Placido Flamingo

PERFORMER	Richard Hunt
DEBUT	1986
DESIGN	Richard Termine designer & builder

Placido Flamingo and his namesake, Plácido Domingo, in Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting.

Richard Hunt with the Placidos.

Placido Flamingo's "cameo" in Episode 4195.

Placido Flamingo is an operatic flamingo from Sesame Street whose performances at the Nestropolitan Opera are seen in the "Live from the Nest" series. He is based on the famous tenor, Plácido Domingo. Placido is proud of his talents and not averse to the sound of his own voice. The character was first introduced in Episode 2134 from Season 17, and helped to introduce classical music into the series. The character was created by writer Mark Saltzman who wrote the character's first three appearances.

Following Hunt's death in 1992, the character was retired, but continued to appear in re-used segments through 1998. He also made a background appearance in the 1996 Lowes Theater Policy trailer.

Placido Flamingo is still frequently cited in articles about opera appreciation, as an effective and influential early introduction to opera, ranking with the Bugs Bunny short What's Opera Doc? (1957).

Sketches

• "The Bathtub of Seville"
• "The Bugs in Your Neighborhood"
• "The Dentist of Seville"
• "Italian Street Song": Boston Symphony Orchestra conductor Seiji Ozawa leads a symphony of animals, and soloist Placido Flamingo, in the "Italian Street Song" from Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta (about a princess who trades places with her maid in order to avoid an arranged marriage).
• "Madame Grouchy-fly" from Episode 2326
• "Look Through the Window" with Placido Domingo in Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting.
• "Lost Toy Opera"
• "Naughty Door Opera"
• "Papageno" from Episode 2326
• "Peligro"
• "The Perfect Thing"
• "The Spider's Feelings": An operatic retelling of "The Eency Weency Spider."
• "The Telephone of Brazil"
• "Two Owls and One Pink Flamingo Blues" with Hoots the Owl and Athena
• "Up and Down Opera" with Ernie
• "Music Can Have Feelings"

Book appearances

• Who's Who on Sesame Street (1989, 1994, and 1999 editions)
• Big Bird Presents the Nutcracker (1990)
• Grover's Overtures (1991)
• What Do You Do? (1992 edition)