Grover

PERFORMER	Frank Oz 1970-2012
	Eric Jacobson 1998-present
DEBUT	1970
DESIGN	Jim Henson designer
	Don Sahlin builder

Grover sings "What Do I Do When I'm Alone?"

An early version of Grover.

"Faaaaaar!"

Grover's alter-ego, Super Grover.

Marshal Grover with Fred the Wonder Horse.

An old Grover puppet, which was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 2013.

Grover is a Sesame Street character who describes himself as a "cute, furry little monster". Grover rarely uses contractions when speaking, giving him a distinctive vocal pattern, in comparison to many other television characters. His character is multi-talented, taking on many different roles and professions throughout the series' run. He loves to help people, but is very bad at it.

Grover appears in several recurring Sesame Street segments, including Waiter Grover; Super Grover; and Global Grover. He also frequently appears in Monsterpiece Theater and the Spanish Word of the Day segments. He was one of the hosts of Play with Me Sesame, with his main roles being in interactive music sequences, as the self-proclaimed "moving and grooving monster".

Grover's 1971 storybook The Monster at the End of This Book was a best-seller for the Little Golden Books series, and remains a popular children's book today. Several sequels to the title have followed, and Grover has since been featured in dozens of books.

Origins

The character who would eventually become Grover was first seen on The Ed Sullivan Show in a Christmas Eve appearance in 1967. He appeared as Gleep, one of the monsters who plot to steal toys from Santa's workshop. He made early cameos in The Muppets On Puppets (1968) with the Rock and Roll Monster, and in Muppet Puppet Plays (1969). He also appeared in the Sesame Street Pitch Reel in the boardroom sequences, clad in a necktie.

During the first season of Sesame Street, this darker-furred monster made several appearances, like many of the puppets recycled from earlier productions. In Episode 0125, the character was named Grover. A 1970 appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show marked the first use of Grover's current design with blue fur and a pink nose. By Season 2 of Sesame Street, Grover's voice and personality began to change to what we know today. The green-furred puppet would be used again as Grover's mother in a sketch in which Grover is afraid of the dark, and has trouble sleeping.

See also Proto-Grover.

Grover & Kermit

For many years, because of the consistency with which they would appear in skits together, Grover and Kermit the Frog had been considered to be close friends, despite the annoyance of "Froggy Baby" (as Grover would call him, followed by a slap on the back). Grover often assisted Kermit in his lectures, often doing the more difficult demonstrations. Grover has also come to Kermit's home on many occasions, usually to provide a home service to Kermit (most frequently as a salesmonster). In 1998, Grover hosted a tribute show for Kermit in The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street, presenting him with an award for Frog of the Year. (Grover himself receives a tribute of his own in 2004's A Celebration of Me, Grover). As recently as a 2005 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Grover stated that his best friend on the Street is Kermit.

Personality

Grover, along with Elmo, is one of the more popular characters created during the show's run, partially for his silly manner of speaking, as well as his many imaginary adventures that children can easily identify with.

At a Museum of Television and Radio seminar in 1992, Frank Oz described his personal affection for the character:

“I like Grover because really, he's wiry. He's tough. He gets emotional. But also he tries very hard to help people, and do things right, to the extent that he doesn't use contractions in his words. If there's apostrophes in the script I get, I make the separation, because he doesn't say 'can't'. He says 'can not'... Grover came about organically. I worked on Cookie Monster, I worked on Bert. Grover just kind of happened. I guess that's why I like him.”

Although Grover typically speaks without using contractions, there are some exceptions, such as in certain song lyrics ("Accidents Happen" from the Elmo's Potty Time home video) and on Twitter.

Oz has also stated that certain aspects of Grover were inspired by his dog, Fred. One such trait is tilting his head to the side at certain times.

The Ubiquitous Grover

Grover has left his mark in Sesame Street history as an enduring character by way of his multi-faceted talents, and his self-professed "cute and lovable personality". With a songbook to rival that of any other character of his lasting presence, his performances have included "Near and Far"; "Over, Under, Around, and Through"; "How Do You Do?" with Lena Horne; "Sing After Me" with Madeline Kahn; and "Monster in the Mirror", amongst many others. His sweeter and sillier sides can often be seen in any number of improvised moments with kids.

• See Grover Sketches

Grover has also proven to be one of the most persistent characters over the years. No other resident of Sesame Street can lay claim to being (or at least trying to be) more helpful than Grover -- a feat he has achieved not only as an everyday character, but via a series of alternate personae. Clearly, his most heroic persona is none other than his superhero alter-ego, Super Grover. But even a superhero has his limits, and Grover has taken on more positions of employment than most people would dare to in their lifetime. His various jobs were highlighted in A Celebration of Me, Grover! during the "Grover Work Song".

In Families Stand Together, Grover forgets about all his various jobs. After being reminded of them by Chris, he realizes that he should be exhausted.

Casting history

Main Performers

• Frank Oz - 1970 to 1998 (and occasionally until 2012)
• Eric Jacobson - 1998 to present

Other Performers

• Jim Henson - "Near and Far" (First: Episode 0057)
• Caroll Spinney - Monsters Look at "A" (First: Episode 0083)

Notes

• Grover made a special appearance in episode 518 of The Muppet Show along with several other residents of Sesame Street.
• Since 2004, a newer, brighter Grover puppet has been used, starting around the time Eric Jacobson's performances of the character were increasing.
• Filmmaker John Landis performed Grover in the finale of The Muppet Movie.
• According to a Noggin "Nogginoid", Grover is written to represent the psychological age of a 4-year-old. In a Snapchat by the New York Times, Grover claims he's "older than a breadbox, but young enough to live at home with my mommy."
• According to the book Sesame Street Unpaved, Grover's favorite songs are "Monster in the Mirror" and "I Will Survive". However, in the special What's the Name of That Song?, he says that his favorite song is "What's the Name of That Song?"
• When Jim Henson painted his infamous dressing room pipes on The Jack Paar Show, he used a piece of the original green Grover's fur as "hair" for one of the faces on the pipes.
• Grover has said that bunny rabbits "have it out for me", at least when he takes on his superhero alter ego.
• Kevin Clash's favorite Sesame Street character is Grover, even during his childhood.
• He has a Key to the City of Bemidji, Minnesota. (YouTube)
• Joey Mazzarino played Grover for a Make-A-Wish video in 2006: (YouTube)
• In several scenes of CinderElmo, Grover was puppeteered by Kevin Clash and Steve Whitmire alternating while Frank Oz dubbed the voice. One of Clash's lines, "Yes, sir!", remained undubbed.

See also

• Grover Sketches
• Grover filmography
• Grover Through the Years
• Grover's Mommy
• Grover Books
• International Grover
• Sesame Street monsters

External links

• Tough Pigs: Troubled Waiter skit collection