Sesame Street - Telly, the Television Monster

[Blondiechickie1972]

he looks psychotic

[Blondiechickie1972]

wow and i thought Snuffy looked scary in his first appearance, ahhhh nightmare fuel 2:28

[clinch44]

heard about this now i've finally seen it

[Moreau105]

Hooper Hooper Yeah Hooper

[sanvirel]

imagine if he said boobtube monster

[austin5341837]

Its good that telly has a sensible and good voice now these days and that voice is marty p robinson. He is a soooooooo much better voice for telly than brian muehl and bob payne.

[NantoVision1]

@austin5341837 Personally Brian Meuhl's version of Telly was my favorite. He did this thing where Telly would be getting confident and excited about something, then let out a really funny groan when he realized the flaw in his plan.

But since most people younger than me grew up with Marty Robinson's version, it makes sense that those people prefer his take on the character.

[Boudiga]

lol so thats how he got the name Telly! He wasn't a TV addict when I started watching this in the 1980s!

[muppetlover16]

@Cuteblondie1972 That's 'cause it's Bob Payne

[SpukiTheLoveKitten75]

I love Mr. Hooper's expressive "He-he-he-he-he-He was ROUUUNDD......"

[electricalparade]

There was at least one more sketch in which Telly was this way. The gang asked him if he would like to go watch a baseball game with them.  He asked them what channel it would be on!

[quirpco]

Ah, Will Lee & Northern Calloway...two original, hilarious Sesame Street legends! We love & miss you guys, God bless and rest in peace.

[OnlineLamb]

He's certainly not much of a character, wasn't he? Then again I reckon most Sesame Street muppets weren't much of characters when they first appeared back in those days. Just at how Big Bird, Oscar, and Snuffy looked when they first appeared.

[musicbox193]

Did they eventually rehabiltate him from his TV addiction or something?

[musicbox193]

so Telly was originally intended to be a warning against watching too much TV?

[ExplorerDS6789]

@musicbox193 Yep, and obviously they changed that because then kids would be turned off of watching it, and that means they couldn't watch Sesame Street.

[WildHamster321]

I played the "Young Frankenstein" bit used in "Dramatic Prairie Dog" when Telly turned to the screen. It fits perfectly! xD

[moxie96]

I never know why he was called Telly! By the time I've seen him on the show he was a regular muppet member of the show and had no wires on him. What year was this? I forgot about david too. Who was the deaf lady again (not in this clip, just asking)

[athull08]

@moxie96 This was 1979. The deaf lady was Linda.

p.s. You say you never knew why he was called Telly - well, similarly, I never knew why it was called Hooper's Store! This video solves so many mysteries!

[doctorwho00772]

should have kept him just like that...a spaced out, psycotic muppet is beyond cool.....

[Smartboy8877]

I did not know that Telly Monster was introduced as far back as when Mr. Hooper was still living! Very interesting!

[mastermalone]

@Smartboy8877, both of those actors are dead. The guy who played David had some kind of nervous break down and died soon after he left the show.

@Nanto, I haven't seen this in years. Thank you so much for posting it.

[Smartboy8877]

@mastermalone

I remember hearing about both of those actors having died. Mr. Hooper died in 1982 and David died in 1989. He was only forty-nine years old at the time.  Very sad!

[mrhilly666]

@Smartboy8877 actually David died on the 9th of Januray 1990 at the age of 41 but i agree very sad

[Smartboy8877]

@mrhilly666

Thank you for enlightening me!

[mrhilly666]

@Smartboy8877 your very welcome

[Pikachu4352]

2:27 - 2:28 He's Trying to stare into our Souls!

[Altoclarinets]

I miss Mr. Hooper...

[maidenrulz1]

I always thought Telly was named after the actor Telly Savalis (Kojak). He kinda looks like him. But I guess I was wrong.

[JeffK1980]

In this clip, Telly Monster was voiced by Bob Payne. This scene was recorded in 1979. If you people are wondering who else did the voice of Telly, the people's names are listed below...

Brian Muehl (1980 to 1983)

Marty Robinson (1984 to the present)

[awesomeinuyashagirl]

he looks weird and sounds a bit like yogi bear. it's funny.

[zangazoo2007]

Awww Mr. Hooper (or Looper according to Big Bird) was such a great person. I'm 34 and I remember the episode they did right after Mr. Hooper passed away. It's even sadder to think that both David and Mr. Hooper have passed on.  Oh and now I get where Telly got his name. Wow how cool. People don't realize that this show was meant for kids 6 - 9, and that's why some of what you see is more "older" themed. Bob McGrath said that CTW lowered SS age demographic to 3- 6 in the early 90s.

[lainybabyg2006]

wow.. im 22 and im creeped out. if i were a kid and saw that, especially at 2:24, i think i wouldve had nightmares!! i prefer the new telly. =]

[Blondiechickie1972]

@lainybabyg2006 omg i know, that was scary!

[dhay03]

I first seen this on the 40 year seasame street dvd i bought for my son. I'm 25 and was born in 84 so i wasn't around during the television monster era. But when i first saw him i know it was telley but he was kinda strange and downright creepy. Goodness no wonder they changed his character he was just too odd and delivered a bad message for kiddies.

[OnlineButterfly]

Well its funny how every article written before this kept mentioning how his eyes whirled when he watched televison, and yet, the only time we get to see his eyes whirl in here is when he turns away from the TV set.

I mean, what was the point in giving him unique eyes and features when he spends most of his time closely glued to the TV screen barely showing his face?

[Maniaxe613]

I like the new Telly Monster more!

[UberUberLeet91]

Wasn't he on Intervention for his television addiction?

[mooky9669]

This is classic! I don't remember seeing Telly like this. Thanks for sharing this!

[Quidam]

He got his name from being obsessed with TV. He was almost like an addict.

[schemer1991]

when was Elmo first appearance on sesame street

[1RichardHunt]

Personally, I like this scene with him. It seems to be a wonderful way to introduce him, and it shows what his name originally came from. And, I like this early voice he had, it's a very rare sort of voice to be heard on Sesame Street.

[TelephoneRock4ever]

Wow, Telly looked really strange back in '79. And antsamthompson is right, he is better nowadays.

[antsamthompson9]

I think Telly is better nowadays.

[Quidam]

Yeah, those eyes are kinda scary looking.

[antsamthompson9]

@Quidam Yes, they are.

[Quidam]

@antsamthompson9 Yeah. I'm 21 and those eyes freak me out.

[antsamthompson9]

@Quidam They could freak anybody out.

[Quidam]

@antsamthompson9 You do have a point there.