Oscar the Grouch

Oscar the Grouch
Sesame Street character
Oscar (right) with actor Hal Miller, who played Gordon from 1972–1974 and Loretta Long, who plays Susan.
First appearance	November 10, 1969
Created by	Jim Henson
Portrayed by	Caroll Spinney (1969–present) Eric Jacobson (2015–present) (understudy)
Information
Aliases	Oscar Mr. Grouch Mr. Oscar Oskie (Grundgetta's pet name for him) Son (by his mother)
Species	Grouch
Gender	Male

Oscar the Grouch is a character on the television program Sesame Street. He has a green body (during the first season he was orange), has no visible nose, and lives in a trash can. His favorite thing in life is trash, as evidenced by the song "I Love Trash". A running theme is his compulsive hoarding of seemingly useless items. "The Grouch" aptly describes his misanthropic interaction with the other characters, but also refers to his species. His birthday, as noted by Sesame Workshop, is on June 1. The character is performed by Caroll Spinney, and has been performed by him since the show's first episode. Since 2015, Eric Jacobson is the understudy for the character.

Initially, the Puppet 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 can. 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 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.