Guy Smiley
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Guy Smiley is a fictional character on ''
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 ...
'' who was dubbed "America's favorite
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...
". His skits are among those on the show that parody commercial media. Smiley has also hosted ''This Is Your Lunch'' and ''Here Is Your Life'', a parody of '' This Is Your Life''. Guests who were profiled included a loaf of bread, a tooth and a tree (all aimed at teaching children how things are made). He has also hosted pageants for numbers and letters.
Joan Ganz Cooney Joan Ganz Cooney (born Joan Ganz; November 30, 1929) is an American television writer and producer. She is one of the founders of Sesame Workshop (formerly ''Children's Television Workshop'' or CTW), the organization famous for the creation of ...
cited the role as one of her favorite roles from his original performer
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...
, although it was his least favorite to perform, as the character had a boisterous voice which proved too hard on his throat. Due to this, the character's dialogue was usually pre-recorded so that Henson could do multiple takes without straining his throat. The character was mostly discontinued upon Henson's death in 1990.


Game shows

Smiley has hosted many game show skits, such as: * ''Can You Guess?'' — a satire of ''
To Tell The Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...
'' — Three Muppets, a father, mother and son, each announce themselves as "the mother of this family", and
Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute, and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originally perfo ...
(then called "Billy Monster") has to guess which is the true mother. (The Smiley character was then named "Big Bob".) * ''Pick Your Pet'' — a blindfolded little girl Muppet, Betty Lou, must choose one of three animals (one a monster) as her own pet without being able to see any of them, after asking each of them how they would behave in her home as her pet and listening to their answers. (The Smiley character was then named "Sonny Friendly".) * ''The Mr. and Mrs. Game'' — the first skit in which the host was named Guy Smiley, this satire of ''
The Newlywed Game ''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show. Newly married couples compete against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally created ...
'' featured a monster couple. The object was for the wife to guess her husband's favorite color, food and sport without being told in advance, after Betty Lou took him into a soundproof booth so he couldn't hear his wife's answers. * ''The Remembering Game'' — a spoof of ''
Concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', '' molar concentration'', '' number concentration'', ...
'', two contestants try to match prizes on a four-space board. In its one appearance,
Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...
and an
Anything Muppet The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed h ...
named Bill Smith didn't like the prizes they had "won", so they traded prizes after Cookie had won an airplane and Bill had won a cookie. * ''What's My Part?'' — a spoof of ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...
'' — Three blindfolded celebrities had to identify a body part before all three of them were disqualified (by asking a question that had a "no" answer). The first segment, featuring a nose, starred panelists
Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...
, Bennett Snerf and Arlene Frantic as noseless monsters. (The latter two were Muppet parodies of longtime ''What's My Line?'' panelists
Bennett Cerf Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearanc ...
and
Arlene Francis Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001) was an American game show panelist, actress, radio and television talk show host. She is best known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game ...
). None of them guessed right and the nose won the game. The second segment, featuring a foot, starred Snerf, Frantic, and Professor Hastings as Anything Muppets with human features. Professor Hastings won the game by accident after he complains his foot fell asleep. * ''What's My Letter?'' – Based on the sixth track from the 1971 ''
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 ...
'' record '' The Muppet Alphabet Album'', this sequence featured Smiley challenging Prairie Dawn to guess a particular letter of the alphabet. * ''Get Wordy'' - a spoof of ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead g ...
'', Smiley reads a meaning of a phrase and contestants have to guess what the phrase is. * ''Mystery Guest'' — a spoof of a term used on ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...
'' — The contestants, (
Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...
, Don Music and
Sherlock Hemlock Sherlock Hemlock (who calls himself "the world's greatest detective") is a List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS series ''Sesame Street''. His catchphrase is "Minced oaths in media, Egad!" which he exclaims whenever he makes ...
), must guess who the Mystery Guest is. In this clip, it was the letter X, but nobody guessed correctly, and it turned out that the letter X belonged in the exit sign. After the contestants left, The announcer blurts "You sure fooled them, X." It ran once. * ''Beat the Time'' — a spoof of ''
Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show. Contestants attempted to complete challenges such as physical stunts within a time limit in order to win prizes. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson- Bill Todman Productions. The sho ...
'' — The contestant must bring in a number of things that rhyme with the key word or contain something. In one segment, Cookie Monster must find three things that rhyme with "rain", and will win a cookie if successful before the arrow on the clock reaches zero. Cookie manages to find a cane he stole from an old man, a chain holding a monster ( Frazzle) and, at the last second, arrives onto the stage by smashing through the wall with a
train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
(the same train he rode in "The Ballad of Casey McPhee"). It ran for four segments. Another segment involved the Count, where the Count has to bring in two things that come from the sky (his thunder and lightning when he counts). This is the one where Smiley reveals his real name to be Bernie Liederkranz. In the next segment, Elmo had to three things that starts the SN sound. He found a snack of nuts and raisins he stole from a business man, A sneaker worn by Telly, and a Snuffleupagus. Elmo successfully did it before the arrow on the clock reaches zero, And Elmo's prize also started with a SN sound: A snowman wearing a Snorkel. * ''Bring that Thing'' = a spoof of a term used on ''
Beat the Clock ''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show. Contestants attempted to complete challenges such as physical stunts within a time limit in order to win prizes. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson- Bill Todman Productions. The sho ...
'' - The contestants are Stevie and Jonathan Martians (AKA The Yip-Yips). The martians must find 3 things in 30 seconds that helps them see at night. They found flashlight, A lamp, and they used their spaceship to bring the moon. The grand prize of a jar of fireflies. * ''To Tell a Face'' — a spoof of ''
To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...
'' — A Baby must figure out who is real person out of three panelists. It ran for seven segments. * ''The Triangle Is Right'' — A spoof on the title ''
The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...
'' — Every question is answered with the response, "A triangle" (a possible indirect reference to the real-life
quiz show scandals The 1950s quiz show scandals were a series of scandals involving the producers and contestants of several popular American television quiz shows. These shows' producers secretly gave assistance to certain contestants in order to prearrange the ...
of the '50s). It was short-lived. * ''What's My Job?'' — another spoof of ''
What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...
'' - The three contestant monsters have to figure out what the person's job is. Round 1 was a firefighter, Round 2 was a dentist, and Round 3 was another game show host named Sonny Friendly (who thinks Guy Smiley is a guest). They argued at the end leaving with Guy Smiley remarking "This whole thing was a rotten idea! Who put this man on the show?" His suit was provided by Sierra Lagoon, while Sonny Friendly's suit was provided by Frederick La Frensworth. * ''Say the Word'' — a spoof of ''
The $25,000 Pyramid ''Pyramid'' is an American game show franchise that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The show was developed by Bob Stewart. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on CBS on March 26, 1973, and spawned ...
'' - The contestants are Chet O'Leary and Maurice Monster. Guy gives Chet the word "STOP" but Chet cannot say that word but give out clues to Maurice Monster on the word. He tickles Maurice Monster until Maurice yells "STOP!" and Guy Smiley blurted "That's right. You said the word STOP! Congratulations!" * ''Name that Sound!'' — a spoof of ''
Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...
'' There were two skits. ** Grover: Grover has to guess the three sounds (Such as a train whistle, a dog barking, and faucet dripping). He got them all right, but after he guessed the faucet dripping, it got flooded. ** Honker: A Honker has to figure out the sounds but since Guy Smiley couldn't understand them, the Honker brings in things that have been mentioned by the sounds (Such as a cow, a horse, and a fire engine). * ''Dialing for Prizes Movie'' — a spoof of ''
Dialing for Dollars ''Dialing for Dollars'' was a franchised format local television program in the United States and Canada, popular from the 1950s to the early 1990s. Format At the beginning of a typical ''Dialing for Dollars'' program, the host (a local televi ...
'' The lucky contestant is Mr. Lucky. And the lucky word is "Fur". And the prizes are furry monsters. * ''Here is Your Life'' — a spoof of ''This is Your Life'' - Guy Smiley honors the contestant (usually a certain object) They include: ** an oak tree ** a loaf of bread ** a tooth ** a right foot sneaker ** a painting of a bowl of fruit ** a house (2102 Shady Lane) ** a carton of eggs * ''The Letter of the Day Pageant'' — a spoof of ''Miss America Pageant'' in which all letters compete. The letter S can swim; the letter C addresses herself as the letter C; and the letter T can
tap dance Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...
. Up came the vowel finalists, A, E, I, O, and U. The letter E wins the pageant, and Guy Smiley sings him a song about the letter E to honor the winner. * ''The How Many Game'' - an unknown spoof. The Two Headed Monster are the contestants in a Guy Smiley game show. The screen reveals the number 2. They have only 30 seconds to find two things. But they found 1 bowling ball, three cows, and four sheeps. They found out they have two heads. * ''Happiness Begins at 40'' - The contestants are ''The Sad Family'' from Miserable Falls,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. They enter the studio sobbing dramatically, but gradually counts up to 40 to improve their emotion. They become happy when they reach to the number 40. When they become joyful, Guy Smiley remarks "Well, I guess this proves that Happiness does begin at 40."


Other appearances

In ''
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 ...
s premiere season (1969–70), Smiley sang
Allie Wrubel Elias Paul "Allie" Wrubel (January 15, 1905 – December 13, 1973) was an American composer and songwriter. Biography Wrubel was born to a Jewish family in Middletown, Connecticut, United States, the son of Regina (née Glasscheib) and Isa ...
and
Herb Magidson Herbert A. Magidson (January 7, 1906 – January 2, 1986) was an American popular lyricist. His work was used in over 23 films and four Broadway revues. He won the first Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1934. Life and career Magidson was ...
's 1937 song "
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...
" while a strong wind was blowing away a tree, a house, a woman, and ultimately his clothes. This segment was also dubbed in Spanish for international broadcasts. Also that season, Smiley hosted the first segment of "The Answer Lady", featuring an elderly woman named Granny Fanny Nesselrode who claimed she had the answer to everything but never gave the best answer to any question sent in by a viewer. Smiley was later replaced by a regionally accented Muppet host who bore some resemblance to him. Smiley did make some appearances that didn't have anything notable to do with his hosting career. When
Cookie Monster Cookie Monster is a blue List of Sesame Street Muppets, Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As ...
was in a
bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...
chewing up items that rhymed with the word "buy", Smiley came in announcing he was "Guy Smiley, star of
daytime television Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning ...
". At this point, Cookie couldn't remember that it was a pie he was after, and the repeated use of words that did rhyme with "pie" did nothing to jog his memory. The scene ended with him wrongly realizing that the rhyming item was "GUY!", and chasing Smiley around the bakery, trying to eat his hand off. He also appeared in a sketch featuring
Grover Grover is a blue Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street''. Self-described as lovable, cute, and furry, he is a blue monster who rarely uses contractions when he speaks or sings. Grover was originally perfo ...
as an Elevator Operator. It was to teach kids to face the front of an elevator. In this sketch, "Mr. Smiley" (as Grover calls him) is also voiced by Jim Henson, but with a different voice than that of his game show personality. In one movie theatre skit with Bert and Ernie, using Smiley as a one-line extra, the character is puppeted by Richard Hunt. In a counting skit, Guy Smiley also took his entire studio audience to lunch, hoping there would be a big enough table. While there was a table for the 39 members of the audience, there was no available table for 40, forcing Smiley to sit outside and be sent the bill later. Guy Smiley also appeared in ''Alphabet Chat'' doing a commercial for ''Bow Wow Chow'' while Mr. Chatterly was trying to do a lecture about the letter R. He also appeared in ''On Vacation With Guy Smiley'', in which he tried to photograph various animals in the jungle, but his loud voice kept scaring them off. At least until a tiger (Martin P. Robinson) came along, roaring and scaring away Guy's guide (Richard Hunt), but the tiger took the camera and took Guy's picture with the other animals. His pith helmet was provided by Zimbabwe After Six. Smiley shows up as a non-speaking background extra (wearing an odd, unusually stern expression) along with many other Muppets in the musical skit "Some/None". Guy Smiley also hosted the banquet meeting of things that begin with ''SH'' sound. Including a shirt, a shovel, a shrimp, a sheep with a shepherd, and even a short sized king.


Casting history

*
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...
: ''Sesame Street'' Season 1 (1969) – Season 21 (1990) *Don Reardon: CD-ROM games (voice only) *
Eric Jacobson Eric Jacobson (born January 15, 1971) is an American puppeteer. He is best known for his involvement with the Muppets, performing Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Animal, and Sam Eagle for The Muppets Studio, as well as ''Sesame Street'' characters ...
: ''Sesame Street Presents: The Body'' (2005) – present


International

''Sesame Street'' is localized for international markets, where Smiley is often renamed. In
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, for example, he's "Carlos Luz", a
play on words Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phone ...
with the name of television presenter Carlos Cruz. In the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
, he is called "Henk Glimlach", "glimlach" meaning "smile". In
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, he appears simply as "Robert", possibly after Robert Lembke, a
game show host A game show host is an individual who manages a game show, introduces contestants, and asks quiz questions to test the knowledge of said contestants. They may also have other duties pertinent to production. History In 1938, Freddie Grisewood w ...
.


References


External links

* {{Sesame Street Characters Sesame Street Muppet characters Fictional television personalities Television characters introduced in 1969