that is.
	Professor Hastings' feelings lecture Episode 0106	Professor Hastings conducts a lecture about the ways people feel, but keeps drifting off. Meanwhile, two groups of Muppets behind him pass by; one cheering for their winning team, and the others crying for the losing team. Beautiful Day Monster is among those in the sad team.
	Here and There Episode 0111	Fred's son wants to learn about "here" and "there," so the Beautiful Day Monster and Cookie Monster show him by spreading apart, each calling Fred's son over to their side. However, whenever Baby gets to "there," he always finds himself "here."
	First and Last Episode 0116	A group of Monsters, led by a hippie, play a game where they march in a line and then switch directions. Grover wants to be first and not last, but can't keep up with the ever-switching directions. This sketch was later remade, with the blue version of Grover and with the monsters being replaced.
	Clues Episode 0118	Kermit talks about clues. He shows that a boy has grown some carrots because he has a hoe, a watering can, and a bunch of carrots. Next, he confirms that a man has built a birdhouse because of his wood, paint, and carpenter's tools. When he notices Beautiful Day Monster with a suitcase and an umbrella, Kermit assumes that the monster is going on a trip. The monster corrects him; he's planning to eat his umbrella, and uses the suitcase to carry the ketchup he'll use to eat it with.
	Ernie eats Bert's cake Episode 0119	Ernie eats the chocolate cake that Bert was planning on eating. Bert sees some icing on Ernie's mouth, a bib around his neck, and a fork and knife in Ernie's hand, and Ernie tells Bert that a monster came in, ate Bert's cake, and put the evidence on Ernie. Bert doesn't believe Ernie's lie and gets another piece of cake, but when he leaves the room, Beautiful Day Monster comes in and does exactly what Ernie told Bert happened to the first cake, but when Bert comes back and sees the other cake eaten and Ernie says that the monster ate it, Bert doesn't believe him.

Book appearances

• The Muppet Show Book
• The Muppet Show Comic Book issue #3 - Gonzo's Story (Cover A)
• Muppet Snow White
• The Muppets Character Encyclopedia

See also

• Sesame Street monsters