Cookie Monster is one of the most well known Muppet characters and his celebrity is likely further reaching than a majority of human actors. I am a big fan of the Muppets and basically anything that Jim Henson is involved in but I never really questioned where did Cookie Monster actually come from? When was the first time he had appeared?
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Well it turns out that he wasn't originally called Cookie Monster and it was kind of an accident that he became a full-time character for the Jim Henson and eventually a mainstay on Sesame Street.
The first time Cookie Monster appeared he was actually called "Wheel Stealer" and he looked a bit more menacing than he did when I first saw him in the 80's.
Before Jim Henson became a household name he was making commercials and barely scraping out a living. He was not rich and was taking on just about any job he could get. The above commercial was made in 1966 and it never aired. If you listen to the voices though it is very clearly Jim Henson voicing the main speaker and probably one or two of the other voices as well. Later "Wheel Stealer" would be used in an IBM training video. Training for what, i can only guess.
He would later appear in a Frito Lay commercial for Munchos which is a product, if I am not mistaken, is still available for purchase today. Cookie Monster was known as "Arnold the munching monster" at this point.
Once again the voice of the human character appears to be Jim Henson doing the voice. I have no idea if this commercial, which aired in 1969, was popular but overall Jim Henson's fame was growing and even though Frito Lay wanted to make more commercials with Henson and Oz, the duo were working on Sesame Street and declined a new contract.
Still without a name, Cookie Monster made his appearance without his scary fangs on a skit that is one of the most famous in Sesame Street lore and is referred to as the "W lecture."
It wasn't until a year later during a skit where "The Monster" got his name when his catch phrase became "Me want cookie!" or "Me eat cookie." It was during the "C is for Cookie" skit that his name became "Cookie Monster" and the song itself is one of the most recognized songs from Sesame street of all time. This happened all the way back before I (and probably most of you) was born in 1971, yet I still remember most of the words. Talk about a hit!
And remember, if there is one bit of wisdom that you take away from all of Cookie Monster's stoic teachings it's this: "The moon sometimes looks like letter "C," but you can't eat that!"
This post was awesome. Thanks for the history lesson on one of my favorite characters. I always hated that he had no hole for the mouth for the cookies to go down into. I thought, what a waste. I used to wanna be outta frame catching the crumbs in my own mouth. He did look more menacing in his inception with those teeth! Great Post!
i think the hole would have revealed a hand though. He really is one of the best. Until someone else pointed it out to me I had no idea that he had a history beyond just being Cookie Monster and it was nice to see. Even though I am far from being a kid now he still cracks me up. Eating the entire IBM computer was a real kick.
Thanks for commenting :)
You are welcome, and yes... using it to stir the coffee was funny. Crazy to think how we have automated coffee machines at a fraction of the size. I am far from being a kid now too... but it's nice to have wholesome memories that take us back to good times! I think you are right about the hole too. I still wanted to be laying on the floor with my mouth open catching the crumbs. They always had the best looking cookies!
I wonder how many of Henson's creations initially started out as something else. I saw an doco on Elmo not along ago and initially his voice was very different and quite strange considering what we expect of Elmo these days.
Cookie monster became a part of my life the very first time I saw him. He is still hilarious today with his baby talk and the way that he obliterates anything he can consume. Those early clips are amazing and I didn't know they existed. Nice !
As i got older I started to wonder if Cookie's butchering of the English language could be considered counter productive. I guess very young people do talk like that though.