# The Mysterious "Red Grover" of CTW **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 3, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613 "2001-03-03T06:36:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/1 "2001-03-03T06:36:17Z")
Back when I was a child, I noticed that a lot of the Sesame Street books would feature pictures of a character that looked like Grover, but he was red. This character may have only appeared on the covers- he certainly was never named or mentioned in the stories inside, and he never appeared on TV, TTBOMK. What was the deal with that? I would have assumed it was just a coloring error, but I think I remember a picture of several SS characters decorating a tree, including both blue and red Grovers. -Ben ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/2 "2001-03-03T07:11:44Z")
I think you might be thinking of Elmo. [http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Sands/4588/elmo.htm](http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Sands/4588/elmo.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df788c/32.png) [@Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ben)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/3 "2001-03-03T07:20:01Z")
Elmo wasn’t around in the late 70’s. In fact, I believe that Elmo was introduced within the last 5-10 years, right? -Ben ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/4 "2001-03-03T07:49:38Z")
Elmo has only become a really popular character in the last 5-10 years, but he’s been around as a background character for a little longer. I can remember him on the show when I was a kid, which would have been sometime in the mid 1980s – maybe 1985 or 1986. I did a google search on “red grover” + sesame street and didn’t turn anything up, fwiw. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/5 "2001-03-03T08:10:55Z")
[http://www.henson.com/](http://www.henson.com/) Official site, will answer questions. [http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Palace/3382/](http://www.geocities.com/EnchantedForest/Palace/3382/) The homepage of the starter of the Grover web-ring, even has a link to a Grover based newsgroup. Surf away! Good luck. (BTW, I found out that Grover’s mom is also blue, so don’t waste your time there.) ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/6 "2001-03-03T08:21:34Z")
**MsWhatsit** may have a point. After all, Snuffy used to be invisible, so things DO change at CTW. [hijack] A friend of mine insists that Burt died of cancer. I pointed out that he still appears on the show occassionally, but she and her husband say that they’re just old episodes, that he’s really been offed. I’ve done a search on Google and can’t find a thing. Any ideas, conformations? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/7 "2001-03-03T08:23:27Z")
Please excuse my misspellings, for I am an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/8 "2001-03-03T15:48:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sue Duhnym \* > \*\ ***MsWhatsit** may have a point. After all, Snuffy used to be invisible, so things DO change at CTW. > > [hijack] > A friend of mine insists that Burt died of cancer. I pointed out that he still appears on the show occassionally, but she and her husband say that they’re just old episodes, that he’s really been offed. > > I’ve done a search on Google and can’t find a thing. Any ideas, conformations? > [/hijack] > \*\* Bert is still alive. It’s just the same rumor thing as the “Ernie’s dying of leukemia” thing. (Did I spell that incorrectly?) And they’re not gay, either. Things DO change at CTW-They’re called the Sesame Workshop now. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/9 "2001-03-03T17:09:24Z")
Here’s the Snopes link debunking the “Ernie is dead” legend: [http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/deadmupp.htm](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/deadmupp.htm) And here’s the one debunking the “Ernie and Bert are gay” legend: [http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/gaymupp.htm](http://www.snopes.com/radiotv/tv/gaymupp.htm) The Henson site says that the guy who does Elmo has been with Sesame Street since the 1984-1985 season, by the way. Also by the way, that site RULES. They’ve got a great Q&A section. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/10 "2001-03-03T19:50:45Z")
The guy who does Elmo is Kevin Clash, who I believe is also the head Muppeteer for the show. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2001, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-mysterious-red-grover-of-ctw/56613/11 "2001-03-03T21:55:46Z")
Perhaps your mysterious muppet will put in an appearance if you say the lines below three times quickly: _Red Grover, Red Grover We call Benny over._ Just a thought. Man, I need to get some sleep!