Oscar's Trashman Bruno

[minor muppetz]

I always figured that there was a hole in the stomach of Bruno, but then I've been thinking, in the few times we've seen Bruno not carrying a trash can, he's wearing a red shirt, clearly without a hole, and they don't button up his jacket to hide any opening, and I've come to notice that even when he's carrying Oscar's can his red shirt can still be seen. I'm starting to wonder if maybe Carroll Spinney had to lift Bruno's shirt from underneath to perform Oscar.

I don't know what's done to pull the wire that moves Bruno's mouth, but I've noticed that at the end of Follow That Bird, Bruno's mouth is already open before he talks. In other scenes his mouth typically stays shut if he's not supposed to talk. I wonder if they tied the wire to Caroll's arm, perhaps since he did need to move his mouth then.

It seems a little odd in Follow That Bird when Bruno's seen in the crowd as the cars are driving away from Sesame Street. He's shown waving his hand, and his mouth is moving then, not sure why that was neccessary. But is the performer (I doubt Caroll performed him there, since he would have been performing Oscar in the sloppy jaloppy) moving Bruno's mouth by putting his hand in the mouth or by pulling the wire? I wouldn't be surprised if they attached the wire to his hand as it waves, though I can't see the wire there (there are clips where I can clearly see it and clips where I can't), but in that same scene his right arm is just not moving, as if he's being performed Big Bird-style.

Last october I found some street scenes with Bruno on youtube, and I'm not sure if they're still online. Can't remember what the number was, but it's a season 24 episode. Oscar gets chased by the word "love" (a foam spelling of the word with eyes and a mouth). There's two scenes where Bruno carries Oscar's can and runs from the word, as well as some scenes with Oscar at his usual trash can area (and out of the can). Anyway, in one scene, when "love" finds something it likes better than Oscar, Oscar is unhappy, because now the word can't make him angry. Bruno then whispers a suggestion to Oscar: check the dictionary for a yuckier word. But with the way Bruno whispered in Oscar's ear, he just moved his face torwards Oscar, his mouth doesn't move at all, and it looks as if he's trying to kiss Oscar (what a way to get fired).

 

[minor muppetz]

Recently I saw Bruno's appearance in the Here Comes the Puppets special. Watching this scene makes it clear that when he talks (when Caroll has his hands full with Oscar) Oscar just hides his hand down in the can to pull the wire.

Also, when watching that and the "Bring Your Own Can Night" clip, both from 1980, it seems like it took awhile for Caroll to give Bruno some movement beyond walking. In both of those appearances, Bruno seems to be a little stiff, though there is some reactions (making a somewhat confused double-take when Oscar pops out of the trashcan in Here Comes the Puppets, and happily nodding when Oscar asks Bruno for verification that he's Oscar the Grouch in the Bring Your Own Can Night clip). But in later appearances Bruno seems to express a bit more movement, moving his head around and nodding to what Oscar says.

I've mentioned that in some appearances it looks like Bruno's head is facing down a bit more. This is especially true when he's roller skating in Here Come the Puppets and Big Bird in Australia, though I don't think his head was positioned like that in Big Bird's Birthday. But I'm guessing that helps Caroll see better.... In the Big Bird's Birthday special, he's roller skating at a regular skating park, while in those other appearances, he's skating on a stage where he could accidentally fall off the stage.