PERFORMER | Brian Muehl 1980-1984 |
Pam Arciero 1984-present | |
DEBUT | 1980 |

Oscar and Grundgetta with Slimey at Oscar's trash can.

Grundgetta and Sally Ride.

Grundgetta gets all dolled up to act nice as a way to make Oscar angry on his birthday in Episode 2952.

Grundgetta in a 2013 appearance with Herry Monster and Rosita at a benefit concert in Waterbury, CT.

Grundgetta's performers, Brian Muehl and Pam Arciero.

1993 plush doll by Applause
Grundgetta is Oscar's Grouch girlfriend on Sesame Street. Her first appearance was in Season 11 (Episode 1400). Oscar occasionally calls her Grungie, while she generally calls him Oskie. She and Oscar, in addition to being a "couple", are also best friends.
Like Oscar, Grundgetta has had a number of pets over the years, including her worm Sylvia, a rottendoodle named Itchy and a muddy piglet who won the Yucchiest Pet contest in Oscar's Grouch Jamboree.
In a 2010 video released on Sesame Family Robinson, Pam Arciero performed Grundgetta, who commented that she was nervous since she hadn't been on camera in months (referencing her absence from the show). Although Grundgetta appeared primarily in the 1980s and 1990s, she has continued to make sporadic appearances; including Episode 4828, 5022, and some online videos, such as the show's "Mannequin Challenge" video and the "Real Grouches of Sesame Street" webseries. She also appeared at the street-naming event on May 1st, 2019.
Performer
Brian Muehl's last aired appearance as Grundgetta was Episode 1958 in a scene at the Fix-It Shop. The role was assumed by Pam Arciero the following season who made her debut in Episode 2013 singing "Knock Three Times".
Name
The spelling of the character's name has varied over the years, alternating between "Grundgetta" and "Grungetta."
The spelling "Grundgetta" appears in the storybooks, including Oscar's Grouch Jamboree, the albums Oscar's Trashy Songs and Let's Be Friends, and the Applause plush doll. Current Sesame Workshop press kits list the character as "Grundgetta," as does an internal CTW document from 1994. As of January 18, 2008, typing "Grundgetta" in the search engine on the Sesame Street Video Player gives results, while typing "Grungetta" doesn't show any results. However, results can be found for either spelling at sesamestreet.org.
However, the Sesame Street Unpaved book, the "Sesame Street 35 Years Anniversary Game" and the book Elmo's Delicious Christmas refer to the character as "Grungetta." A Sesame Workshop press kit from 1984 uses "Grungetta," as do the Sesame Family Newsletters from the early 2000s. For more on this question, see the talk page.
Filmography
- Sesame Street (1980-present)
- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
- Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985)
- I'm Glad I'm Me (1986)
- The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years (1986)
- Sesame Street, Special (1988)
- Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting (1989)
- The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
- Learning to Share (1996)
- Elmo Saves Christmas (1996)
- Quiet Time (1997)
- A is for Asthma (1998)
- Language to Literacy (2000)
- Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2019)
Book appearances
- Welcome Home, Big Bird (1985)
- Big Bird's Square Meal (1988)
- A Grouch's Christmas (1990) (mentioned)
- What's in Oscar's Trash Can? and Other Good-Night Stories (1991)
- 1-2-3 (1991)
- Sesame Street 123 (1991)
- From Trash to Treasure (1993)
- Around the Corner on Sesame Street (1994)
- Oscar's Grouch Jamboree (1994)
- Elmo Loves You (1997)
- Fun with Friends (2004)
- Abby Cadabby's Rhyme Time (2007)
- Friendly, Frosty Monsters (2007)
- What Makes You Giggle? (2007)
- Storybook ABCs (2008)
Audio appearances
- Sesame Road (1993)
- Oscar's Trashy Songs (1997)