ELMO on "Today" Show 9-6-05

[Marky]

I saw the interview, recorded it. So you're angry that he didn't merely mention that Elmo is a Muppet OR the name Jim Henson? Big deal! We know Elmo's "a Muppet," Kevin knows Elmo's "a Muppet," frickin' Matt Lauer knows that Elmo's "a Muppet," whether Disney/Sesame owns the name or not. Geez, I doubt Kermit mentions he's a Muppet every time he's interviewed.

As for the interview itself, it was a nice and short--just five minutes long--and he talked a little about his book, how he wanted to be in children's television, his daughter, and how Elmo came to be. He actually mentioned Richard Hunt, Kermit Love, and "Frank" during the interview, so I think he very well knows what organization he comes from.

As for Kevin himself, he could not have been any less "rude or unthoughtful," even throwing Elmo's voice in here and there. It's rare nowadays when you actually get to see a Muppet performer being interviewed on TV, and I enjoyed it.

Didn't hear the word "Muppet?" Well, buy his book, I'm sure it's gotta be in there somewhere.

Anyone who went to the muppet auditions last year will know that Mr. Clash isn't exactly Mr. Polite. Jeff Cornover was the only one who had a soul.

 

[wes]

Anyone who went to the muppet auditions last year will know that Mr. Clash isn't exactly Mr. Polite. Jeff Cornover was the only one who had a soul.

Marky i'm sorry you feel that way, I thought he was very polite. The man was just doing his job,at the auditions he had his game face on. I had the chance to speak with him were both leaving at the same time and he spoke to me. I though he was very polite he ask us If we were leaving to all the way back to Atlanta (we came from Atlanta to Toronto. We were some of the folks that traveled the farthest)He's probably a very busy guy, with a book he was writing and and auditions and Sesame Street.

He can't be Elmo all the time!

 

[MelissaY1]

Anyone who went to the muppet auditions last year will know that Mr. Clash isn't exactly Mr. Polite. Jeff Cornover was the only one who had a soul.

Why what exactly happened? If you can't go into details I understand but was he just being like the harsh strict "teacher" figure or was he being a *******?? There is a difference...I had a ***** of an art teacher in college and she used to pick on me (and many other students) constantly during class yet when we had our private reviews, or chats, she always said kind words to me and said I had lots of potential..

 

[Brinatello]

I recall catching the end of this segment on the Today show and was pleased there was a mention of Muppets at all. I say there was because of having both Kevin and Elmo on, it's considered a Muppet segment even if the word 'Muppet' was never used. The primary focus was on Kevin, Elmo and his book, not so much the whole empire of the Jim Henson company. And yeah, with interviews, they do cut them down and much of what was recorded doesn't get aired! I know this from experience.

 

[erniebert1234ss]

I have the utmost respect for Kevin Clash, and I also have RESPECT for the red demon. But I just thought of something when I was thinking about how Elmo's taken over. I initially thought, "Jim Henson would never approve of this", and then I remembered he actually DID approve Elmo. So he basically gave Elmo the license to print money, and he didn't get any hindsight like the rest of us did, which was too bad.

BTW, today would have been Jim's 74th birthday, which is why I mentioned Jim.

BJ

 

[MelissaY1]

I have the utmost respect for Kevin Clash, and I also have RESPECT for the red demon. But I just thought of something when I was thinking about how Elmo's taken over. I initially thought, "Jim Henson would never approve of this", and then I remembered he actually DID approve Elmo. So he basically gave Elmo the license to print money, and he didn't get any hindsight like the rest of us did, which was too bad.

BTW, today would have been Jim's 74th birthday, which is why I mentioned Jim.

BJ

To add to this, when I went to the recent book signing with Kevin Clash, he mentioned during his Q&A that Jim was so happy for Kevin that Elmo took off as a character for him even though Jim passed on before Elmo really became a massive success.

 

[Marky]

He can't be Elmo all the time!

Thank heavens for that. There were only four of us at my audition. Jeff was nice. Kevin was asleep at the wheel. The others were like "What we have in mind will ka-ching ka-ching ka-ching!"

I swear I saw dollar signs in their left eye with mouse-ears in their right.