PERFORMER | Joey Mazzarino |
DEBUT | 1993 |
PATTERN | Fat Blue Live Hand |
The Tooth Fairy is a mythical figure who leaves money for young children in exchange for their outgrown teeth. A Muppet version has appeared on Sesame Street a few times as a sort of "greaser"-type tough guy from the 1950s.
The Tooth Fairy meets Maria in Episode 3060, and proves who he is by showing how much he knows about Maria -- she used to live on the Grand Concourse of the Bronx, and he would leave a nickel under her pillow whenever she lost a baby tooth. Right now, he has a problem: he doesn't know which of his two unmarked bags is full of teeth, and which one is full of money. He's not willing to look inside them, so Maria suggests that he shake them to see which bag is which. She remarks to the viewer, "This is a very unusual street."
Later in the episode, the Tooth Fairy is distressed because he's just been "ambushed" by a grinning bunch, which means to him that his money will soon be gone; he'll be "cleaned out" by said gang tonight. Maria offers to call the police, but he says it won't work. Suddenly, he spots "them" - the gang he mentioned, which consists of kids with missing teeth! "A very unusual street!" exclaims Maria.
He would reappear in the Season 26 premiere (with a slightly different voice) when he loses his book of children's names (those who had lost teeth) while flying over Sesame Street. Big Bird finds it and returns the book to its owner.
At Sesame Street: The Evolution of a Revolution, Mazzarino cited the character as a sign that he had "made it" on the show, as Jon Stone, writer of Episode 3060, specifically named Mazzarino as the character's performer in the script.
More Tooth Fairies[]
- In episode 405 of The Muppet Show, Bobby Benson is arrested, he claims, for losing a lawsuit against the Tooth Fairy.
- The Toothpaste Fairy had previously appeared on Sesame Street in Episode 2980.
- A different version of the Tooth Fairy (named Maxine) appeared in "Kermit's Christmas Diary," a story published in Jim Henson's Muppets Annual 1982. In that story, the Fairy is a member of POPCORNS (a club for "People Other People Consider to be Other than Real Normal Specimens"), along with Kermit the Frog and Santa Claus.
- In the Muppet Babies episode "Dental Hyjinks," Baby Gonzo plays the Tooth Fairy when Baby Fozzie fears he'll lose a tooth.
- An animated version of the Tooth Fairy appears in "Elmo's World: Teeth".
- In a segment of Put Down the Pacifier, Elmo says he put his "binkie" under the pillow, and received a present from "The Binkie Fairy." (YouTube)
- In the Muppet Babies episode "Tooth and Consequences," Rizzo plays the Tooth Fairy when Animal loses a tooth.