Oscar walking with his trash can

Instances of Oscar the Grouch being mobile in his trash can, with his legs coming from the bottom. This was often done by Hervé Villechaize in the early years, with the daily children of the show filling in later.

Outside of the show, this practice has also been utilized in several illustrations, theme park attractions and Sesame Street Live. Most notably, it inspired the opening dance sequence of Julie on Sesame Street, where Julie Andrews dances with several trash cans with Grouch legs coming from the bottom.

Episode 0276
(1971)

Episode 0308
(1971)

Episode 0325
(1972)

Episode 0358
(1972)

Julie on Sesame Street
(1973)

Episode 1090
(1978)

Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
(1978)

"Jogging"
(1979)

Episode 1298
(1979)

Episode 1316
(1979)

Episode 1318
(1979)

Episode 1321
(1979)

Episode 1370
(1980)

Episode 1615
(1982)

Episode 1658
(1982)

Episode 1722
(1982)

Don't Eat the Pictures
(1983)

Episode 2009
(1985)

Scene with Danny DeVito
(First: Episode 2156)

Episode 2541
(1989)

Episode 2690
(1990)

Episode 2885
(1991)

"Sesame Street Theme"
(1992 - 1998)

Episode 3266
(1994)

Elmo's World: Dancing
(1998)

The Not-Too-Late Show episode 101
(2020)

The Not-Too-Late Show episode 107
(2020)

Other

Wind-up toy
(Knickerbocker, 1979)

Oscar's Trash Race
Atari game

Wind-up toy
(Illco, 1988)

Lunchbox
(Sony Creative Products Japan, 1990s)

Sesame Street Backpack Buddies
(Gund, 2003)

Honorable mentions

Oscar running away while in a Snuffleupagus costume in Episode 2042

• Oscar is seen taking a morning stroll with his trash can in A Special Sesame Street Christmas, but his feet and legs are not shown on-screen.

• Oscar walks around in Episode 1329 without his trash can; camera angles cut between his upper body and his feet walking, but never in a full body shot.

• An armatured Oscar puppet skates around the street in his can, propelled by David, in Episode 1830.

• The same basic trick is employed in Episode 2042 when Oscar runs away inside the Snuffleupagus costume he and Grundgetta wear, with Oscar's legs seen in the bottom.