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Revision as of 08:15, 23 September 2018
PERFORMER | Frank Oz |
DEBUT | 1971 |
PATTERN | Large Lavender Live Hand |
Harvey Kneeslapper is Sesame Streetโs mad practical joker, always pulling pranks on others, punctuated with his hysterical laugh. He was the first character created by Norman Stiles.[1]
Usually, his pranks involved either letters or numbers, which he would slap onto his victims, many of whom were made from Fat Blue Anything Muppets (one of these was a look-alike, and sound-alike, of Mr. Johnson). In most of his skits, his pranks succeeded, much to the annoyance of his dupes.
However, on rare occasions, Harvey's pranks backfired on him. Such instances usually occurred in skits where he explained his prank in advance to the audience.
Eventually, his raucous laugh became too hard on Frank Oz's throat and Harvey, who was always considered a one-joke character, was dropped from the show.[2] Oz later recalled that initially the character was "a funny idea, and then I realized, first of all, it's exhausting. And second of all, it's not that funny. He's one of the dead Muppets."[3] Even after Harvey stopped appearing in new material, his existing segments continued to be used in new episodes up until Season 32.
Harvey later made a cameo appearance in Episode 4209 (performed by Matt Vogel), where he slaps a "7" on Wolfgangโs beach ball. He also cameoed in the Letters CD-ROM game, pretending to be a shark in Ernie's tub.
Sketches
Picture | Summary / EKA | Description | |
---|---|---|---|
Do You Want Me To Keep An I On Your Hat? Episode 0288 |
Harvey asks a man, "Do you want me to keep an eye on your hat?" The man says yes. Harvey then puts a letter I on top of the man's hat, crushing it in the process. | ||
Wanna C? Episode 0294 |
Harvey Kneeslapper looks inside a paper bag and laughs and asks his next victim, "Wanna see?" The man says yes, so Harvey slaps a letter C on him. | ||
Wanna see something funny? Episode 0343 |
In a park, Harvey comes up behind a man, asks him, "Wanna see something funny?" and then holds a mirror up. The man sees nothing funny... until he looks at Harvey!
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Away From Episode 0348 |
In his first appearance, salesman Harvey asks Tony if he gets attacked by monsters and run over by crowds. Herry Monster attacks him and a crowd walks all over him, so the answer is yes. Harvey has a simple solution for Tony: AWAY FROM! The next time those things happen to Tony, he can get AWAY FROM them. | ||
Do You Know Where I Wanna B? Episode 0303 |
Harvey asks a man, "Do you know where I wanna be?" The man doesn't know. Harvey says, "I wanna B here!" and then slaps a letter B onto the victim's chest. | ||
I'd Love 2 Episode 0417 |
Harvey is bouncing on a pogo stick. He asks a man if he'd like to try it and the man replies, "I'd love to!" Harvey then slaps a number 2 on the man's shirt.
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X Marks the Spot Episode 0560 |
Harvey says, "X marks the spot!". A man asks, "What spot?" Harvey slaps a spot and a letter X on the man. | ||
Confetti Episode 0592 |
Harvey sets up a bucket of confetti above a door, so that whoever pulls the rope attached to the bucket will get the confetti dumped on them. Instead, a little girl walks by and pulls the rope, so that the confetti lands on Harvey! Two variations of this sketch were made. | ||
โ |
OPEN the Door Episode 0597 |
Part 1: Harvey hangs an "OPEN" sign on a closet and has filled it with so many toys that when somebody opens it, all of the toys in the closet will fall on that person. A girl opens the closet, but none of the toys fall out. When Harvey opens it after she leaves, they fall all over him. Part 2: Harvey has refilled the closet. A boy tries to open it, but the door is stuck. When the boy has left, Harvey opens the closet and the toys fall on him again. | |
Picture of U Episode 0598 |
Harvey goes to a man and asks, "Do you mind if I take a picture of you?" The man gives him permission, but Harvey asks, "What's down there?" When the man looks down, Harvey slaps a letter U on top of the man's head, takes a picture of it and says "Thank U!" before he leaves. | ||
Robin Hood's Merry Men Episode 0729 |
Ernie, performing as Robin Hood, is interviewing some potential new "merry men". After the first two applicants turn out to be sad and angry, respectively, Ernie hires the third (Harvey) on the spot because he seems suitably merry... only to fire him just as quickly after he goes overboard rattling off one-liner jokes. | ||
News Flash: Man In Snowstorm Episode 0750 |
Part 1: Kermit has received a phone call telling him that there is someone who has been standing out in a terrible snow storm for a long time. Kermit asks everyone who passes by if they are that person, but everyone he asks has only been out in the snow for a short time. Kermit refuses to give up, however, and tells the audience to stay tuned. Part 2: Kermit, now shivering a little, is still looking for the person who's been standing out in the snow for a long time. He even asks Farley, who has been out for only a short time. Still no success yet.
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D On Episode 0892 |
Harvey approaches a man and says, "Knock, knock!" The man asks, "Who's there?". Harvey says, "Dion." The man asks, "Dion who?" Then Harvey slaps a letter D on the man's chest and says, "D on you!" | ||
Letter R Episode 0901 |
Harvey tells a mailman that he has a letter for his mother: the letter R! (Note: A similar practical joke was pulled in The Muppet Show episode 115, which also included the letter R and was pulled by another Frank Oz character, Fozzie Bear.) | ||
3 Sticks Episode 0938 |
Harvey is looking down and saying "Three sticks!" A man asks "Three sticks where?" Then Harvey says "3 sticks right here!" and sticks a number 3 on the man's head. | ||
Gimme 5 Episode 0991 |
Harvey explains to the audience that he is holding a joy buzzer in his hand and plans on asking somebody to give him five, shocking his next victim's hand. However, when he asks a victim to "Gimme five!", the other man slaps a number 5 on his shirt. | ||
Sticky 4 Episode 1210 |
Harvey Kneeslapper tells a man that "stickys" are really useful. The man asks, "What's a sticky for?". Then Harvey slaps a number 4 on the man's chest and says, "This is sticky and it's a four!". | ||
Do Ya Have an A on Ya? Episode 2477 |
Harvey asks a man if he has an A on him. The man doesn't, so Harvey slaps a letter A on him. | ||
Would You Like 1? Episode 2623 |
Harvey holds a cookie and asks his next victim if he wants one. He answers "Sure", and Harvey sticks a number 1 onto his shirt. |
Songs
Book appearances
- More Sesame Street Finger Puppets (1972)
- The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)
- Big Bird's Busy Book (1975)
- How to Be a Grouch (1976)
- Put & Play Magic Show (1981)
- The Sesame Street Treasury Volume 1 (1983)
Sources
- โ Muppets Gone Missing: Norman Stiles at GraphicPolicy.com
- โ Sesame Street Unpaved page 134
- โ ToughPigs.com "An Interview with Frank Oz, Part 1" by Joe Hennes and Ryan Roe, March 12, 2018