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| PERFORMER | Bill Barretta 2006-2010 |
| Tyler Bunch 2007-present | |
| DEBUT | 2006 |
Louie fashioned a mustache when Elmo was a baby in the Sesame Beginnings series of videos.
Louie sans-mustache and Elmo, in Talk Listen Connect.
Louie and his wife, Mae.
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, 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.
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 4705 (2017)
- Episode 4809 (2018)
Book appearances
Old design
- When Is My Birthday? (1988)
- Elmo Gets Homesick (1990)
- Sleep Tight! (1991)
- Friends & Family Lace-Ups (1992)
- Zip! Pop! Hop! (1996)
- Elmo's Apartment (2001)
- Elmo's First Babysitter (2001)
New design
- Fun with Friends (2004)
- Elmo's Easy As ABC (2005)
- Red or Blue, I Like You! (2005)
- Elmo & Friends Picture Stories (2007)
- Elmo 'n' Daddy (2007)
- Elmo's Favorite Places (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)
Alternate incarnations
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 way Elmo's parents look in the mind of a goldfish.
The first incarnation of Elmo's dad to be seen on television was in the "Birthdays" episode of "Elmo's World," in which Dorothy imagined 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).
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
- Sesame Street Monsters
- Louis, an otter on Sesame Park