Classic Sesame Street - Placido Flamingo loves his telephone

[kalybird21]

I was terrified of this flamingo as a child. I owe countless nightmares and an irrational fear of flamingos to him. He still sends a shiver down my spine.

The difference now is if I saw him on the street I would rip his fuzzy pink head off.

[laxgrind22]

THANK GOD OTHER PPL WERE SCARED OF HIM TOO! I remember this skit distinctly, this specific one in particular. That beak was so long and pointy, it was just so bizarre looking and it looked like he wanted to eat me.

[essentialeugene]

Phil Harmonic is performed by Jerry Nelson.

[finnishminnow]

Me too. I like both of them.

[JGCooney]

Did they use the Guy Smiley muppet as backup singer? Is the backup singers the Tarnish Brothers (I Just Adore Four) ?

[Eflatmajor09]

I swear, this flamingo used to scare the crap out of me as a child. Whenever he was on, I would literally scream

at the top of my lungs. My parents still remind me of that... and I'm 19 now... and a music major at that! I

think this little flamingo is so cute! How odd :)

[jimjams1987]

I was terrified of him too. I thought I was a just a freak!! I wonder what it was about him that was soo scary??

[rinkafu666]

omg i was kinda freaked out by him as well lol

[Eflatmajor09]

I swear, this flamingo used to scare the crap out of me as a child... every time it was on, I would scream my lungs out... my parents still remind me of that today... I'm 19 :))... and I am a music major... this guy is adorable to me now... how odd. :)

[shermanvermin76]

Yes, he should be ADORABLE to you, NOT scary!

[Lazzara]

omg I was scared of him too!! I'm not even kidding. haha it is nice to know that I wasn't the only one afraid of him.

[linus0063]

my sister was afraid too

[eendenzijnlief]

me too

[jtomally9681]

The Muppet who stands on top of the chair looks a lot like Guy Smiley.

[cesariojpn]

0:05: DOWN IN FRONT!!

[MarshalGrover]

One of the few times the CD version syncs perfectly with the TV version.

[BuddyBoy600]

Cell Phones were small at the time. Check at 4:30. Phil Harmonic calls his mother through his Cell Phone.

[kateslateforever2]

They retired this puppet when his puppetier died. According to Bob McGath (SS's Bob) they did this a lot. Kemit was an exception though. But that had a lot to do with Disney

[tobiasaberg]

Actually almost all of the central cast is passed on to new puppeteers. Placido Flamingo was retired when Richard Hunt died, but characters like Beaker, Janice and Sweetums were handed over to others.

[zhakzigil]

AAAAAAAAAwesome

[chaoticad]

ive been trying to find the sketch by Placido Flamingo called "Peligro" but i cant find it anywhere...im starting to think it was all in my head.

[feelthejoy]

it wasnt in your head! i was looking for it too :)

[TroySundt]

I remember being terrified of this guy! I think it was the beak....

[Tillia83]

Me tooo..lol he look so dark ...DA BEAK! lol looks wicked

[Crassygyrinus]

Were you scared of real flamingos too?

[ldelisle01]

Ah, great memories of the Nestropolitan Opera. "I dial their numero, I dial it slow." Love it.

[hereforbewbies]

wow, i forgot all about this guy. i loved the way his beak fit together. it was his most prominent and loveable feature when i was little. i also liked to look at people's driveways when i drove around town.

must've had a short-lived thing for geometry and design. >.>

[Emeraldmirror]

This flamingo gave me nightmares when i was little.. i dreamt that even flamingos locked me in my room and their leader was a "hitler flamingo" and my parents and sister just sat outside my room and laughed at me while i cried

[tep564]

OMG HE GAVE ME NIGHTMARES TOO!!!

[ChoirCupcake]

I was scared to death of that thing too! lol

[singingcanoe]

Really? He was one of my favorites. :)

[HarveyBirdmanTk421]

Nazi flamingos tormenting you while your family laughs? I'm no psychology expert but you might wanna spend a little time on the couch....

[milkmachine2005]

Wow, if I had not come across this video, I may have never thought of Flacido Flamingo ever again. I would have never recalled how important he was to me, and how I used to dance around the house singing, "It...was...Mama! Mama!..."

I think I even had the whole song downpat even down to the bow at the end.

Such was my love affair with Flacido Flamingo when I was 5 years old.

[Bajanbabygurlnat]

de old sesame street was de bomb...way better than this modern one fa real

[cambryn]

Back when this show was clever, intelligent, and had actual cultural references.

I miss classic Sesame Street- now it is so sanitized and filled to the brim with shallow elmo and bad music, that kids are missing out on SO many levels, and parents can't sit with their children and watch it without getting a headache from the insipidity of it all.

[flyonawndshield]

thank you for singlehandedly summarizing everything that I think is wrong with what passes as children's entertainment these days.

[hichirique]

You put if perfectly. Old Sesame Street was a very good children's show. Sadly was is the operative word.

[ilovetortillas]

seriously...i couldnt have said it better myself. childrens programming seems so baby-ish now.

[fatboyslimz2]

he and vincent twice scared me when i was small but i cant find any vincent twice clips tho

[Garrettk41]

He's around alright. Check under Mysterious Theater.

[linlorienelen]

People always think Im making it up when I talk about this character... I can see why

[Koekieee]

Hihi.. When I was a kid I watched Sesame street every day, but I was always scared of this character!! Now I'm still a little bit afraid of flamingo's.. hihi..

[OsskaSchindla]

Dude!!! i was too!!! Placido flamingo scared the hell out of me when i was a kid! i thought i was alone

[disneyrangerblue02]

Huh? What's so scary about him? I never thought Placido Flamingo was so scary.

[shermanvermin76]

Yeah, why be scared of a jolly flamingo?

[spiked200]

Who is applauding...there is no one in the theater?

[ArgleZiddly]

Maybe it was Placido's back up singers offstage...=P

[Zakiyoshi]

This flamingo scared the piss outta me, that beak made me afraid of flamingos when I was a kid XD

[TheSpriteMonster]

I'd love to sing this whole song in a library or in public while holding my cellphone "I call mama! Mama! I call uncle lou! Say I love them tell to joke or two!" XD

[simplisticabyss]

Yay for showing little kids opera is cool

[itteration2]

Oh My God.

it is so agreeable to see this again after so long. the lyrics blow my mind.

[lotus2]

Placido Flamingo!!! This clip brought back so many memories! Placido was one of my favorite muppets.

[finnishminnow]

Mine too, man.

[Coscaa]

I remember when I was 5 or 6 years old I was thinking "That background doesn't make sense" because of the weird angle. Now, seeing it at 22, my brain comprehends the abstract backdrop.

[berkeleyhome]

I think Phil Harmonic's voice was done by someone who liked Paul Lynde....same inflections

[agarn65]

DO THE RUBBER DUCK?

[loveutoto]

My favorite is where Ernie appears with Placido in an opera about up and down. At the end, the curtain keeps rising and falling while they sing.

[finnishminnow]

That sketch is my favorite too, man.

[cd845484144]

OH MY GOSH! I LOVE IT!

[lovemeg5186]

i love this one

[DreamDancer82]

This was one of my favorite Placido songs. I should ask my mom if she remembers this Muppet. She loves flamingoes.

[rjolliffe]

That was a great performance! Instead, what about cellphones?

[drewski67]

I remember when he sang "Scrub-a the Tub" to the tune of "Largo al factotum", it was cute

[HeyButtahfly]

Placido Flamingo, I love it! I, too, learned that "peligro" is Spanish for "danger" from watching him! And I totally remember this skit and the song.

[raakone]

Because of this, I thought that "Funiculi Funicula" was from the Barber of Seville. Honestly. Anyways, this is funny.

~Ra'akone

[welchm8]

I used to like Placido, though I never quite knew what he was about (except "peligro" = danger, which I've remembered ever since). Nowadays I think it's awesome and I'm glad I got this as a kid! (and thanks sawing14s for the original title)

[Herald8]

Oh wow, thank you!!!

"And my friend Jaaack! If I call them now then maybe next time they'll call back!"

[wiley207]

You won't see Placido Flamingo on the show anymore!

[glowworm2]

My goodness this is hysterical. I love this Italian song!

[Juliefan21]

Although the background singers were voiced by female performers, two of them were women and the other two were men!

[b3d]

Possibly Richard Hunt, Jerry Nelson and Fran Brill?