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ButchTiger-Old
PERFORMER various
DEBUT 1979
DESIGN Ed Christie designer/builder
SesameTiger

The tiger's modern Sesame Street appearance.

Butch is a Bengal tiger who made various appearances on Sesame Street. He was the first Muppet designed and built by Ed Christie, and originally appeared as a saber-toothed tiger (performed by Brian Muehl) in the "Toothbrush" sketch of the Caveman Days series.[1] The puppet was also used on The Muppet Show, starting in season 4.

The tiger was named onscreen in episode 416 (performed by Jim Henson), when he teamed up with a lion as "Butch and Sundance," running away from an animal training act.

Like his early Sesame appearances, he was also used as a saber-toothed tiger on The Muppet Show, in episodes 513 and 516.

Butch was later seen as an audience member on Muppets Tonight. He was later reworked as Mrs. Tiger for Mopatop's Shop.

A modified version of the puppet appeared as Tungar the Tiger on Panwapa, and has continued to be used on Sesame Street (performed on several occasions by Matt Vogel, including Episode 4102).

Before Vogel became the tiger's regular performer, the puppet was performed on Sesame Street by Michael Earl, Jerry Nelson, Martin P. Robinson, Jim Martin, Kevin Clash, and John Kennedy.

Filmography[]

Sources[]

  1. The Barretta Brothers: Episode #7, with Ed Christie, July 11, 2020 (YouTube) (1:22:50)
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