MONSTERPIECE THEATER, AMERICAN MONSTER CLASSIC
(SESAME STREET)


FRANK OZ
- "ALISTAIR COOKIE"
- "COOKIE MONSTER"



From Muppet Wiki web page:

"Monsterpiece Theater" is a recurring "Sesame Street" sketch hosted by Cookie Monster as "Alistair Cookie", voiced by Frank Oz.

The sketch parodies the PBS anthology series "Masterpiece Theater", originally hosted by Alistair Cooke.

In his earliest introductions, the urbane Alistair Cookie held an unlit pipe (which he usually ate by the end). Due to concerns over even the appearance of smoking, the pipe was later dropped, and scenes in earlier skits were re-taped (without the pipe).

The segment premiered in season 9 and continued to appear on the show through season 33 (1972-2002).

The segment brings a cultural element to the series by presenting stirring dramas based on classic literature, plays, or movies.

As befits the title, many of the stars were indeed monsters, most notably Grover (who starred in more than a dozen skits). A few (notably "Me, Claudius" and "Upstairs, Downstairs") spoofed specific Masterpiece Theater series.

The stirring theme music was composed by Sam Pottle, with the segment was created by Tony Geiss.

Similar segments have appeared in recent years sharing certain elements with the "Monsterpiece Theater" segments.

In Season 38, Cookie Monster bookended a sketch he describes as an "American Monster Classic." In it, Grover plays a monster who has forgotten his keys, in a take on "A Streetcar Named Desire".

Frank Oz - From IMDB:

Frank Richard Oznowicz was born in Hereford, England to puppeteers Frances and Isidore Oznowicz. His family moved to Montana in 1951, eventually settling in Oakland, California. As a teenager, he worked as an apprentice puppeteer at Children's Fairyland amusement park. He is one of the primary puppeteers
responsible for the development of Jim Henson's "Sesame Street" (1969) and "The Muppet Show" (1976) as well as over 75 other Muppet productions. George Lucas originally contacted Henson to play the part of Yoda in "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" (1980), but he recommended Oz for the part instead. He developed the character's trademark syntax, returning to voice and puppet the Jedi Master in "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (1983) and "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (1999).
Oz voiced the computer-generated Yoda in "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones" (2002) and "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" (2005), supporting the transition of the character's rendering to digital. In 2011, the Blu-Ray edition of "The Phantom Menace" replaced the puppet Yoda with CGI to match the other prequel films.

He began a career of behind-the-camera puppet and live action filmmaking by co-directing "The Dark Crystal" (1982) with Henson. He went on to direct "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984), "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986), "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (1988), "What About Bob?" (1991), "The Indian in the Cupboard" (1995), "Bowfinger" (1999), "The Score" (2001), "The Stepford Wives" (2004) and "Death at a Funeral" (2007).

"Monterpiece Theater"
Sketches
Monsterpiece Theater
Episode 1162 "Upstairs, Downstairs"
Episode 1448 "Me, Claudius"
Episode 1814 "The Sound of Music"
Episode 1833 "Chariots of Fur"
Episode 2342 "39 Stairs"
Episode 2402 "Ali Baba and the Forty Theives"
Episode 2410 "Gone with the Wind"
Episode 2587 "Taming of the Shoe"
Episode 2591 "Guys and Dolls"
Episode 2674 "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"
Episode 2680 "The 400 Blows"
Episode 2710 "The Old Mand and the C"
Episode 2729 "The Postman Always Ring Twice"
Episode 2822 "Twin Beaks"
Episode 2836 "Monsters of Venice"
Episode 2860 "The Sun Also Rises"
Episode 2991 "Much Ado About Nothing"
Episode 2998 "Awaiting for Elmo"
Episode 3000 "Cyranose de Bergerac"
Episode 3002 "12 Angry Men"
Episode 3012 "Lethal Weapon 3"
Episode 3047 "Hamlet"
Episode 3111 "Inside/Outside Story"
Episode 3117 "Monster in a Box"
Episode 3134 "Monsters with Dirty Faces"
Episode 3135 "Room at the Top"
Episode 3207 "Little House on Prairie"
Episode 3231 "Little Red Riding Cookie"
Episode 3234 "Dances with Wolves"
Episode 3241 "Conservations with My Father"
Episode 3243 "Dr. No"
Episode 3263 "Howard's End"
Episode 3287 "Anyone's Nose
Episode 3496 "Fddler on the Roof"
Episode 3516 "ABCD Blue"
Episode 3848 "The Horse Whisper"

American Monster Classic Sketches
Episode 4152 "A Streetcar Named Monster"

The following are some clips from the shows:

Monsterpiece Theater hosted by Alistair Cookie (clips) from The Professor on Vimeo.

LINKS


Internet Movie Data Base
"Sesame Street"

Muppet Wiki
"Monsterpiece Theater"

Internet Movie Data Base
"Frank Oz"


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Last modified: March 2023