Did you ever notice this about Marty's Telly and Snuffy

[SesameStreetFan]

As a lot of you know, when Jerry Nelson quit performing Snuffleupagus due to Back Problems in 1980, Marty Robbinson took over for him. When Brian Meehl left the show in 1984, he also took over the role of Telly. Now you'll notice when he first began performing these 2 charachters he did the voices exactly like Jerry and Brian did, and you really couldn't tell the difference all that much. Over the years the voices gradually changed until he ended up using a totally different voice for both Telly and Snuffy. He also seemed to give them new personalities as well. Why do you think this is?

 

[BEAR]

I wouldn't say their personalities have totally changed. They are still the same characters, they've just grown and developed. Other characters have gone through similar evolution with the one performer, such as Gonzo and The Count. I will agree with you about the voice. If you put the two voices together, it is quite a change.

 

[minor muppetz]

I've noticed that for the first 2-3 years that Martin Robinson took over as Telly, he imitated Brian Meehles Telly voice before changing it, but I never noticed any change in Martin Robinsons Snuffy voice. All performance of Robinsona s Snuffy that I've heard have sounded the same. The earliest thing that I've seen where Robinson performed Snuffy was 1983's Don't Eat the Pictures special, made three or four years after Robinson took over, so I don't know if his voice for Snuffy changed before this, but Jerry Nelson's Snuffy doesn't really sound that different from how it currently sounds.

 

[BEAR]

Jerry's and Marty's Snuffy voices are definitely different. Jerry's was a bit more nasally while Martin's voice for the current Snuffy is deeper and has more of a gravelly gruffness to it (much like Telly's current voice.)

 

[SesameStreetFan]

The earliest skit Iv'e ever seen with Marty's Snuffy is in the Season Finale from 1980-1981 Season. He sounded almost identical to Jerry's Snuffy. I couldn't believe it was Marty. Even if you listen real closely, you can still barely tell it's a different voice. Snuffy continued to sound that way for the next few years or so. Then gradually his voice changed into the way it sounds today. Even in the episode when all the adults meet Snuffy for the first time, the voice is still a little bit different, and has a little bit of the "Jerry Style" to it. I think by the time the 20th Season started, Snuffy started sounding like he does today, and had that more energetic, more hyper way about him. It's funny how Marty's change with Snuffy was so gradual. Instead of changing the charachter all at once from the start.

 

[minor muppetz]

The earliest skit Iv'e ever seen with Marty's Snuffy is in the Season Finale from 1980-1981 Season. He sounded almost identical to Jerry's Snuffy. I couldn't believe it was Marty. Even if you listen real closely, you can still barely tell it's a different voice. Snuffy continued to sound that way for the next few years or so. Then gradually his voice changed into the way it sounds today. Even in the episode when all the adults meet Snuffy for the first time, the voice is still a little bit different, and has a little bit of the "Jerry Style" to it. I think by the time the 20th Season started, Snuffy started sounding like he does today, and had that more energetic, more hyper way about him. It's funny how Marty's change with Snuffy was so gradual. Instead of changing the charachter all at once from the start.

Oh. I've never noticed Martin Robinsons version of the voice changing much. Of course, I don't have as many references for his Snuffy voice in the 1980s as I do from the 1990s, but I think that his Snuffy voice in Follow That Bird sounds like it does now. I think that Snuffy still sounds a bit like a Jerry Nelson character, mainly when he is singing. Oddly enough, it wasn't untill after I leanred that Brian Meuhl originally performed Telly that I noticed that Telly sounded very different in Follow That Bird and Bedtime Stories and Songs (Though I did notice the voice difference in Don't Eat the Pictures).

 

[BEAR]

more hyper way about him.

Haha! I don't think Snuffy has ever been "hyper" but I get what you mean.

 

[SesameStreetFan]

Oddly enough, it wasn't untill after I leanred that Brian Meuhl originally performed Telly that I noticed that Telly sounded very different in Follow That Bird and Bedtime Stories and Songs (Though I did notice the voice difference in Don't Eat the Pictures).

Actually, in Follow that Bird, Marty Robinson was already performing Telly. He had just started performing him at the time, considering the movie was taped in (late) 1984. On the CD Bedtime Stories and Songs, Marty is performing Telly there too, because that song he sings "Afraid of the Dark" is from 1987.

 

[minor muppetz]

Actually, in Follow that Bird, Marty Robinson was already performing Telly. He had just started performing him at the time, considering the movie was taped in (late) 1984. On the CD Bedtime Stories and Songs, Marty is performing Telly there too, because that song he sings "Afraid of the Dark" is from 1987.

I knew that Martin Robinson performed Telly in those productions. I meant that I didn't notice that Martin Robinson used a different voice for Telly in either untill a few years after I learned that somebody else performed Telly (in fact, I first leanred that Martin Robinson performed Telly and Snuffy by reading the credits for Follow That Bird). Was there really a CD titled Bedtime Stories and Songs? I was referring to the video from 1986 (which was later re-released as Sleepytime Songs and Stories). Afraid of the Dark is not on the video, though.

 

[SesameStreetFan]

Actually it was called Dreamytime Songs and it was a Sony Wonder CD, released in 1996 or so.