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Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
/
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
children's television show ''
Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
.'' He is meant to parody
Bela Lugosi Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi ( ; ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (19 ...
's vampiric character,
Count Dracula Count Dracula () is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been i ...
. His first appearance on the show was in the 4th season premiere in 1972, where he counts blocks in a sketch with
Bert and Ernie Bert and Ernie are two List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet characters who appear together in numerous skits on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Ernie acts the role of the naivety, naïve and exuberant troublemaker, whil ...
.


Description and personality

The Count's main role is to teach
counting Counting is the process of determining the number of elements of a finite set of objects; that is, determining the size of a set. The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter by a unit for ever ...
skills to children. His catchphrase is, "Greetings! I am The Count. They call me the Count because I love to count... things". The Count loves counting so much that he will often count anything and everything regardless of size or amount, to the point of annoying other characters. The Count can occasionally lose his temper if interrupted while counting, or feel sad when there is nothing around for him to count. Apart from these, he is typically portrayed as friendly and cheerful. Once he reaches the total number of items he is counting,
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...
s roll (even indoors or on sunny days) while he laughs his iconic "Ah-Ah-Ah!" staccato laugh. The Count lives in an old cobweb-infested
castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
which he shares with many bats, a wolf named Yuba, and a cat named Fatatita. As a running gag, his castle has a squeaky door, which visitors always point out, only for the Count to instantly change the subject to his counting addiction. The Count drives a special car, the Countmobile, which is designed to look like a bat (cf.
Batmobile The Batmobile is the fictional land vehicle driven by the superhero Batman, used both to patrol Gotham City looking for crime and to engage in car chases or vehicular combat with the city's criminal underworld. The Batmobile is one of a suite o ...
). The Count has been shown with a number of girlfriends, who tend to be vampire Countesses. These include Countess von Backwards (debuted in ''Sesame Street'' 28th season), who counts backwards, her total is indicated by a wolf howl; Countess Dahling von Dahling (debuted in the 12th season); and one simply called "the Countess" (first appearing in season 8). The von Count family includes an unnamed brother and mother as well as an Uncle Uno and grandparents. When the grandmother counts, it rains, and when the grandfather counts, it snows. The Count has a personal cloud hovering over him, which is the source of his thunder and lightning. Some residents of Sesame Street have been disturbed by it in a few episodes. For example, in episode 0974, he was counting at midnight, disturbing others, and as his punishment, the Amazing Mumford used magic to detach his cloud, therefore taking his thunder and lightning away until he understood. This episode was inspired by the 1978 ''Sesame Street'' bedtime storybook titled ''Who Stole the Count's Thunder?''. According to BBC News, during an interview with the '' More or Less'' team's Tim Harford, the Count said his favorite number is 34,969. The Count was quoted as saying, "It's a square-root thing.": 34,969 is a perfect square, being 1872. The Count's signature song is "The Song of the Count". The song was written by Jeff Moss as a traditional Hungarian
Csárdás Csárdás (, ; ), often seen as Czárdás, is a traditional Hungarian folk dance, the name derived from ' (old Hungarian term for roadside tavern and restaurant). It originated in Hungary and was popularized by bands in Hungary as well as neighb ...
.


Character history

The Count debuted on ''Sesame Street'' in Episode 0406, the premiere of Season 4 (1972–73). He was conceived by Norman Stiles, who wrote the first script. In the Count's very first scene,
Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis ...
told Bert to watch his
pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...
of blocks and make sure nothing happened to it while he got his camera to take a picture of the pyramid. The Count then walked by, counted the blocks, and in the process, took Ernie's pyramid apart before Bert could stop him. He then counted the blocks again, moving them back into place. Bert yelled at the Count for moving Ernie's blocks, so the Count counted the blocks again, taking the pyramid apart. The Count was performed by Jerry Nelson, who brought the character to life. He is made out of the Large Lavender Live Hand Anything Muppet pattern. Before a counting session, he originally greeted the viewers (and the characters) by saying, "Greetings. I am the Count. They call me the Count because I LOVE to count... things." Nelson voiced the Count until his death on August 23, 2012. At that time, Matt Vogel had taken over performing the puppetry of the Count. Upon Nelson's death, Vogel started performing both the Count's voice and puppetry. His first performance of the Count was in a YouTube video called "Counting the Yous in YouTube", a song about the celebration of ''Sesame Street''
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
channel reaching 1 billion views. Despite the fact that the Count is now friendly and non-threatening, in his earliest appearances from 1972 to 1975, he showed a much more villainous nature. To begin a counting session, the Count would enter the scene holding his
cape A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment of any length that hangs loosely and connects either at the neck or shoulders. They usually cover the back, shoulders, and arms. They come in a variety of styles and have been used th ...
over his face in an exaggerated Lugosi-style pose before reciting his greeting, and he was often accompanied by creepy organ music. He would not even let anything interrupt him while counting, and to prevent this, he shouted "SILENCE!" and used hypnotic powers to temporarily stun people with a wave of his hands (although he sometimes did this without shouting anything, and even did it for no reason, occasionally). He only did this twice. In his first appearance, he hypnotized Bert before counting Ernie's pyramid blocks, while on season 5, during a skit with Grover, the waiter, he hypnotized Grover to serve him more hot dogs to count instead of eating, leaving Grover breathless. And after counting, he would laugh maniacally, "MWAH HA HA HA HA HAAAA!!!", while thunder and lightning flashed in moody colors, and then he would exit the scene, once again, holding his cape over his face. This aspect of the Count's personality, however, was abruptly ended in 1975 out of concern that it might frighten younger viewers, and this practice was changed, as he became friendlier, did not have hypnotic powers, did not enter or exit the scene holding his cape over his face, and interacted more pleasantly with the characters (both live actors and Muppets). Also, the creepy organ music was removed, the lightning flashes were changed from moodily colored to normally colored, and his laugh was changed from a maniacal laugh to a more throaty, triumphant Lugosi-style laugh, "Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Belvedere Castle, in New York's
Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
, was used for exterior
establishing shot An establishing shot in filmmaking and television production sets up, or establishes, the context for a scene by showing the relationship between its important figures and objects. It is generally a long or extreme-long shot at the beginning of ...
s of the Count's castle on the show. The Count made an appearance in the film '' The Muppets Take Manhattan'' at Kermit the Frog and
Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is a The Muppets, Muppet character known for her Breakthrough role, breakout role in the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. She is notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, her tendency to use French l ...
's wedding, then in the ''Sesame Street'' movies '' Follow That Bird'' (1985) as a supporting character and '' The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland'' (1999) as a minor character. The Count appeared onscreen during the closing credits of ''Follow That Bird,'' where he proceeded to read and count the credits. He also said, "Hi, Mom." when a credit appears for Joan Ganz Cooney, creator of ''Sesame Street''. In Season 33, the Count was given a daily segment on ''Sesame Street'', simply called '' The Number of the Day''. The Count was originally portrayed by Jerry Nelson. However, Nelson's health began to deteriorate in 2004, so he retired from performing all his characters except for the Count and his other ''Sesame Street'' characters. Due to his increasingly failing health, Nelson could no longer puppeteer the character of the Count, so he handed over puppeteering duties to Matt Vogel, though Nelson still continued to voice the Count. After Nelson's death in 2012, Vogel took over voicing and puppeteering the Count full time the following year.


In other languages

* In the
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
series '' Iftah Ya Simsim'', his name is Addad (literally, "Number"). * In the Dutch version of the series, '' Sesamstraat'', the Count's name is Graaf Tel (literally, "
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
(nobleman)
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
(the process of counting)"). * In the Finnish dub of the series, ''Seesamtie'', his name is Kreivi Kamreeri ("Count Chamberlain") * In the French series '' 1, Rue Sésame'', his name is Comte von Compte. * In the German series '' Sesamstraße'', his name is Graf Zahl (literally, "
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Number"). * In the
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
series '' Rechov Sumsum'', his name is 'מר סופר', phonetically pronounced 'Mar Sofer', which literally means "Mr. Counter". * In the Mexican series '' Plaza Sésamo'', his name is Conde Contar (literally, "Count of Counting"). * In the Polish series '' Ulica Sezamkowa'', his name is Liczyhrabia (literally, "Countcount"). * In the Portuguese series '' Rua Sésamo'', his name is Conde de Contar (translated as "Count of Counting"). * In the Russian series '' Ulitsa Sezam'', his name is Graf Znak (Граф Знак; translated as "symbol" or "sign" as the mathematical categories). * In the Spanish series, '' Barrio Sésamo'', his name is Conde Draco. * In the Turkish series '' Susam Sokağı'', his name is Sayıların Kontu (literally, "the Count of Numbers")


Appearances outside ''Sesame Street''

* The Count was interviewed in character on the
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
economics programme '' More or Less'' on December 11, 2009, where he mentioned his favorite number, 34,969. * He appeared on the
Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...
edition of ''
SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande,  Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...
'' to count down the top ten trick plays of the 2010 college football season. * He was a guest on ''
Countdown with Keith Olbermann ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' is a weekday podcast that originated as an hour-long weeknight news and political commentary program hosted by Keith Olbermann that aired on MSNBC from 2003 to 2011 and on Current TV from 2011 to 2012. The show ...
'' for the first-anniversary episode. * In the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for o ...
2014
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
Christmas Concert '' Keep Christmas with You'', Tabernacle organist Richard Elliott along with the Count, performed " The Twelve Days of Christmas" on the 7,667-pipe Conference center organ. * He was a guest on ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire variety talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing w ...
'' on March 27, 2015, to help out in the feature "This Week in Numbers". * He was interviewed in character by ''
Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...
'' in a video released on February 22, 2017. In the interview, he cannot decide on a single favorite number, and says he will be 6,523,728 years old "next October." * He has an ongoing role in supporting the
United States Census The United States census (plural censuses or census) is a census that is legally mandated by the Constitution of the United States. It takes place every ten years. The first census after the American Revolution was taken in 1790 United States ce ...
in public service announcements. * The Count has a popular account on social media site
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, under the handle "@CountVonCount". The account exclusively posts successive increasing numbers, sometimes accompanied by The Count's signature "Ah ah ah!".


In popular culture

The St. Paul Saints, an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
minor-league
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
team in
St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
, known for unique and sometimes over-the-top promotions, announced that it would give away 2,500 bobblehead dolls dressed as the Count at its May 23, 2009 game. However, instead of the Count's regular head, this doll's head featured
Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American politician, comedian, and actor who served from 2009 to 2018 as a United States senator from Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he worked as an ...
on one side and
Norm Coleman Norman Bertram Coleman Jr. (born August 17, 1949) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist. From 2003 to 2009, he served as a United States Senate, United States Senator for Minnesota. From 1994 to 2002, he was mayor of Saint Paul, Mi ...
on the other, and was called "Count von Re-Count"—referring to the extraordinarily prolonged recount and legal battle surrounding the 2008 U.S. Senate election between the two men. The team made further jabs at the election during the game. Australian
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
football international Anthony Minichiello has been nicknamed "the Count" due to his striking resemblance to the character. During the
2020 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 3, 2020. The Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and California junior senator Kamala H ...
, which required a ballot-counting period of four days before
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
was declared the winner, the Count was featured in many internet memes and social media posts, such as playful wishes that he could be called in to assist the tabulation and the insistence that President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
's demand to "Stop the Count" was hopeless against the ''Sesame Street'' character.


See also

*
Arithmomania Arithmomania (from Greek , "number", and , "compulsion") is a mental disorder that may be seen as an expression of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Individuals experiencing this disorder have a strong need to count their actions or objects in ...
and
Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...
for other vampires with a compulsion to count


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Count Von Count Fictional counts and countesses Fictional vampires Sesame Street Muppet characters Television characters introduced in 1972 Transylvania in fiction Fictional American people Fictional Romanian people Vampires in television Fictional immigrants to the United States American gothic fiction Cultural depictions of Bela Lugosi Male characters in television Alternative versions of Dracula