Changes: Louie

PERFORMER	Bill Barretta 2006-2010
	Tyler Bunch 2007-present
DEBUT	2006

Revision as of 23:03, 19 June 2020

Character — Louie fashioned a mustache when Elmo was a baby in the *Sesame Beginnings* series of videos.

Elmo dad450 — Louie sans-mustache and Elmo, in *Talk Listen Connect*.

Mae and Louie — Louie and his wife, Mae.

Father's Day Louie — Elmo making a Father's Day present for Louie.

Louie is a loving caregiver to his son, Elmo, and husband to Mae. While Elmo had been a major character on Sesame Street for twenty years, his parents were never seen on the show until 2006.

Louie first appeared on-screen in the Sesame Beginnings direct-to-video series, as a stay-at-home dad and the primary caregiver to his infant son. (Sesame Beginnings takes place in a fictional "past" when the characters were babies, which we can assume in Elmo's case is about three years earlier than the Sesame Street "present".) Louie plays the saxophone, and fills Baby Elmo's daily routine with rhythm. He organizes a baby band with Elmo's play group.

Flash-forward to the present for Sesame Workshop's direct-to-video special for military families, Talk, Listen, Connect. In this 2006 special, Louie has joined the military, and is deployed far away. The special doesn't explicitly state that Louie is in the military; instead, it's explained that Louie is away "working" and "helping people". Elmo's mom Mae helps Elmo to understand why his father is away, and uses a daily routine to help Elmo cope with the separation.

Louie's appearance was changed after the initial Sesame Beginnings releases, starting with Talk, Listen, Connect and continuing in the later Beginnings DVDs (such as Exploring Together). Louie's new look included a different hair style, facial hair changes (a goatee rather than a mustache), and a new wardrobe. However the older, mustached, Louie design was seen in Elmo's Potty Time.

While originally limited to these video and outreach projects, Louie began making recurring appearances on Sesame Street itself starting in season 47.

Louie is seen internationally in the Indian-produced series I Heart Elmo (2018).

Performer history

Louie is the only major Sesame Street character to have been performed by Bill Barretta. Barretta played the character from his first appearances in 2006 through the direct-to-video special When Families Grieve in 2010. During Barretta's tenure, Tyler Bunch performed Louie in the videos Learning is Everywhere and Bedtime with Elmo. Bunch assumed the role full-time starting with 2011's Elmo's Travel Songs and Games.

Appearances

Sesame Beginnings: Beginning Together (2006)
Sesame Beginnings: Make Music Together (2006)
Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments (2006)
Elmo's Potty Time (2006)
Sesame Beginnings: Exploring Together (2006)
Sesame Beginnings: Moving Together (2007)
Learning is Everywhere (2007)
Talk, Listen, Connect: Homecomings (2008)
Talk, Listen, Connect: Changes (2008)
Bedtime with Elmo (2009)
Sesamestreet.org "Daddy Day" welcome video (week of June 21, 2009)
Families Stand Together (2009)
When Families Grieve (2010)
Elmo's Travel Songs and Games (2011)
Little Children, Big Challenges (2013)
Here for Each Other (2014)
Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas (2016)
Sesame Street
- Episode 4160 (2007, "Elmo's Riding" song)
- Episode 4705 (2017)
- Episode 4809 (2018)
- Episode 4913 (2019)
- Episode 4920 (2019)
- Episode 5013 (2020)
Chrysler web videos
- "Happy Halloween? Count on It!"
- "On the Go Game Show: I Spy"
I Heart Elmo (2018)
Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2019)
Caring for Each Other videos (2020)
- "A Moment to Yourself"
Elmo's Playdate (2020)
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo (2020)
Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism (2020)

Book appearances

Old design

New design

Fun with Friends (2004)
Elmo's Easy As ABC (2005)
Red or Blue, I Like You! (2005)
Be a Friend (2006)
Elmo & Friends Picture Stories (2007)
Elmo 'n' Daddy (2007)
Elmo's Favorite Places (2007)
Have Yourself a Furry Little Christmas (2007)
What Makes You Giggle? (2007)
I'm a Helper (2007)
Let's Help the Earth (2008)
What Makes Elmo Happy? (2008)
What's the Word on the Street? (2008)
Love, Elmo (2009)
Out & About (2010)
Imagine with Elmo (2011)
Simple Science Experiments with Elmo and Friends: Water and Earth (2012)
Elmo's Daddy (2013)
I Love You Just Like This! (2015)
Elmo's Merry Christmas - Oscar's Grouchy Christmas (2016)
Love from Sesame Street (2018)

Alternate incarnations

LouieOldDesignSleepTight — *Sleep Tight!*

Books

Elmo's dad had been seen in a number of books, and like Grover's Mommy, his appearance varied widely according to the artist. In such titles as Elmo Gets Homesick and When Is My Birthday?, Elmo's dad resembles an adult version of Elmo. However, in the more recent illustrations and books, the character holds true to the current Louie, as seen in Sesame Beginnings.

Elmo's World

The first incarnation of Elmo's dad to be seen on television was in the "Birthdays" episode of "Elmo's World," in which Dorothy imagines Elmo on the day of his birth in a dream sequence. As with all such "Elmo's World" sequences, all of the characters are seen from Dorothy's point of view -- that is, as an altered version of Elmo. In this incarnation, Elmo's parents look just like Elmo and are referred to as George and Gladys (named after the parents of Elmo's puppeteer Kevin Clash).

External links

NPR: "Elmo's Dad Ships Out for Duty on Sesame Street"

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 '''Louie''' is a loving caregiver to his son, [[Elmo]], and husband to [[Mae]]. While Elmo had been a major character on ''[[Sesame Street]]'' for twenty years, his parents were never seen on the show until 2006.
+{{TOClimit}}
 Louie first appeared on-screen in the ''[[Sesame Beginnings]]'' direct-to-video series, as a stay-at-home dad and the primary caregiver to [[Baby Elmo|his infant son]]. (''Sesame Beginnings'' takes place in a fictional "past" when the characters were babies, which we can assume in Elmo's case is about three years earlier than the ''Sesame Street'' "present".) Louie plays the saxophone, and fills Baby Elmo's daily routine with rhythm. He organizes a baby band with Elmo's play group.
 Flash-forward to the present for [[Sesame Workshop|Sesame Workshop's]] direct-to-video special for military families, ''[[Talk, Listen, Connect]]''. In this 2006 special, Louie has joined the military, and is deployed far away. The special doesn't explicitly state that Louie is in the military; instead, it's explained that Louie is away "working" and "helping people". Elmo's mom [[Mae]] helps Elmo to understand why his father is away, and uses a daily routine to help Elmo cope with the separation.
-Louie's appearance was changed after the initial ''Sesame Beginnings'' releases, starting with ''Talk, Listen, Connect'' and continuing in the later ''Beginnings'' DVDs (such as [[Exploring Together]]). Louie's new look included a different hair style, different facial hair (a goatee rather than a mustache), and a new wardrobe. However the older, mustached, Louie design was seen in [[Elmo's Potty Time]].
+Louie's appearance was changed after the initial ''Sesame Beginnings'' releases, starting with ''Talk, Listen, Connect'' and continuing in the later ''Beginnings'' DVDs (such as ''[[Exploring Together]]''). Louie's new look included a different hair style, facial hair changes (a goatee rather than a mustache), and a new wardrobe. However the older, mustached, Louie design was seen in ''[[Elmo's Potty Time]]''.
+While originally limited to these video and outreach projects, Louie began making recurring appearances on ''Sesame Street'' itself starting in [[Season 47 (2017)|season 47]].
+Louie is seen internationally in the Indian-produced series ''[[I Heart Elmo]]'' (2018).
+==Performer history==
+Louie is the only major ''Sesame Street'' character to have been performed by [[Bill Barretta]]. Barretta played the character from his first appearances in 2006 through the direct-to-video special ''[[When Families Grieve]]'' in 2010. During Barretta's tenure, [[Tyler Bunch]] performed Louie in the videos ''[[Learning is Everywhere]]'' and ''[[Bedtime with Elmo]]''. Bunch assumed the role full-time starting with 2011's ''[[Elmo's Travel Songs and Games]]''.
 ==Appearances==
@@ Line 32: / Line 39: @@
 * ''[[Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas]]'' (2016)
 * ''[[Sesame Street]]''
+**[[Episode 4160]] (2007, "[[Elmo's Riding]]" song)
 **[[Episode 4705]] (2017)
 **[[Episode 4809]] (2018)
+**[[Episode 4913]] (2019)
+**[[Episode 4920]] (2019)
+**[[Episode 5013]] (2020)
+* [[Chrysler]] web videos
+** "Happy Halloween? Count on It!"
+** "On the Go Game Show: I Spy"
+* ''[[I Heart Elmo]]'' (2018)
+* ''[[Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration]]'' (2019)
+* [[Caring for Each Other]] videos (2020)
+** "A Moment to Yourself"
+* ''[[Elmo's Playdate]]'' (2020)
+* ''[[The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo]]'' (2020)
+* ''[[Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism]]'' (2020)
 ==Book appearances==
@@ Line 66: / Line 87: @@
 * ''[[I Love You Just Like This!]]'' (2015)
 * ''[[Elmo's Merry Christmas - Oscar's Grouchy Christmas]]'' (2016)
+* ''[[Love from Sesame Street]]'' (2018)
 ==Alternate incarnations==
@@ Line 75: / Line 97: @@
 [[Image:Character.elmo's-imaginary-.jpg|thumb|200px|The way Elmo's parents look [[Tickle Me Land|in the mind of a goldfish]].]]
 The first incarnation of Elmo's dad to be seen on television was in the "[[Elmo's World: Birthdays|Birthdays]]" episode of "[[Elmo's World]]," in which [[Dorothy]] imagines Elmo on the day of his birth in a dream sequence. As with all such "Elmo's World" sequences, all of the characters are seen from Dorothy's point of view -- that is, as an [[Elmo Variants|altered version of Elmo]]. In this incarnation, Elmo's parents look just like Elmo and are referred to as George and Gladys (named after the parents of Elmo's puppeteer [[Kevin Clash]]).
-==Trivia==
-*Louie Monster is the first, and only, major character in the ''[[Sesame Street]]'' universe performed by Muppeteer [[Bill Barretta]].
-* Louie was performed by [[Tyler Bunch]] in ''[[Learning is Everywhere]]'' and ''[[Bedtime with Elmo]]'' before he became Louie's permanent performer starting with ''[[Elmo's Travel Songs and Games]]''. Barretta's last performance as Louie was in ''[[When Families Grieve]]''.
 ==See also==

Muppet Wiki