who was the first character on sesame street
Sesame Street characters The first Muppet to appear on the show[11] was Big Bird, an 8-foot-tall yellow bird believed by writer Shalom M. Fisch and Dr. Lewis Bernstein to be a canary,[9] who resides in a large nest alongside the "123 Sesame Street" building[11] and represents the 6-year-old child with his tendency to question everything.[12][13] Also living outside of the building is Oscar the Grouch, a trash can-dwelling creature belonging to his own unique species, who is portrayed as a habitual pessimist[14] and was designed to give children "permission to feel grouchy—and to demonstrate differing opinions".[15] Oscar and Big Bird were specifically created for the reshooting of the "Street" scenes with the idea that they would be able to interact with the human characters.[16] Big Bird's best friend is Aloysius Snuffleupagus (better known as "Snuffy"), who was portrayed as the bird's imaginary friend until revealed to the human cast in 1985.[17][18] For his part, Oscar has several friends of his own despite his pessimism; these include the Grouch's pet worm, Slimey,[14] and his girlfriend Grundgetta.[19] Two other Muppets who have appeared on the show since its beginning are Ernie and Bert, a pair of best friends with contrasting personalities; Ernie is portrayed as a free-spirited trickster who loves his rubber duck,[20][21] while Bert is the world-weary foil to his friend's naïve trouble-making, and shows himself to be obsessed with things like pigeons and paper clips.[22]
Leslie Carrara-Rudolph Leslie Carrara-Rudolph is known for performing the fairy Abby Cadabby on the PBS Kids show Sesame Street, for which she was nominated for a 2009 Emmy Award for best performer in a children's series. She is also known for her puppeteer role as Ginger on Playhouse Disney's Johnny and the Sprites. She performed the muppet Jesse for Sesame Street's military outreach project Touch, Listen, and Connect, which starred Katie Couric. Carrara-Rudolph plays various characters on Sesame Street throughout the season. She got her start on ABC's Muppets Tonight as Spamela Hamderson. Other puppeteering credits include Edi the Zebra on the Learning Channel's Animal Jam and the evil blonde vampire puppet in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Carrara-Rudolph is one of the founding members of the Henson improv group Puppet Up!, which was later renamed Stuffed and Unstrung. She was part of the improv cast for its debut at the Aspen Comedy Festival. She toured with them to the Australian comedy festival and was a cast member for the off-Broadway show at the Union Square Theater. She also played the main role of Blue, the female blue puppy in Nick Jr.'s Blue's Room.