Lefty the Salesman

[BooberFraggless]

do you know what year the last lefty segment was produced in? what it was? were there any new lefty segments made in the 1980s?

I'm almost positive Lefty was only around until the late 70's. Mabye 1978 or so. I think he was taking off the show for being seen as a negative influence. Which I can understand. But back then Sesame Street was showing kids the real world, and what the "real world" was all about. Now they make Sesame Street more like a made up colorful fantasy land. Just like all the other kids shows that are on today.

 

[Censored]

You know how Lefty always tried to scam Ernie? Like trying to sell him an "invisible" ice cream cone. Or an empty box (to catch jellybeans from the sky!). Or air from a bottle (Lefty could have at least thrown in the empty bottle too. Not like it's worth anything!). Or simply a number (8) or letter (O). Or a scale that always ends up on 2 pounds.
But with the picture of four elephants, do you think there was a scam invovled there? I know Ernie didn't see the elephants until Lefty points them out and therefore bought the picture hoping to see others, like Bert, get stumped also. And I know Bert identifies the elephants right away, to Ernie's dismay. But Bert could have failed to notice them. After all, the elephants in the tree were kind of disguised like leaves. So maybe this was one time Lefty was selling something that wasn't total junk. Unless the point of the skit was that despite the elephants being a little tricky to detect because of being shaped in a tree like leaves, most would be able to still quickly identify them as elephants. Whereas Ernie, being a little simpleminded (and thus the one always targeted by Lefty) didn't see the elephants.

As a kid, I interpreted that skit a little differently. I thought the elephants were literally outlined in white when they were shown to Ernie, and therefore were no longer hidden in the picture. The picture would then be a one-time trick that would never work again for anyone. I'm not sure if that's really how they intended it though.

 

[mikebennidict]

ah the glory days.

This thread makes me so nostalgic. I wish I could see some of these skecthes again.

If only Jim and Jerry were still around to carry the torch. It's a shame that the show went from something so groundbreaking and innovative to something so bland and generic. The social overtones are all but lost in this era, the humor subjected to the ugly hand of political correctness. And all at the cost of a brilliant educational children's series which reached out and spoke with kids on a mutual level, respecting their intelligence and youthful imagination and creativity. Now it's all but a kid's show, talking to kids, as though they were kids. With sappy characters, condescending dialogue. The wit and charm is all gone. I think these type of sketches were perfect because children got out of them the most important lessons which were the basis for these skits in foundation, while still opening their developing minds up to the world around them, albeit in a fantasticaly creative and imaginative way. Meanwhile, the adults appreciated these sketches on an entirely different level. It was such a brilliant forumla. The medley of visuals, song, colors, dialogue, humor, etc. This was a world only Jim could touch. I'd love to be able to find it again and relive these memories and moments from my childhood. Until I found this forum and began reading posts like these, they were all lost in obscurity.

Jerry Nelson is still around doind the muppets on SS though he isn't doing any other Muppet projects.

 

[bigbird]

I actually like the tip-toe sound effects that was used during the intros. One skit with Lefty had those tip-toe sounds and Ernie playing the harmonica in between. I think it that particular one was used just once. But it was used to good effects.

 

[Ziffel]

As a kid, I interpreted that skit a little differently. I thought the elephants were literally outlined in white when they were shown to Ernie, and therefore were no longer hidden in the picture. The picture would then be a one-time trick that would never work again for anyone. I'm not sure if that's really how they intended it though.

Very interesting thought. That just may be what the makers intended. I always thought the white outlining with the dings was done for the viewers at home so they could see clearly where the elephants were in case they still were as confused as Ernie. I didn't think it was Lefty doing it because he was just standing there and how could the lines and sound effects just happen on his verbal cue. But then again, that would mean Ernie didn't see the lines and hear the dings. And in that case it wouldn't have made too much sense for Lefty saying to Ernie, "As you will notice, there is one elephant, there's two elephants..." Ernie likely would have still said, "Wait a minute, you SAY there is one elephant, there is two elephants, but I still don't see any". So it's an interesting point to think about. To my best memory, which may be incorrect, I thought when Bert comes on the scene and looks at the picture the white outlines are NOT there anymore. But I'd have to see the skit again to be sure.

 

[Xerus]

Very interesting thought. That just may be what the makers intended. I always thought the white outlining with the dings was done for the viewers at home so they could see clearly where the elephants were in case they still were as confused as Ernie. I didn't think it was Lefty doing it because he was just standing there and how could the lines and sound effects just happen on his verbal cue. But then again, that would mean Ernie didn't see the lines and hear the dings. And in that case it wouldn't have made too much sense for Lefty saying to Ernie, "As you will notice, there is one elephant, there's two elephants..." Ernie likely would have still said, "Wait a minute, you SAY there is one elephant, there is two elephants, but I still don't see any". So it's an interesting point to think about. To my best memory, which may be incorrect, I thought when Bert comes on the scene and looks at the picture the white outlines are NOT there anymore. But I'd have to see the skit again to be sure.

That hidden elephants skit also reminds me of a cartoon similar to that. A pig was singing a song about, "Chickens in the trees", And he's sitting under a tree with green leaves that are shaped like 6 chickens. Then we see the chickens flash a yellow color for a quick instant showing where they all were. Until a rooster tells the pig that chickens don't live in trees. So the pig tells the chickens to get out of the tree. And they all jump out and run away.

 

[MartyMuppets]

It amazes me that Lefty's boss never gave him a bawling out for always allowing Ernie to out-scam him all the time.
He should have said, "Lefty don't be such an idiot. That kid is obviously no pushover. Stop trying to do business with him and find some better suckers."

 

[MuppetDude]

Not sure if anyone mentioned it yet, but does anyone remember the skit where Lefty revealed the letters of the alphabet under his coat? I've only seen it on a Fisher-Price video cartridge. It looked like it was from the second season (he still had his eyebrows).

 

[SesameStoner]

i remeber those segments but i cant seem to rember what lefty loked liek any1 got a pic

 

[MuppetDude]

From one of the best sites out there:

http://www.sesame-encyclopedia.com/Alphabet/SesameL/Lefty.html