Oscar the Grouch
Encyclopedia
Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet
character on the television program Sesame Street
. He has a green body (during the first season he was orange), has no (visible) nose (although he claims to have one), and lives in a trash can
. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding
of seemingly useless items. Although "The Grouch" aptly describes his misanthropic interaction with the other characters and even to himself at times, it is also the name of his species
. The character is performed by Caroll Spinney
, and has been performed by him since the show's first episode.
Initially, the Muppet characters on Sesame Street would not actually appear on Sesame Street itself, but be relegated to the intermediary segments. Muppets creator Jim Henson
wanted them to be integrated into the series, suggesting a giant bird and creature living in the neighborhood's trash. The character was developed by Sesame Street head writer Jon Stone
and Henson, based on the personality of a “magnificently rude” waiter. Based on the character outline, puppeteer Caroll Spinney was inspired by the voice of a New York City taxi driver, hailed when going to the production studio; when he first got in, the driver asked him "Where to, Mac?" and spoke with Spinney about the mayor of New York at the time (Republican John Lindsay
).
His name's source is of some debate. Most sources suggest it's derived from the name of the aforementioned restaurant, Oscar's Tavern. In recent years, however, the family of Canadian folk musician Oscar Brand
has suggested he was the namesake. Brand was an early board member for the show's non-profit production company, Children's Television Workshop
. The claim has been made in an interview with the CBC around the time of Brand's 90th birthday, and by his son in the interview segment of Jeopardy. Named “Oscar the Grouch”, writers would eventually add other grouches, an entire species explored in the film The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
and various television episodes.
The initial puppet, built by staff builder John Lovelady
, was orange with a single dark-colored eyebrow.
Spinney's other lead character is Big Bird
, whom Oscar often describes to children as his friend during public appearances. He especially likes to prank him every morning by putting ketchup in his alarm clock. During the first season of Sesame Street, the street set was arranged such that Spinney, who is right-handed, was forced to operate Oscar's head with his left hand. A subsequent redesign of the set (and Oscar himself, as he was ripped apart by Jim Henson) allowed him to switch hands. In the first season of Sesame Street, Oscar was orange, and later became green in Season 2.
According to Sesame Streets Robert W. Morrow, Oscar was created to indirectly demonstrate racial and ethnic diversity. Since his manners and tastes were different than the other characters', his creators hoped to address social issues by using his differences as a metaphor for racial and ethnic differences. Some viewers, however, saw Oscar as a "surrogate for poor, urban Americans" during the show's early seasons.
episode "Dance", Oscar's legs can protrude from the bottom of his trash can to allow him to walk around. Similarly, in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
(1978), Oscar is seen ice skating. For several seasons, Oscar was frequently shown with his friend and pet Slimey
, an orange worm. On occasional episodes he has mentioned leaving Sesame Street to attend "the annual Grouch convention in Syracuse
, New York
". Oscar openly admits that he does not like anything or anybody that is nice (except young human children, the only people that he can actually act nice to without facing ridicule from his fellow Grouches) as well as older fans of the show. However, the only person he has ever liked on-camera was Maria, which he would never admit. He once inadvertently complimented a dance that his followers, The Grouchketeers, had performed for him. Oscar has shown rare acts of kindness such as trying to replace Ernie's rubber duckie when Ernie had lost it. He and his girlfriend Grundgetta also love each other, though their relationship is (understandably) somewhat rocky (though he does show he cares for her). As stated above, he is usually very nice to children especially when making public appearances with Spinney. According to a recent episode, Oscar hates "Pox News" (a parody of Fox News) but his mother likes it. Oscar tries to keep his Canadian identity secret, but admitted that he is Canadian due to his parents being from Canada. He was born in Minto, New Brunswick, with his father having been born in Saint David Ridge, New Brunswick
, and his mother having grown up in Nova Scotia
.
than the exterior would suggest. Oscar has noted through the years that it boasts such amenities as a farm, swimming pool, ice-rink, bowling alley, and a piano. Other items include Slimey
, Oscar's pet worm; Fluffy, Oscar's pet elephant; Oscar's shoes; and a dimension gate to Grouchland, Oscar's hometown.
In their second season, Germany's Sesamstrasse created an antagonistic character named Uli von Bödefeld. While not a grouch, he served the same role in plots as Oscar. When a fire destroyed the costume in 1988, a decade after he debuted, he and American segments of Oscar were both replaced by a grouch named Rumpel. Caterpillar Gustav is the counterpoint to Slimey.
Israeli grouch, Moishe Oofnik
, is the only character to survive the first Rechov Sumsum, appearing in its current reboot, English/Hebrew series Shalom Sesame
, and Israeli-Palestinian co-production Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim.
Other grouches include Bodoque on Mexico's Plaza Sésamo
, Gugu on Brazil's Vila Sesamo
, Kirpik on Turkey's Susam Sokağı
, Ferrão on Portugal's Rua Sésamo, and Kewal Khadoosa on India's Galli Galli Sim Sim
. Filipino adaptation Sesame! featured Kiko Matsing, basically a gorilla.
Some grouches differ from the mostly antagonistic mold. France's 1, Rue Sésame
featured Mordicus, who while lives in a trash can, and is slightly cynical, is also described as lively and enthusiastic, and participated in the neighborhood band.
" in the 1981 Jim Henson
movie The Great Muppet Caper
. When Miss Piggy
threw a truck driver (played by Peter Ustinov
) into a pile of boxes and a pile of trash cans, Oscar emerged from his trash can and demanded "Hey, what's all the racket?" The driver asked him, "What are you doing here?" Oscar replied, "A very brief cameo." The driver muttered, "Me, too." Oscar also appeared in the Jim Henson holiday special, A Muppet Family Christmas
, when the Sesame Street Gang comes to the Grizzly Farm House for the holidays, in the film he befriends Rizzo the Rat (whose name parodies that of the Midnight Cowboy
character Ratso Rizzo) who asks the Grouch if he could stay in his trash can for the night. Oscar agreed saying that he'd never had a rat in his trash can before.
Oscar could be seen among many villains in the South Park
episode "Imagination Land III
".
Oscar was on an episode of Scrubs
imagined as the new Chief of medicine.
Oscar was one of numerous PBS personalities chasing after Homer for not being able to pay a pledge in a Simpsons
season 11 episode
, "Missionary: Impossible
". Oscar crashes through the window of the church Homer is hiding in, and demands the money while Elmo, who was hiding in the trash can with him, tells Homer he knows where he lives. He also appeared in "Trash of the Titans
".
Oscar inspired an Apple Macintosh INIT
written by Eric B. Shapiro and shown at the 1989 MacHack
conference, featuring a singing animated Oscar that appeared from the trash can whenever a file was thrown away. The hack was so popular that some parents lost the entire contents of their hard disks to preschoolers wanting to see more of Oscar, prompting Shapiro to create a stand-alone application using the same animation and sounds. The software was discontinued after Children's Television Workshop sent Shapiro a cease and desist letter.
Oscar first appeared on the January 11, 2008 episode of the television game show 1 vs. 100
as a member of the mob. He was eliminated on both games, but was so popular he continued to appear for the remainder of the season as a regular member of the mob until the program's cancellation, but didn't win much money. Oscar has made appearances on Canadian public broadcasting advertising "childhood diabetes awareness days" at the Montreal Canadiens
hockey games.
The fumetti
comic Twisted Toyfare Theater
once featured Oscar in an issue in which he sings a variation of his "I Love Trash" song about Wesley Snipes
' movies. In the end Wesley Snipes (as Blade) unfortunately decapitates him.
Oscar was adopted as the mascot for Waste Reduction Week in Canada
, an environmental
campaign that took place October 19–25, 2008.
In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, an Oscar-like character emerges from a dustbin and instructs the viewer that it's "not cool" to play with scythe
s (in response to Irwin's stealing and misuse of Grim's scythe) and instructs viewers to "tell an adult immediately" if they find one.
In Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Oscar has an appearance with Darth Vader
, trying to become part of Kahmunrah's team - only to be discovered that he's not evil, just "vaguely grouchy." This Oscar puppet that was used in filming is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
.
On May 29, 2009, Oscar the Grouch appeared in an ABC television special
on economics called Un-broke: What You Need To Know About Money
. He appeared showing the viewers what investing stocks means. It's shown that he has investment filings with Lehman Brothers
, Bear Stearns
, and Washington Mutual
even though they are bankrupt companies, but he then says that they're not really his filings. The press kit for the special reveals that Oscar was popular with the crew for the special even during filming.
On October 11, 2009, Oscar appeared on the CBC Radio One
show, Q, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi. Beyond talking about his time on Sesame Street, his love for trash and recycling
, Oscar revealed that his father is actually from Saint David, New Brunswick
and his mother grew up in Nova Scotia
, thus making him of Canadian descent. He further went on to suggest that he had cheated on Grundgetta, his long time girlfriend.
On November 12, 2009, Oscar appeared on CNN
to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. In an interview with Anderson Cooper
, Oscar reveals that he would still be orange if he bathed; his green exterior is apparently moss
.
Oscar the Grouch also appeared in the Cartoon Network show MAD
, in the episode "WALL-E-Nator", Wall-E from Disney/Pixar's film WALL-E cubes Oscar the Grouch for too much garbage, then the girl explains "A square!", and Oscar says "Leave me alone!" and the boy starts crying.
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
character on the television program Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. He has a green body (during the first season he was orange), has no (visible) nose (although he claims to have one), and lives in a trash can
Waste container
A waste container is a container for temporarily storing refuse and waste. Different terms are in use, depending on the language area, the design and material and the respective site .The most general terms are waste receptacle and container bin.Common terms include dustbin ,...
. His favorite thing in life is trash; evidence for this is the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding
Compulsive hoarding
Compulsive hoarding is the acquisition of possessions in excess of socially normative amounts, even if the items are worthless, hazardous, or unsanitary...
of seemingly useless items. Although "The Grouch" aptly describes his misanthropic interaction with the other characters and even to himself at times, it is also the name of his species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. The character is performed by Caroll Spinney
Caroll Spinney
Caroll Edwin Spinney, sometimes credited as Carroll Spinney or Ed Spinney , is an American puppeteer most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on the children's television show Sesame Street.-Life and career:...
, and has been performed by him since the show's first episode.
Origins
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
wanted them to be integrated into the series, suggesting a giant bird and creature living in the neighborhood's trash. The character was developed by Sesame Street head writer Jon Stone
Jon Stone
Jon Stone is best known for writing and producing Sesame Street, and is credited with helping develop characters such as Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch. He is regarded by many as one of the best children's television writers. He started working for children's programs in 1955...
and Henson, based on the personality of a “magnificently rude” waiter. Based on the character outline, puppeteer Caroll Spinney was inspired by the voice of a New York City taxi driver, hailed when going to the production studio; when he first got in, the driver asked him "Where to, Mac?" and spoke with Spinney about the mayor of New York at the time (Republican John Lindsay
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay was an American politician, lawyer and broadcaster who was a U.S. Congressman, Mayor of New York City, candidate for U.S...
).
His name's source is of some debate. Most sources suggest it's derived from the name of the aforementioned restaurant, Oscar's Tavern. In recent years, however, the family of Canadian folk musician Oscar Brand
Oscar Brand
Oscar Brand is a folk singer, songwriter, and author. In his career, spanning over 60 years, he has composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums, among them Canadian and American patriotic songs...
has suggested he was the namesake. Brand was an early board member for the show's non-profit production company, Children's Television Workshop
Sesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
. The claim has been made in an interview with the CBC around the time of Brand's 90th birthday, and by his son in the interview segment of Jeopardy. Named “Oscar the Grouch”, writers would eventually add other grouches, an entire species explored in the film The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is the second theatrical feature-length film starring the cast of the popular U.S. children's series Sesame Street...
and various television episodes.
The initial puppet, built by staff builder John Lovelady
John Lovelady
John Lovelady is a right-handed puppeteer who worked with the Muppets, including on Sesame Street. He stopped working with the Muppets when The Muppet Show Season 1 ended but later joined the syndicated children's series The Great Space Coaster and also performed in a serialisation of Alice's...
, was orange with a single dark-colored eyebrow.
Spinney's other lead character is Big Bird
Big Bird
Big Bird is a protagonist of the children's television show Sesame Street. Big Bird, like many of the other Sesame Street characters, is a Muppet character. He is sometimes referred to simply as "Bird" by his friends....
, whom Oscar often describes to children as his friend during public appearances. He especially likes to prank him every morning by putting ketchup in his alarm clock. During the first season of Sesame Street, the street set was arranged such that Spinney, who is right-handed, was forced to operate Oscar's head with his left hand. A subsequent redesign of the set (and Oscar himself, as he was ripped apart by Jim Henson) allowed him to switch hands. In the first season of Sesame Street, Oscar was orange, and later became green in Season 2.
According to Sesame Streets Robert W. Morrow, Oscar was created to indirectly demonstrate racial and ethnic diversity. Since his manners and tastes were different than the other characters', his creators hoped to address social issues by using his differences as a metaphor for racial and ethnic differences. Some viewers, however, saw Oscar as a "surrogate for poor, urban Americans" during the show's early seasons.
Attributes
Oscar can also become mobile with the help of his friend Bruno the trash man, who carries Oscar around in his can. Bruno is a full-body costume which allows Oscar's puppeteer to manipulate Oscar while remaining hidden by the Bruno costume. (While Bruno was seen fairly regularly in Sesame Street's early days, he hasn't appeared on the show in over a decade.) Also, as seen in the Elmo's WorldElmo's World
"Elmo's World" is a segment of the children's television show Sesame Street featuring Elmo, a small, three and a half year old, bright red monster. It debuted on November 16, 1998. Since then, it has been regularly shown during the last fifteen minutes of every Sesame Street episode...
episode "Dance", Oscar's legs can protrude from the bottom of his trash can to allow him to walk around. Similarly, in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast on PBS on December 3, 1978.-Plot:The opening features the inhabitants of Sesame Street enjoying an ice skating party. Big Bird has trouble skating, but a child gives him a hand, and he ends up skating very well...
(1978), Oscar is seen ice skating. For several seasons, Oscar was frequently shown with his friend and pet Slimey
Slimey the Worm
Slimey the Worm is a light and dark orange striped worm that is the pet and friend of Oscar the Grouch on Jim Henson's Muppet show Sesame Street. Introduced in Season 13 , he is played by Martin P. Robinson and is the smallest of all characters on Sesame Street, being only 7 cm...
, an orange worm. On occasional episodes he has mentioned leaving Sesame Street to attend "the annual Grouch convention in Syracuse
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
". Oscar openly admits that he does not like anything or anybody that is nice (except young human children, the only people that he can actually act nice to without facing ridicule from his fellow Grouches) as well as older fans of the show. However, the only person he has ever liked on-camera was Maria, which he would never admit. He once inadvertently complimented a dance that his followers, The Grouchketeers, had performed for him. Oscar has shown rare acts of kindness such as trying to replace Ernie's rubber duckie when Ernie had lost it. He and his girlfriend Grundgetta also love each other, though their relationship is (understandably) somewhat rocky (though he does show he cares for her). As stated above, he is usually very nice to children especially when making public appearances with Spinney. According to a recent episode, Oscar hates "Pox News" (a parody of Fox News) but his mother likes it. Oscar tries to keep his Canadian identity secret, but admitted that he is Canadian due to his parents being from Canada. He was born in Minto, New Brunswick, with his father having been born in Saint David Ridge, New Brunswick
Moores Mills, New Brunswick
Moores Mills is a Canadian rural community in Charlotte County, New Brunswick.It is near Saint David Ridge, northeast of St. Stephen....
, and his mother having grown up in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
In Oscar's trash can
While appearing to be the size of a normal trash can, Oscar's residence is actually larger insideMagic satchel
Magic satchel is a term often used in reference to computer role-playing games. It refers to the use of a character's inventory in the game, which can often contain more items than is physically possible for the character to carry without any visible means to hold or transport them.A similar...
than the exterior would suggest. Oscar has noted through the years that it boasts such amenities as a farm, swimming pool, ice-rink, bowling alley, and a piano. Other items include Slimey
Slimey the Worm
Slimey the Worm is a light and dark orange striped worm that is the pet and friend of Oscar the Grouch on Jim Henson's Muppet show Sesame Street. Introduced in Season 13 , he is played by Martin P. Robinson and is the smallest of all characters on Sesame Street, being only 7 cm...
, Oscar's pet worm; Fluffy, Oscar's pet elephant; Oscar's shoes; and a dimension gate to Grouchland, Oscar's hometown.
International
While Oscar receives new names in international dubs, Sesame Street international co-productions have often created their own version of the character.In their second season, Germany's Sesamstrasse created an antagonistic character named Uli von Bödefeld. While not a grouch, he served the same role in plots as Oscar. When a fire destroyed the costume in 1988, a decade after he debuted, he and American segments of Oscar were both replaced by a grouch named Rumpel. Caterpillar Gustav is the counterpoint to Slimey.
Israeli grouch, Moishe Oofnik
Moishe Oofnik
Moishe Oofnik , is a main character in Rechov Sumsum, the Israeli version of the children's television series Sesame Street. He is the equivalent of Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch. He is also a relative....
, is the only character to survive the first Rechov Sumsum, appearing in its current reboot, English/Hebrew series Shalom Sesame
Shalom Sesame
Shalom Sesame is an adaptation of Sesame Street, the children's television show. It was produced in 1986 and 1990 for public television stations in the United States, aimed at introducing Israel and Judaism to children...
, and Israeli-Palestinian co-production Rechov Sumsum/Shara'a Simsim.
Other grouches include Bodoque on Mexico's Plaza Sésamo
Plaza Sésamo
Plaza Sésamo is an educational children's television series for preschoolers, which is the Spanish-language adaptation for Latin America of Sesame Street. Both programs are pioneers of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment.The program was first...
, Gugu on Brazil's Vila Sesamo
Vila Sésamo
Vila Sésamo is the Brazilian version of the American children's show Sesame Street. As of 2009 it airs on TV Rá-Tim-Bum.- History :Vila Sésamo is the Brazilian version of the popular American educational children’s show, Sesame Street...
, Kirpik on Turkey's Susam Sokağı
Susam Sokagi
Susam Sokağı is the Turkish adaptation of children's television program Sesame Street. It was aired on weekday mornings 9:00 a.m./8:00 central on TRT, the state television in Turkey, between late 1980s and early 1990s. It involved a street design in a studio, and original Sesame Street material,...
, Ferrão on Portugal's Rua Sésamo, and Kewal Khadoosa on India's Galli Galli Sim Sim
Galli Galli Sim Sim
Galli Galli Sim Sim is the Hindi language adaptation of the American children's television series Sesame Street , for India. It is co-produced by Sesame Workshop and Turner Broadcasting, through Miditech...
. Filipino adaptation Sesame! featured Kiko Matsing, basically a gorilla.
Some grouches differ from the mostly antagonistic mold. France's 1, Rue Sésame
1, rue Sesame
1, rue Sésame is a French children's television series based on the popular U.S. children's program Sesame Street. The show first aired January 4, 1978 at 6:25 p.m. on TF1. Its musical director was Roger Elcourt, composer Jean Morlier....
featured Mordicus, who while lives in a trash can, and is slightly cynical, is also described as lively and enthusiastic, and participated in the neighborhood band.
- In PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
he is named Akhtar and lives in a rusty oil barrelDrum (container)A drum is a cylindrical container used for shipping bulk cargo. Drums can be made of steel, dense paperboard , or plastics, and are generally used for the transportation and storage of liquids and powders. Drums are often certified for shipment of dangerous goods...
.
Appearances in other media
Oscar made what he called "a very brief cameoCameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
" in the 1981 Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
movie The Great Muppet Caper
The Great Muppet Caper
The Great Muppet Caper is a 1981 mystery comedy film directed by Jim Henson. It is the second of a series of live-action musical feature films, starring Jim Henson's Muppets. This film was produced by Henson Associates, ITC Entertainment and Universal Pictures, and premiered on 26 July 1981. The...
. When Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy
Miss Piggy is a Muppet character who was primarily played by Frank Oz on The Muppet Show. In 2001, Eric Jacobson began performing the role, although Oz did not officially retire until 2002....
threw a truck driver (played by Peter Ustinov
Peter Ustinov
Peter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
) into a pile of boxes and a pile of trash cans, Oscar emerged from his trash can and demanded "Hey, what's all the racket?" The driver asked him, "What are you doing here?" Oscar replied, "A very brief cameo." The driver muttered, "Me, too." Oscar also appeared in the Jim Henson holiday special, A Muppet Family Christmas
A Muppet Family Christmas
A Muppet Family Christmas is a 1987 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets.This is one of the very few Muppet productions to feature Muppets associated with all four of the major Muppet franchises: The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock and Muppet Babies...
, when the Sesame Street Gang comes to the Grizzly Farm House for the holidays, in the film he befriends Rizzo the Rat (whose name parodies that of the Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film based on the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. It was written by Waldo Salt, directed by John Schlesinger, and stars Dustin Hoffman and newcomer Jon Voight in the title role. Notable smaller roles are filled by Sylvia Miles, John...
character Ratso Rizzo) who asks the Grouch if he could stay in his trash can for the night. Oscar agreed saying that he'd never had a rat in his trash can before.
Oscar could be seen among many villains in the South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
episode "Imagination Land III
Imaginationland Episode III
"Imaginationland Episode III", or "Moistening of the Scrotum" , is episode 1112 of Comedy Central's animated TV series South Park. It originally aired on October 31, 2007. It is the concluding episode in a three-part story arc that won the 2008 Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program for One Hour or...
".
Oscar was on an episode of Scrubs
My ABC's
"My ABC's" is the 155th episode of ABC Studios television series Scrubs, and the fifth episode of the series' eighth season. It was broadcast on January 27, 2009-Plot:...
imagined as the new Chief of medicine.
Oscar was one of numerous PBS personalities chasing after Homer for not being able to pay a pledge in a Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
season 11 episode
The Simpsons (season 11)
The Simpsons 11th season originally aired between September 1999 and May 2000, beginning on Sunday, September 26, 1999, with "Beyond Blunderdome". The show runner for the 11th production season was Mike Scully...
, "Missionary: Impossible
Missionary: Impossible
"Missionary: Impossible" is the fifteenth episode of the 11th season of The Simpsons, which originally aired February 20, 2000.-Plot:In an attempt to end a pledge drive which interrupts a favorite show of his on PBS , Homer pledges $10,000 to the network...
". Oscar crashes through the window of the church Homer is hiding in, and demands the money while Elmo, who was hiding in the trash can with him, tells Homer he knows where he lives. He also appeared in "Trash of the Titans
Trash of the Titans
"Trash of the Titans" is the 22nd episode of The Simpsons ninth season and the 200th overall. It originally aired on the Fox network on April 26, 1998...
".
Oscar inspired an Apple Macintosh INIT
Extension (Mac OS)
On the Apple Macintosh operating system prior to Mac OS X, extensions were small pieces of code that extended the system's functionality. They were run initially at start-up time, and operated by a variety of mechanisms, including trap patching and other code modifying techniques. Initially an...
written by Eric B. Shapiro and shown at the 1989 MacHack
MacHack (convention)
MacHack was a Macintosh software developers conference first held in 1986 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The final MacHack conference took place on June 19-21, 2003. In 2004 the conference was renamed ADHOC...
conference, featuring a singing animated Oscar that appeared from the trash can whenever a file was thrown away. The hack was so popular that some parents lost the entire contents of their hard disks to preschoolers wanting to see more of Oscar, prompting Shapiro to create a stand-alone application using the same animation and sounds. The software was discontinued after Children's Television Workshop sent Shapiro a cease and desist letter.
Oscar first appeared on the January 11, 2008 episode of the television game show 1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100 (US game show)
1 vs. 100 is an American game show that was broadcast by NBC from 2006–08, and is revived on GSN with a new series which began in November 2010. As in other formats, a single player goes up against 100 other contestants . The 1 gains money for every Mob member eliminated, but loses all winnings...
as a member of the mob. He was eliminated on both games, but was so popular he continued to appear for the remainder of the season as a regular member of the mob until the program's cancellation, but didn't win much money. Oscar has made appearances on Canadian public broadcasting advertising "childhood diabetes awareness days" at the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
hockey games.
The fumetti
Fumetti
Fumetti is an Italian word which refers to all comics. In English, the term refers specifically to photonovels or photographic comics, a genre of comics illustrated with photographs rather than drawings. Italians call these fotoromanzi...
comic Twisted Toyfare Theater
Twisted Toyfare Theater
Twisted ToyFare Theatre is the most popular feature in the monthly magazine ToyFare. Originally titled Twisted Mego Theatre, it is a humorous comic strip done in the fumetti style by photographing toys on sets built by the magazine's staff, and using Photoshop to add effects and word balloons...
once featured Oscar in an issue in which he sings a variation of his "I Love Trash" song about Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...
' movies. In the end Wesley Snipes (as Blade) unfortunately decapitates him.
Oscar was adopted as the mascot for Waste Reduction Week in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, an environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
campaign that took place October 19–25, 2008.
In an episode of The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, an Oscar-like character emerges from a dustbin and instructs the viewer that it's "not cool" to play with scythe
Scythe
A scythe is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass, or reaping crops. It was largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor machinery, but is still used in some areas of Europe and Asia. The Grim Reaper is often depicted carrying or wielding a scythe...
s (in response to Irwin's stealing and misuse of Grim's scythe) and instructs viewers to "tell an adult immediately" if they find one.
In Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
Oscar has an appearance with Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
, trying to become part of Kahmunrah's team - only to be discovered that he's not evil, just "vaguely grouchy." This Oscar puppet that was used in filming is on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History
National Museum of American History
The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific and military history. Among the items on display are the original Star-Spangled Banner and Archie Bunker's...
.
On May 29, 2009, Oscar the Grouch appeared in an ABC television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
on economics called Un-broke: What You Need To Know About Money
Un-broke: What You Need To Know About Money
Un-broke: What You Need To Know About Money is a television special that aired on May 29, 2009 at 9 PM Eastern Time on ABC. Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments conceived the show, which featured celebrities including the Jonas Brothers, Oscar the Grouch, Antonio Banderas, Christian...
. He appeared showing the viewers what investing stocks means. It's shown that he has investment filings with Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
, Bear Stearns
Bear Stearns
The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. based in New York City, was a global investment bank and securities trading and brokerage, until its sale to JPMorgan Chase in 2008 during the global financial crisis and recession...
, and Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual
Washington Mutual, Inc. , abbreviated to WaMu, was a savings bank holding company and the former owner of Washington Mutual Bank, which was the United States' largest savings and loan association until its collapse in 2008....
even though they are bankrupt companies, but he then says that they're not really his filings. The press kit for the special reveals that Oscar was popular with the crew for the special even during filming.
On October 11, 2009, Oscar appeared on the CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
show, Q, hosted by Jian Ghomeshi. Beyond talking about his time on Sesame Street, his love for trash and recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
, Oscar revealed that his father is actually from Saint David, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
and his mother grew up in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, thus making him of Canadian descent. He further went on to suggest that he had cheated on Grundgetta, his long time girlfriend.
On November 12, 2009, Oscar appeared on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. In an interview with Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...
, Oscar reveals that he would still be orange if he bathed; his green exterior is apparently moss
Moss
Mosses are small, soft plants that are typically 1–10 cm tall, though some species are much larger. They commonly grow close together in clumps or mats in damp or shady locations. They do not have flowers or seeds, and their simple leaves cover the thin wiry stems...
.
Oscar the Grouch also appeared in the Cartoon Network show MAD
Mad (TV series)
MAD is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Kevin Shinick and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Based upon the magazine of the same name, each episode is a collection of short animated parodies of television shows, movies, games, celebrities and other media using various types of...
, in the episode "WALL-E-Nator", Wall-E from Disney/Pixar's film WALL-E cubes Oscar the Grouch for too much garbage, then the girl explains "A square!", and Oscar says "Leave me alone!" and the boy starts crying.