# Is Elmo still on Sesame Street? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897 "2013-07-19T00:48:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/1 "2013-07-19T00:48:28Z")
Last year the pederasty of the guy who plays Elmo was revealed when it was found out that his gunsel was underage in some states. His ephebophilia alarmed the several dozen parents who pay more than passing attention to what their precious crotchfruit (thank you, **Cat Whisperer**!) watch, and I recall some calls for his defenestration after he had debauched his catamite. What happened to him? Yeah, I could look it up, but don’t really care, except I woke up with that stupid “Jellyman Kelly” song stuck in my head and had some words I don’t get to use often enough, so somebody had to pay. And since I’m sure there are people here who are interested, and some of them are as lazy as I, if someone answered it would be a public service. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/2 "2013-07-19T00:52:41Z")
Yes, he is. He’d trained a number of understudies, and one article I read at the time mentioned explicitly that they would take over so as to maintain Elmonian continuity. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/3 "2013-07-19T00:54:07Z")
Apparently, the guy who plays(played?) [Elmo recorded 2 years of voice in advance, so they can use him until 2014.](http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/11/sesame-street-doesnt-need-elmo-back-plan-until-2014/59260/) I assume they will continue the character, even without that guy. I hope they do, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![pricciar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@pricciar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pricciar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/4 "2013-07-19T02:11:57Z")
Looks like you took the Sesame Street upper level crash course in vocabulary before you composed that post! ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/5 "2013-07-19T02:33:16Z")
> [@pricciar](#): > > Looks like you took the Sesame Street upper level crash course in vocabulary before you composed that post! And the current Elmo muppeteers took a clash course. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/6 "2013-07-19T02:47:15Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Last year the pederasty of the guy who plays Elmo was revealed when it was found out that his gunsel was underage in some states. His ephebophilia alarmed the several dozen parents who pay more than passing attention to what their precious crotchfruit (thank you, **Cat Whisperer**!) watch, and I recall some calls for his defenestration after he had debauched his catamite. What happened to him? I was getting vaguely annoyed at how this paragraph started but it got funnier as it went. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/7 "2013-07-19T02:49:18Z")
There are very few Muppets, on _Sesame Street_ or otherwise, that are still performed by their original muppeteers. They all have very talented understudies who can emulate the voice close enough that the transition is relatively straightforward. For example, Frank Oz doesn’t do any of the _Muppet Show_ chracters anymore, not even Miss Piggy or Fozzie, but he will occasionally return to _Sesame Street_ to do Grover. Most of Frank’s characters are now performed by Eric Jacobsen, who does a pretty decent job, and most of Jim Henson’s characters are currently performed by Steve Whitmire. In case you’re interested, here are a series of nerdy YouTube videos that [compare performers](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=muppet+voice+comparisons). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/8 "2013-07-19T02:56:30Z")
Oops. Eric **Jacobson** , not Jacobsen. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/9 "2013-07-19T03:41:42Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I was getting vaguely annoyed at how this paragraph started but it got funnier as it went. “Vaguely annoying” is a step up for me. Usually there’s nothing vague about it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/10 "2013-07-19T07:05:59Z")
I haven’t followed this case very closely, so educate me here. Did he break into some bungalows to molest straight Christian toddlers, or did some teenage boys procure fake IDs, go to gay clubs with them, and discover years later that the guy they hooked up with was vaguely famous and that there might be settlement money to be had? Because if it was the latter, I’m a bit less sympathetic to the accusers. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/11 "2013-07-19T11:54:20Z")
If I recall correctly, his boytoys were in the 16-21 age category. So, technically teenagers but either equally technically adult or very nearly so (I mean, seriously, anyone who thinks 16 year old boys aren’t having sex as often as they can manage needs his/her head examined). Also, if I recall correctly, all participation was consensual although given the age disparity there is some question of possible power issues between the older and younger parties. The original accuser later withdrew/recanted (depending on who you ask) his accusation. Then three more guys stepped forward with similar accusations. Methinks (strictly personal opinion) that Sheldon Stephens (original accuser) and Kevin Clash probably did have a thing going for awhile and given the young age of Stephens his family might have pressured him into making an accusation. The other three might be folks looking to cash in, and last I heard the most recent three accusations were thrown out of court. I’m guessing he’s a gay man (who was married for quite a few years to a woman and has a daughter) who likes young men, which makes him only slightly different than straight men who drool over 18 and 20 year old women. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/12 "2013-07-19T12:58:13Z")
> [@pricciar](#): > > Looks like you took the Sesame Street upper level crash course in vocabulary before you composed that post! Upper-level Sesame Street is brought to you by a word rather than a letter, and today’s word was Sesquipedalian. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/13 "2013-07-19T13:32:30Z")
And the number pi. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/14 "2013-07-19T14:35:27Z")
See, I would have thought that the thread was because Elmo has his own show now. But, in fact, that “show” is still technically a part of Sesame Street. But I do wonder if he still appears in the other part of the show, or if he just has that fifteen minute block all to himself. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/15 "2013-07-19T14:37:01Z")
And the letter ß. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/16 "2013-07-19T15:19:31Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > See, I would have thought that the thread was because Elmo has his own show now. But, in fact, that “show” is still technically a part of Sesame Street. But I do wonder if he still appears in the other part of the show, or if he just has that fifteen minute block all to himself. I see it rarely but Elmo was popping up from time to time last I watched. This remains my favorite Elmo bit: [Elmo gets a ‘Celebrity Lullaby’](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc20vMz0V7Q). ---
**Author:** ![Zjestika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/8edcca/32.png) [@Zjestika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zjestika)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/17 "2013-07-19T16:02:21Z")
Aren’t the accusations all from like 15-20 years ago too? That always seems fishy to me. Makes me want to reevaluate my teenage boinking and see if there’s any $$ there. I’m glad they’re not getting rid of Elmo. They sure know what they’re doing with him- my 15 month old stops whatever she’s doing to gape whenever Elmo’s on. She likes Murray, too. (I feel so guilty that I let her watch Sesame Street. Before the reality of having a toddler I was so staunchly against TV for children. But Mama’s gotta cook dinner some time.) ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/18 "2013-07-19T21:00:53Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > The other three might be folks looking to cash in, and last I heard the most recent three accusations were thrown out of court. They were thrown out due to statute of limitations running out. > [@Zjestika](#): > > Aren’t the accusations all from like 15-20 years ago too? It was about 7-8 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/19 "2013-07-19T22:21:58Z")
Pah. I refuse to acknowledge any Muppet added after 1981. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897/20 "2013-07-19T22:55:45Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Upper-level Sesame Street is brought to you by a word rather than a letter, and today’s word was Sesquipedalian. Actually, already used: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py2f38iPBeI#t=0m30s](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py2f38iPBeI#t=0m30s) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-elmo-still-on-sesame-street/663897.md?page=2)