Mr. Snuffleupagus - Character Biography

Character Biography

For many years, Big Bird was the only character on the show who saw Mr. Snuffleupagus, but later in the 17th season (1985) he showed his friends on Sesame Street his "imaginary" friend so they believed him. Before that happened, the main adult characters teased Big Bird when he said he had seen the Snuffleupagus, because they did not believe there was such an animal, often despite evidence to the contrary (such as an oversized teddy bear that Snuffy had left behind, or segments in which Snuffy interacted with other characters, such as a street scene where Snuffy was seen playing London Bridge with some of the neighborhood kids). This concept was meant to echo the existence of imaginary friends some young children have. The Snuffleupagus' fur in the earlier years was light brown as it is today, but not exactly the same shade; he also had yellow almond-shaped eyes with thin pupils and shorter eyelashes. This appearance was deemed frightening for younger children, so later it was revamped to have his eyes look normal and to have a friendly personality.

By the late 1970s, the story lines had the adult characters becoming increasingly frustrated with Big Bird using Snuffleupagus as a scapegoat whenever something went wrong while they were out of the room. In one episode, newspapers on Sesame Street carried the front page headline, "Snuffy's Got To Go!". Some adults gradually began to believe Big Bird, the first being folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie who sang Big Bird a song about her belief in Mr. Snuffleupagus. After Buffy's departure from the show, Linda (Linda Bove), Maria (Sonia Manzano), and Gordon (Roscoe Orman) became believers in Snuffy's existence.