Richard Hunt's First Main SS Character

[ploobis]

I have always wondered who was Richard Hunt's first main Muppet character for Sesame Street?

I don't know if it was Gladys The Cow or Don Music?

 

[minor muppetz]

I think it was Sully.

 

[ploobis]

I think it was Sully.

Oh yeah, I forgot about Sully!

Maybe it was Sully, I'm not sure.

 

[minor muppetz]

The booklet for Songs from the Street cites 1973 as the year that Biff and Sully debuted. I've seen some websites that mention Don Music also debuting in that year, though I don't know where the date information comes from. I wonder if Don Music was a major character in his debut year, or if he made only one or two appearances (then again, I wonder how many appearances he was in. I only know of six newsflash segments, an American Revolution sketch, a game show, and a few street scenes).

I've also read that Gladys started out as a minor character. I think she might have debuted before Richard Hunt joined the cast, and I think she was performed by whoever was available at the time (in the Sesame Street News: Humpty Dumpty sketch, it sounds like she is performed by Frank Oz, but there she only makes regular cow and horse sounds).

 

[JLG]

I don't know about Richard Hunt's first main SS character, but I just wanted to say that, as an '80s kid, until I recently saw some '70s episodes for the first time, I had no idea some of the characters had been around as long as they have. Gladys, in her familiar form, has been around at least since 1975. And Little Chrissy dates from at least 1974, which really surprised me. For some reason I'd always assumed he was an '80s creation.

These two are not among the characters you typically see used in promotional stuff, featured on merchandise, and in all the storybooks and stuff, so it's somewhat surprising to realize that, despite their second-banana status, they've been there a very long time, faithfully toiling away in the background.

Regarding Hunt, if indeed Sully has been around since 1973, I would wager that he was Hunt's first important character.