Telly Monster

{{performer3 |Bob Payne|1979|Brian Muehl|1979-1984|Martin P. Robinson|1984-present}} [[Image:Telly-Triangle.jpg|right|316px]] [[Image:Telly-babybear.jpg|thumb|300px|Telly and his best friend Baby Bear.]] [[Image:Telly-eyes.jpg|thumb|300px|Telly, in his original, television-obsessed form.]] [[File:MeetingtheTellyMonster.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Mr. Hooper]] and [[David]] meet Telly, who made a packing crate with a hole in it his home. His habit of watching television just inches away from the set was perceived as a bad example to children.]] [[Image:TellyMonstersTubawithChicken.png|right|300px]] [[Image:SsTellyReporter.jpg|thumb|300px|Reporter Telly.]] [[Image:Ray-charles-telly.jpg|thumb|300px|Telly with Ray Charles, Elmo and the Kids.]] [[Image:Telly_profile.jpg|thumb|300px]] [[Image:Telly.png|right|300px]] '''Telly Monster''' is a slightly neurotic young monster who lives at [[1304 Sesame Street]]. Telly was initially conceived as a monster obsessed with watching television; his name is short for Television Monster. In his early appearances on ''[[Sesame Street]]'', Telly had antennas coming out of the top of his head, and his eyes would whirl around when he watched TV. A segment of his first appearance appears on the ''[[Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days]]'' DVD set. This one-note personality, along with the antennas and whirling eyes, was soon dropped, and Telly became the worrying, easily frustrated character he remains today (however, in the [[Talk, Listen, Connect]] episode [[Talk, Listen, Connect: Deployments|Deployments]], he is still shown to be an expert on TV and computers). Telly was originally performed by [[Bob Payne]] for his first few appearances, then by [[Brian Muehl]] who used a low, gruff-sounding voice. Muehl also developed Telly's worrywart personality, making Telly a character who always needed reassurance in order to be confident. When [[Marty Robinson]] took over in 1984, he originally began with the personality Muehl already established for the character, using a voice similar to Muehl’s Telly voice. However, Telly evolved over time, gaining a much stronger emotional range. “His main thing now is that he believes totally in whatever he’s into,” says Robinson “And he can turn on a dime and that doesn’t belie what he was feeling before. He can go from great joy to great sorrow and it’s all totally genuine.” <ref>''[[Street Gang]]'' page 245</ref> Telly being a [[Live-Hand Muppet]], Martin P. Robinson is assisted in performing him by [[Pam Arciero]]. Early on, Telly was often paired with [[Oscar the Grouch]], whom he often tries to befriend against tremendous odds. The two were traveling companions in ''[[Follow That Bird]]'', and Telly is a member of Oscar's fan club, [[the Grouchketeers]]. The two starred in two recurring sketches together: "[[Ask Oscar]]," which Telly introduced; and "[[Sneak Peek Previews]]." In recent years, Telly has often been seen in the company of his good friend [[Baby Bear]]. Telly has a great love of triangles, and owns a pet hamster named [[Chuckie Sue]]. Telly has a favorite toy doll which he named "[[Freddy]]." (When Telly was a baby monster, his favorite toy was a stuffed animal horse which he named "Clark" before he got "Freddy"). He also plays the bassoon, the tuba and, of course, the triangle. He also occasionally appears as a [[Monster on the Spot]] reporter. He also often jumps on a pogo stick, after [[Mr. Handford]] taught him how to in [[episode 3115|a 1993 episode]]. Modern versions of the Telly puppet have movable eyelids to let his eyes widen, a handy technique when the monster is in panic mode. There are also two Telly puppets that have been interchangeably used throughout the show. The more frequently used version is a "sack puppet", similar in design to [[Cookie Monster]] or [[Rowlf the Dog]], where the arm sleeves are directly attached to the base of the puppet. The second version is a full-body version of the character, with legs and feet attached. The puppet's arms are stuffed, with visible arm sleeves similar in design to the arms of [[Ernie]] or [[Fozzie Bear]]. For ''Sesame Street's'' [[Season 40 (2009-2010)|40th season]], [[Sesame Workshop]] featured a digital promotion called "Muppetbook", which featured profiles similar to those seen on [[Facebook]]. The profile listed squares, circles, and [[Woody Allen]] movies (too much anxiety) as Telly's pet peeves. Among his favorite songs are "[[I Whistle a Happy Tune]]," "[[Bobby McFerrin|Don't Worry, Be Happy]]," and "[[We Don't Cry Out Loud|Don't Cry Out Loud]]." ==Filmography== *''[[Sesame Street]]'' *''[[Big Bird in China]]'' *''[[Don't Eat the Pictures]]'' *''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]'' *''[[Follow That Bird]]'' *''[[The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years]]'' *''[[Learning About Letters]]'' *''[[Sleepytime Songs and Stories]]'' *''[[Sesame Street, Special]]'' *''[[Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting]]'' *''[[The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson]]'' *''[[Big Bird's Birthday or Let Me Eat Cake]]'' *''[[Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration]]'' *''[[Sesame Street's All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Streets Forever]]'' *''[[Sesame Street Stays Up Late]]'' *''[[We All Sing Together]]'' *''[[The Great Numbers Game]]'' *''[[Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic]]'' *''[[Elmopalooza]]'' *[[Peter and the Wolf|''Peter and the Wolf'']] *''[[The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland]]'' *''[[CinderElmo]]'' *''[[The Street We Live On]]'' *''[[Let's Make Music]]'' ==Book appearances== *''[[The Sesame Street Circus of Opposites]]'' (1981) *''[[Sesame Street coloring books|City]]'' (1982) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Bert's Big Band Paint-with-Water Book]]'' (1983 reprint) * ''[[People in Your Neighborhood (1983 book)|People in Your Neighborhood]]'' (1983) *''[[A Baby Sister for Herry]]'' (1984) *''[[Lovable, Furry Old Grover in Please Don't Push the Red Button]]'' (1984) *''[[A Silly Sesame Street Story: The Three Little Pigs]]'' (1984) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Big Bird's Book of Rhymes]]'' (1985) * ''[[Big Bird Joins the Carnival]]'' (1985) *''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Ernie's Finish the Picture]]'' (1985) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Follow That Bird Activity Book]]'' (1985) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Follow That Bird coloring book]]'' (1985) * ''[[Sign Language ABC]]'' (1985) * ''[[A Bird's Best Friend]]'' (1986) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Find the Shapes]]'' (1986) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Through the Year]]'' (1986) *''[[The Runaway Soup and Other Stories]]'' (1987) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Colors]]'' (1987) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Shape Up!]]'' (1987) *''[[Big Bird's Square Meal]]'' (1988) *''[[Going Places]]'' (1988) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|A New Playground on Sesame Street]]'' (1988) *''[[Oh, I Am So Embarrassed!]]'' (1988) * ''[[The Sesame Street ABC Book of Words]]'' (1988} * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Come As You Are]]'' (1989) *''[[The New Who's Who on Sesame Street]]'' (1989) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Museum of Monster Art]]'' (1990) *''[[How to Get to Sesame Street]]'' (1991) * ''[[Sesame Street 123]]'' (1991) *''[[We're Counting on You, Grover!]]'' (1991) *''[[What Do You Do?]]'' (1992 edition) *''[[Grover's 10 Terrific Ways to Help Our Wonderful World]]'' (1992) *''[[Happy and Sad, Grouchy and Glad]]'' (1992) *''[[We're Different, We're the Same]]'' (1992) * ''[[Elmo's Mother Goose]]'' (1993) *''[[From Trash to Treasure]]'' (1993) *''[[Around the Corner on Sesame Street]]'' (1994) *''[[Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book]]'' (1994) *''[[Sesame Street Stays Up Late (book)|Sesame Street Stays Up Late]]'' (1995) *''[[B is for Books!]]'' (1996) *''[[Elmo's Lift-and-Peek Around the Corner Book]]'' (1996) * ''[[Elmo's Christmas Colors]]'' (1997) *''[[Pumpkin Patch Party]]'' (1997) *''[[The Sesame Street Word Book]]'' (1998) *''[[Bright and Early with Elmo]]'' (1999) *''[[Watch Out for Banana Peels]]'' (2000) *''[[Elmo's ABC Book]]'' (2001) *''[[Clap Your Hands!]]'' (2002) * ''[[Look and Find Elmo]]'' (2002) *''[[Get Up and Go Songs]]'' (2003) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Elmo's World: Sports!]]'' (2004) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Fun with Friends]]'' (2004) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Boo!]]'' (2005) *''[[Hooray for Our Heroes!]]'' (2005) * ''[[Red or Blue, I Like You!]]'' (2005) * ''[[Sesame Street coloring books|Fly Away with Big Bird]]'' (2006) *''[[Sesame Street educational workbooks|Name Those Shapes]]'' (2006) * ''[[Friendly, Frosty Monsters]]'' (2007) * ''[[Good Night, Tucked in Tight]]'' (2007) *''[[Music Player Storybook]]'' (2007) *''[[Rosita's Easter on Sesame Street]]'' (2007) *''[[Sesame Street Super Sticker Book]]'' (2007) *''[[What Makes You Giggle?]]'' (2007) *''[[Color Carnival]]'' (2008) *''[[Storybook ABCs]]'' (2008) *''[[Count to 10]]'' (2009) *''[[Love, Elmo]]'' (2009) * ''[[Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood? (2009)|Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?]]'' (2009) *''[[Healthy Monster Triathlon]]'' (2010) *''[[Plant a Tree for Me!]]'' (2010) *''[[Potty Time for Monsters]]'' (2011) ==Character Merchandise== *[[Sesame Street Christmas ornaments (Grolier)|Groiler Christmas ornament]] *[[Sesame Street Beans|Beanbag toy]] ==Gallery== <gallery widths="200" bordersize="none" spacing="small" bordercolor="transparent" captionalign="left"> Image:Telly_Screaming-NEW.jpg Image:Telly-triangle-tumblrPicture.png Image:TexasTelly.png </gallery> ==Sources== <references /> ==See also== * [[Telly Songs]] * [[Telly's Alternate Identities]] * [[International Telly Monster]] * [[The Two-Headed Monster's Mother]] * [[Sesame Street Monsters]] ==External links== * [http://www.sesamestreet.org/muppet/-/journal_content/56_INSTANCE_MUPP/10171/Telly%20Monster Sesame Street: Telly Monster] and [http://www.sesamestreet.org/onair/characters/telly_monster Sesame Street: On Air: Telly Monster], official pages