When was Sonny Friendly's First Appearance?

[minor muppetz]

Does anybody know if the sketch What's My Job? might have been the first appearance of Sonny Friendly? Perhaps to show Guy Smiley with another game show host, and maybe after that it was decided to make Sonny Friendly a semi-regular character, whenever a game show host was needed but Jim Henson was busy?

It seems like in What's My Job? the first two people whsoe jobs get guessed are a fire fighter and a dentist. When Sonny Friendly appears, after Guy Smiley reveals that he's a game show host he introduces him as Sonny Friendly, while he didn't introduce the names of the fire fighter or dentist (then again, the contestants would probably know the name of a game show host more than the names of a fire fighter or dentist, and he could have been introduced because of his celebrity status).

I don't know if this is Sonny's first appearance. I know that The Alphabet Game wasn't his first appearance: That video is from 1987, and there was an episode from the 1986-1987 season featuring Sonny Friendly.

 

[superboober]

Remind me, was it Sonny or Pat Playjacks who appeared in a series of street scenes around 1986-87 repeatedly making Maria solve puzzles for no apparent reason and then offering as prizes objects she already owned?

 

[GonzoLeaper]

I'm pretty positive that was Sonny Friendly.
The only sketch I remember Pat Playjacks (and Vanna Blank) in was the "Squeal of Fortune" sketch with The Count and Prairie Dawn- I remember seeing that one quite a few times as a kid and loving it!

 

[Xerus]

I think Sonny's first appearance was when some of the SS gang were on The Best Friends Game Show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j7UW61WynU