I ask you: how can a list of ten awesome Sesame Street moments not have Put Down the Duckie?
This is why Top Ten lists are so hard to do. You forget stuff that should be right at the top.
And if you don’t recognize at least some of the people on that video, then you need to turn in your geek badge. Though even I’ll admit having Jeremy Irons in there is at the very least very creepy. This is, however, well offset by the inclusion of Yosh Schmenge.
Tip o’ the yipyipyip to Fark.
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
Contact me: The Bad Astronomer "at" gmail "dot" com
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May 30th, 2009 at 8:29 am
That was wonderful — I hadn’t seen it before, so cheers! Others I love are Ernie can’t sleep (which was on the list) and Letter B (which wasn’t: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3WWrrNjGxQ)
Jeremy Irons isn’t creepy!
May 30th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Whats Ken Ham doing in this video at 3:30?
Well, apart from playing the banjo…
May 30th, 2009 at 8:47 am
I still have a VHS tape of this episode which I found this winter and made my fiance watch. We walked around for a week singing this song. It was my favorite thing ever as a kid.
Also, in the same Sesame Street special, they do “People in Your Neighborhood” with an appearance by Ralph Nader as “Consumer Advocate”, who is a person in your neighborhood (one of those people that you meet each day). It kills me every time.
May 30th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I should have handed in my geek badge as I didn’t recognize a single a person here, but then I realized I don’t even have a geek badge because of my refusal to watch a single movie or episode or both Star Wars and Star Trek.. (Or Serenity, or Battlestar, or…)
May 30th, 2009 at 8:58 am
Unfortunately, this made me think of Pat Robertson’s “same-sex marriage will lead to sex with ducks” assertion.
Pat Robertson turns everything to sh**.
May 30th, 2009 at 9:00 am
@Oded… not even Pete Seeger?
*sigh* I’ve got some ’splaining to do here! The work of a folk musician is never done.
May 30th, 2009 at 9:04 am
This is my personal favorite, too.
May 30th, 2009 at 9:05 am
How could they not have mnummnah (if that’s how you spell it)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lgcQUQZBtE
May 30th, 2009 at 9:09 am
Jeremy Irons is not as out of place as you might think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GF6ouF0AXg
May 30th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Pinball 12 was my fave. I remember as a kid wondering how the pinball stayed on the ramp sideways. Had no idea it was Pointer Sisters–bonus!
May 30th, 2009 at 9:23 am
Sesame Street looks like fun. Albeit if _that_ was one of the top ten moments…
Um, yes, Irons did fine up until he gave up in the end. They kept that, what were they thinking?
May 30th, 2009 at 9:39 am
I always did think Ernie was something of a stubborn “cluck.”
May 30th, 2009 at 9:59 am
Calamity Janeway, when I was little and I heard that Pinball song I can remember dancing all around our little apartment. It was one of my favorite parts of the show, too.
May 30th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Beats me!
I’ve never seen this part before, but it’s very cool indeed!
May 30th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Seeing Gordon Jackson and Jean Marsh was to me rather more creepy, since it clashed to completely with their Upstairs, Downstairs characters.
BTW, most of the people in the clip has nothing to do with sci-fi or fantasy or at the least are well known for work outside those genres, so it’s not the geek badge that needs to be handed in, it’s the culture badge.
May 30th, 2009 at 10:31 am
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Put_Down_the_Duckie_(song)
Yeah, geek nothing.
May 30th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Cameos and time of first appearance.
1:25 John Candy
1:32 Andrea Martin
1:47 Keith Hernandez and Mookie Wilson
1:49 Jane Curtin
1:54 Madeline Kahn
1:58 Joe Williams
2:04 Pee Wee Herman
2:10 Ladysmith Black Mombazo
2:32 Wynton Marsalis
3:04 Celia Cruz
3:06 Itzhak Perlman
3:10 Gordon Jackson and Jean Marsh
3:15 Paul Simon
3:26 Jeremy Irons
3:29 Pete Seeger
3:32 Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman
3:37 Sean Landeta, Karl Nelson, Mark Ingram, and Carl Banks
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Put_Down_the_Duckie_(song) was a big help.
May 30th, 2009 at 11:25 am
Who knew learning about opportunity costs could be so fun!
Thanks for sharing.
May 30th, 2009 at 1:46 pm
The yipyip aliens meeting a telephone (click name for youtube link) will forever be seared into my childhood psyche. My sister and I used to wet ourselves with laughter doing that routine over and over. There’s a lot worse ways of driving your parents mad
May 30th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
A few years ago, I was in a friend’s car and “Put Down the Duckie” came on the radio. It was part of an NPR interview with Kevin Clash (IIRC). That was so cool hearing the song on the radio. My friend is from Taiwan, and so he had no clue what I was so excited about.
May 30th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
This clip came after I stopped being a full-time Sesame Street watcher, but it’s still very heartwarming. Wow that show was fun.
I also recognized no more than a few of the cameos. Does anyone else here care to make a list to enlighten the rest of us?
May 30th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
[...] • Can you name all the famous folks? “Put Down The Duckie” from Sesame Street on YouTube found at Discover. [...]
May 30th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
What’s wrong with Irons? He’s adorable!
Who were the grumps?
May 30th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
I recognized a lot of people, even if I wasn’t sure of names at first. I could see several people my age and younger not recognizing people, though…
Regardless, I suddenly miss Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.
May 30th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
@Brian: There’s a full list @ YouTube. I’ll paste it below!
The celebrities, in order of appearance: John Candy (as Yosh Schmenge from SCTV), Andrea Martin (as Edith Prickley from SCTV), New York Mets Keith Hernandez & Mookie Wilson, Jane Curtin (of SNL and Kate & Allie), Madeline Kahn, Joe Williams, Paul Reubens (as Pee Wee Herman), Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Wynton Marsalis, Celia Cruz, Ihtzak Perlman, Gordon Jackson & Jean Marsh (as Angus Hudson and Rose Buck of Upstairs Downstairs), Paul Simon, Jeremy Irons, Pete Seeger, Rhea Perlman and Danny Devito, and NY Giants Sean Landeta, Mark Ingram, Karl Nelson and Carl Banks.
May 30th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
@Oded
how can you not at least recognize Paul Simon or John Candy? Or Pee Wee Herman?
May 30th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Is “Put down the duckie!” what police shouted to Paul Reubens (best known for his role as Pee-wee Herman) during the raid?
May 30th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
oh yeah! even though I was past 35 when that aired.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
@Grizzly and @mathyoo
Sorry, I don’t even recognize any of those names!
If it makes you feel any better, I’m only 22 years old, so maybe this just isn’t my generation. I’ve never even actually watched sesame street…
Edit: oh, I at least recognize the name Danny Devito … I can’t name anything he has done though. Bah, I don’t even remember my aunt’s names!
May 30th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Thanks for that, Phil! That was always one of my favorites when the kids were little and watched the show regularly.
It was nice to see Madeline Kahn there too, I’ve worked with her once, super nice lady. She’s missed terribly. She had family here in Charlottesville.
May 30th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Thanks, Phil! Haven’t seen that in years, and it’s still GREAT!
May 30th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Sorry, but NOTHING beats Cab Calloway’s appearance- def my #1 “The Jumpin’ Jive” with the two headed monster…. classic.
Grover’s “wubba wubba wubba is a monster song” is a classic too with a lot of cameos
May 30th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I’ve got a 5 year old and a 2 year old and Seasame Street is on every weekday morning (so my husband and I can read the NY Times). I love it because it’s got great tidbits for the parents. They really nailed the take off of Law and Order.
We got the 30 years of Seasame Street CD collection and we listen to it all the time on long car trips. While I didn’t hear it when I was a kid, one of my current favorite songs is “Do De Rubber Duck” which is a reggae version. I also love the Cab Calloway and of course from when I was a kid, mmmanaman.
May 30th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
HA! that’s great. Madeline Kahn was the only person i could recognize AND name. i don’t know if that gains or looses me points…
May 30th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
The list also lacks one of the cutest moments in TV history:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTqCVJW2qOw&fmt=18
“A B C D E F Cookie Monster!”
May 30th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
I have to put in a vote for one of my personal favorites, the indie-rock-before-indie-rock “Lowercase N,” with its cool animation and wonderful harmonies.
May 30th, 2009 at 7:58 pm
Oded, do some reading about Pete Seeger. He just turned 90. Regardless of what you might think of his politics, he’s a man of integrity.
He’s sung his way around the world and back to his beloved Hudson River. He isn’t afraid to stare down injustice when he sees it. He speaks the truth to power.
And he wants YOU to sing.
May 30th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
If “Furry, happy monsters” with REM isn’t there, I’ll be writing in and complaining!
May 31st, 2009 at 5:23 am
Wow, some South Africans even made it into the song. Awesome.
May 31st, 2009 at 6:15 am
Madeline Kahn
I loved her so much.
Great video, but made me a little sad.
May 31st, 2009 at 10:16 am
“Duckie” is obviously a euphemism for heroin.
Ernie – you gotta put down the duckie unless you want to end up like the Bird.
And I mean Charlie Parker, not Big Bird.
;-D
May 31st, 2009 at 10:47 am
I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this, but…
I don’t find Jeremy Irons to be half as creepy as the moustaches of the two white football players. You can practically hear the “Bow-chica-wow-wow!”
May 31st, 2009 at 11:11 am
[...] Put down the duckie — And speaking of ducks… Sex with Ducks. [...]
May 31st, 2009 at 3:43 pm
What about the astronomy-themed “I Don’t want to live on the moon”:
PS- THANKS FOR COMMENT EDITING!
May 31st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Yes. Opportunity cost. That’s exactly it.
Sesame Street really is quality children’s television, isn’t it?
This stirred some memories, though most of the celebrities were actually too obscure to my experience (much of which comes down to me [i]being[/i] a geek)for me to recognize immediately (Danny Devito and Pee-Wee Herman being the only ones I got on the first pass.)
I have [i]always[/i] found Pee-Wee creepy. I still do.
May 31st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Mnah Mnah was on the Muppet Show, not Sesame Street — easy mistake to make.
May 31st, 2009 at 6:37 pm
27. Tim G Says:
Is “Put down the duckie!” what police shouted to Paul Reubens (best known for his role as Pee-wee Herman) during the raid?
I don’t think so, but if you’ve followed Bill O’Reilly on gay marriage……
J/P=?
May 31st, 2009 at 11:19 pm
One of the true joys of having children is the chance to get reacquainted with Sesame Street. My personal favorite is the One Banana song.
May 31st, 2009 at 11:40 pm
so.. Jeremy Irons is creepy enough to comment on but *not* Peewee Herman? uh.. ok..
June 1st, 2009 at 6:35 am
Oh no Jenno! Mana-mana was on Sesame Street! My sister and I taught our little brother to do the “mana-mana” part while we did the goofy blonde muppets back in ‘73 or ‘74, way before the Muppet Show. Drove my mother nuts! I play it in the classroom (I have a version by Cake) and my 8th grade students *love* it. Universal wackiness is a good thing.
June 1st, 2009 at 6:40 am
What part of “Pee Wee Herman is an adult acting(poorly) like a child” don’t people understand? I recall the outrage when Pee Wee was busted in an adult theater. Laughed my buns off,,,
Ah, Sesame Street. My kids and I loved that show.
Naked Bunny with a Whip:
Pat Robertson is just an old white guy obsessed with sex. ANY kind of sex. I guess he thinks about it ALL the time,,,
GAry 7
June 1st, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Wow. Double treat!
1. Reminds me of my childhood and
2. Just saw a most wonderful rendition of this song a week ago at the Sacrament Jazz Festival by the Ophir Prison Marching Kazoo Band and Temperance Society, LMTD.
They even threw little yellow rubber duckies into the audience while playing the song. My wife managed to “catch” one in her, um in her, mmmmm. Well let’s just say she had a little opening just below her head in just the right spot to catch a little rubber duckie.
The band members, of course, loved it!