Classic Sesame Street: There Once Was a Hand...

[Jojeeh]

I remember this episode so well. I miss those good 'ol days.

[d72jjpilc]

I think I remember this one, especially the part where the hand makes the 'scary' gesture. Also, I somewhat remember the egg/ping-pong ball one as well (Let's see...the egg eventually cracks and breaks, leaving yolk all over, right?)

[stevenscottoddballz]

Skip Hennant???? Asin "Fargo North Decoder" from The Electric Company???

[hoopersghost]

@stevenscottoddballz  Yep, that's the same guy!

[stevenscottoddballz]

@hoopersghost

I THOUGHT it sounded like Fargo! Thank you VERY much!

[amsinishtaj15]

This commercial is so indescribably creepy.

[sharif1399]

There are another 3 parts they are:one the left hand catches the red/orange small ball with whistle sound then it the ball falls from the hand with whistle and then crash sound the other one the egg yolk/ping pong ball and other one right hand tickling the left hand in a yellow feather

[rem2267]

The "scary" pose still frightens me to this day. (Even when I make it myself!!)

8D

When I was a kid, I used to hide behind the couch at that part.

[LaFlambeuse]

AND the hands hold hands at the end.

[LaFlambeuse]

This is genius. When the hand tries to make a noise by barking, it's fantastic.

[panda374]

Good story I would give it a hand, But that is what it is a bout they already have one.

[brightbite]

He could point to just what he wanted... WAIT! He's pointing at... ME!! LOL I think there was more than one of these- would love to see the others! :)

[LunaEclipsed]

lol. that was cute. I like how he made his hand show emotion.

[rayandreina]

I liked the organ solo (Joe Raposo?) from 2:17 to 2:43! Likewise, it takes two to tango.

[MuzikJunkyAES]

I would bet my money that the writer of this sketch was Clark Gesner, the director of this sketch was Jim Henson, and the performers of this sketch were the two guys of Mummenschanz. Peace.

[peskylisa]

I remember this one from my early childhood. I can't think,for the life of me, why, but it always terrified me. For some reason.....that hand........Now, as an adult, I am reminded of that Zen saying about the sound of one hand clapping!

[peskylisa]

This terrified me as a little girl. I can't for the life of me think why, but for some reason, it absolutely terrified me!

[MuzikJunkyAES]

C'mon, someone HAS to have the other clips in this series somewhere! Peace.

[whatswithgus]

"It takes two hands to clap"...But hang on, wasn't the riddle of "the sound of one hand clapping" successfully solved by Bart Simpson?

Nice little film. Very simple, yet memorable and effective.

[rayandreina]

The geometry seems to suggest that this is a left hand; but the right hand is also needed, for obvious reasons!

[hoopersghost]

@hairstudio28 : Skip Hinnant was not a Muppeteer; he did some characters and voice-overs on both Sesame Street and The Electric Company, but the visible characters were always human.

[ErnieandBert1]

First appearance: Episode 0007 (November 18, 1969)

[sgja777]

i think a female hand would have been better

[frammis]

@sgja777 agree someone should reenact this w/ female hands

[indywolf1]

I love Skip's voice lol

[spy4863]

Wow! Haven't seen this one in ages! It's great to see it again! Great clip! I didn't know that was Skip Hinnant narrating it! Couple of interesting things I just learned about Skip Hinnant-One, He played Schroeder in the original 1967 Off-Broadway cast of "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown", which also featured a pre-M*A*S*H Gary Burghoff as Charlie Brown, and Two, in his "darker" past, Skip Hinnant was the voice of Fritz the Cat in 1970's "Fritz the Cat", the first X-rated animated feature!

[ReturnofTheBunny]

That is definitely Skip Hinnant's voice.

[sunnyblonde2118]

This video scared the crap out of me as a child! In some ways it scared me as much as the octopus film! It's interesting that many years after watching this film that Skip Hinnant was the narrator of this film!

[CanadaFamilyMan]

There was an older one featuring a hand that was WAY scarier than this one! It was a close-up of a hand (it was probably magnified about 8 or 10 times), & had this awful music. I screamed & my brother laughed (at me).

[Blondiegreeneyes72]

i was freaked out by this skit for some reason :D

[kll510]

Another forgotten oldie but goodie. Love to this clip.

[LUVZEP77]

Thank you clearing it up I knew there was one with an egg!! I remember feeling so sorry for the hand after it broke. Hope someone finds it. Peace out.

[frammis]

thanks for posting, wanted to see this for years. btw according to the muppet central forum the narrator is Skip Hinnant.

[hoopersghost]

Someone should tell the guy who wrote the episode guide that...I'd feel bad editing it without proof that Skip was in this film.

[frammis]

short of a voice stress analysis, i guess there's no way to prove it ;)

[hoopersghost]

*nods* Changed in the episode guide--and noted in my clip description. :-)

[MuppetDude]

Hi. I'm the guy that wrote (parts of) the episode guide. Now that you pointed it out, it does sound a lot like Skip. Good tracking!

[hairstudio28]

@frammis who is the performer in there once was a hand

[269848]

@frammis Nice to know that the people from The Electric Company could do things for their PBS counterparts.

[hoopersghost]

@269848: Both shows aired on PBS, actually...

[pshow99]

Simply awesome. This damn hand sketch seared its way into my DNA as a kid and haunted my dreams for years therafter. Since then, it has fascinated me and served me well on a few occasions that called for samples. And although I have no proof, I agree that voice is Skip Hinnant.

JGP

[MuzikJunkyAES]

Don't just sit there--find the other segments in this series! Peace.

[bigroy38]

thanks alot for posting,Mr Looper!

[jeffkahl]

that's Hooper, Big Bird!

[trppey66]

Wow! This is a great find. And this is from the very early years. I so remember this one...funny how some are just unforgettable.

Wasn't there also another skit about hand? It was one where the fingers and thumbs didn't like each other? But at the end, it showed how they needed each other to get stuff done. Does that ring a bell w/ anyone? Or am I dreaming things up again.

[loveutoto]

I remember that sketch! The thumb and fingers learned that they needed to cooperate to spin a top.

[bigroy38]

WOW!Been looking for this one forever!!thanks!

[am9224]

That was a cute little story to tell little children.

[bgbassman]

I give this one two thumbs up!

[Ziffel67]

I clap my two hands together at seeing this classic clip again! Thank you; been wanting to see this again for so long.

I always liked the music when the hands "see" each other for the first time.

I was also always puzzled as a child why the hand didn't take satisfaction in snapping the fingers. After all, that is a noise too.

[MIKECNW]

Also notice the small echo when Clark was narrating.

Usually you don't hear that so I wonder if he was in the same room with the person or people who were perfoming this?

[MuzikJunkyAES]

I'm convinced that it's Skip Hinnant. If you've watched enough "Electric Company," you'd see why. Peace.

[MIKECNW]

Another one was a right hand tickling the left hand.

[hairstudio28]

@MIKECNW wasn't the hand laughing hysterically each time it was tickled then finally it got frustrated and growled at the other hand and made a scary gesture.... who is the performer!!! hmmm

[MuzikJunkyAES]

If the voice is supposed to be Clark Gessner, why does it sound so much like Skip Hinnant? Peace.

[cdkreturns]

I was thinking the same thing.

[MuzikJunkyAES]

I remember this almost as if it was yesterday. Now if you think that's weird, where are the other sketches in this series? Thanks for posting it! Peace.

[hoopersghost]

I didn't even know there was a whole series of sketches like this; the only similar one I have shows three hands (each dressed in a differently colored glove) cooperating to count to 11. Sorry...

[MuzikJunkyAES]

Yeah, there were at least three more. One involved a wall in the center of the screen, one involved a ping-pong ball and an egg, and one involved a feather that the right hand used to tickle the left hand. They had no narration and were nearly silent, save for ambient noise, with the exception of a flute heard at the beginning of each segment. Peace.

[hoopersghost]

I saw the egg/ping-pong ball clip long ago, now that you mention it. So far, though, I haven't managed to locate a copy (either alone or as part of an episode).

[hoopersghost]

Yes, I distinctly remember the egg (big end turned towards the viewer) cracking and breaking like that.

[MuzikJunkyAES]

Right, then the right hand shakes the left hand's pinky. These must be the show's all-time weirdest sketches. Peace.