Join me as we journey into the whimsical and inspiring world of Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, the magical hand behind Sesame Street's Abby Cadabby. Our conversation takes you through the colorful streets of Muppet projects and how Leslie expertly breathes life into her enchanting characters. This episode promises to unveil the behind-the-scenes magic and share secrets on how a Leslie works to inspire young hearts and adults alike.
Our adventure goes beyond puppetry, as we dive into Leslie's beautiful chaos, the arts, and her unique take on fashion. We explore the perspective of this talented actress, from the charming story of her plastic reindeer companion to her deep connection with her character Lolly Lardpop. We also traverse through her challenges with anxiety and perception processing disorder, and how these have shaped her journey to stardom.
Wrapping up this enchanting ride, we chat about Leslie's upcoming show at Green Room 42. So, join us on this vibrant and magical journey with Leslie Carrera Rudolph, and be ready to be inspired, amused, and enlightened.
Join me as we journey into the whimsical and inspiring world of Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, the magical hand behind Sesame Street's Abby Cadabby. Our conversation takes you through the colorful streets of Muppet projects and how Leslie expertly breathes life into her enchanting characters. This episode promises to unveil the behind-the-scenes magic and share secrets on how a Leslie works to inspire young hearts and adults alike.
Our adventure goes beyond puppetry, as we dive into Leslie's beautiful chaos, the arts, and her unique take on fashion. We explore the perspective of this talented actress, from the charming story of her plastic reindeer companion to her deep connection with her character Lolly Lardpop. We also traverse through her challenges with anxiety and perception processing disorder, and how these have shaped her journey to stardom.
Wrapping up this enchanting ride, we chat about Leslie's upcoming show at Green Room 42. So, join us on this vibrant and magical journey with Leslie Carrera Rudolph, and be ready to be inspired, amused, and enlightened.
Hello, hello, welcome to the Bad Chest podcast. I am your host, the current reigning and defending third worst chess player on kick KD215. And everybody. When I started this podcast, everyone told me that a podcast needs at least five episodes before people will start to take it seriously. And here we are, episode five. It's a very exciting episode five we can start promoting now. We couldn't promote for whatever reason. Companies won't let you promote before you got five episodes. So here we are. We have five episodes tonight. I mean we don't have five yet, but at the end of this there will be five. And we saved an awesome guest for episode five. I can see her. You all can't see her. I can see her right now. And new heart. And new heart Can't forget me, just trust me, guys.
Speaker 1:Tonight's guest once gave an interview where she said your environment and your success is measured by what you contribute to the world. So even if you're not working your dream job, you should be doing your dream job. My dream job was retire young and wealthy, and obviously that didn't happen for me, but I try to fake it till I make it. Well, from an early age, leslie Carrera Rudolph dreamed of being on Sesame Street. She's on the record, saying that a lot of the characters from the show were already living in her head and how she could relate to them and understood their imagination and their wonder.
Speaker 1:Having had the privilege of watching this woman perform, I can say that the life she brings to her characters is nothing short of magical. From her earliest Muppet appearance as Spamala Anderson to over 17 years as Abby Cadabby on Sesame Street, leslie has helped bring magic to the lives of children and adults all over the world. Aside from all of her Muppet and Sesame Street duties, leslie, with the assistance of her friend Lolli Lardpop, finds the time to work with children and teenagers, helping them to wake up their weird and find the confidence and self esteem to believe in themselves. Tonight, we are very lucky to have with us the talented and magical Leslie Carrera Rudolph Leslie Hi.
Speaker 2:Wow, that was amazing. New Heart, give him the way.
Speaker 1:This is what I was dealing with, this guys, while I was trying to do that.
Speaker 2:That was wow, Thank you.
Speaker 1:You have a New Heart fan, by the way, in chat already, just putting that out there.
Speaker 2:New Heart we just finished doing a bunch of. You know the D'Stonia Foundation, which a lot of people don't know what D'Stonia is, but it's a really rare disease. Let's start with disease, shall we? But it's a very rare disease that can. It's in all different age groups and everything, and it can overcome you at any time. Carol Spinney, a lot of people that realize had D'Stonia towards the end, and so anyway, we got involved with that foundation for the last three years. During COVID they needed help with content for their younger audiences. So Lolly and New Heart and myself kind of chimed in and they asked us they're doing service dog videos. So Lolly and New Heart did service dog videos. It's pretty funny. So we did a bunch of those.
Speaker 1:So you are. In my opinion, you are like a classical type of variety performer, the likes of which do not. It doesn't exist anymore. You are funny, you can sing, you do character work Like this year is this?
Speaker 2:kind of variety.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, the Vaudevillian, yeah, slapsticky-.
Speaker 2:I'm having good things online. They don't sell them anymore.
Speaker 1:What funny glasses.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they didn't know what these were, these ground chimed marks. I went into spirit and they had no idea what I was talking about.
Speaker 1:I added the candy corn. Oh, I was going to say that they come with the candy corn nose.
Speaker 2:No, I made that.
Speaker 1:So, leslie, just so you understand the complexity from my point of this podcast, I am literally doing total inside, not for anybody else, tom's job and Frank's job and everybody's job in the world on this Like I'm controlling stuff with my feet, with my hands, with my-. Oh yeah, it's crazy. It's all sorts of craziness Me too. Just full disclosure. I've known Leslie now 17 or 18 years. I met you for the first time on the set of a show that didn't last long. It was called Johnny and the Sprites. We were just talking about that. It was Johnny and the Sprites was such a great show.
Speaker 2:It's one of my favorites and Ginger was fantastic Ginger Sprite and she was kind of like a skinny, like me, you know. She was totally rough and tumble and the music on that show was incredible. One of the my favorite songs I've ever done or pieces ever done was on that show called Muddle in the Puddle and it was beautiful. It was like Ginger's, like she didn't like who she was. She caught a glimpse of herself or something and she started self-judging and it was really heartbreaking but beautiful because you know her friend Basil's, like we love you and Johnny, it was so great but it was shot beautifully, you know, and Sean he shot, he did the whole thing. That I think maybe two only, maybe two or three episodes. Sean didn't shoot on the jig. It was beautiful.
Speaker 1:So Johnny and the Sprites was a single camera. Just so everybody knows it was a single camera show shot very, you know, film-esque. And the Sean she was talking about was the Jib Operator, sean Harkins. He is just a legendary Jib operator. He does Sesame Street as well.
Speaker 2:Look, I have visuals even though you're listening. So that's Basil coming up to Ginger and then that's Ginger. The camera is underneath and she's looking down through a reflection and at the very end of that song she puts her finger in the puddle and it goes like this and it's so touching, it's just so. It's one of my favorite shows and, plus, it was just pure joy to work on. I love. I'm a musical theater person, so I loved being able to sing all those incredible songs, you know. So it was fun.
Speaker 1:So you obviously you now have a rich history with the Muppets and Sesame Street. Your first introduction to that world was Spamala Hamderson on Muppets Tonight, which that was. Can you explain that? Well, how did you come into Spamala Hamderson was it was a pig. Representation of Pamela Anderson from Baywatch.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she was a pig and with no neck, and hooters. Well, I am so you know. Yeah, can I explain that?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, guess what? It was created by a male writer. What a surprise. I also did Darcy and Angry Rooka, that was kind of like that. So there was, she was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:I mean, you know, I that show was like falling down a rabbit hole because I had never into like a world like I. You know, my degree is child development through the arts, so it's child psychology, therapeutic recreation, theater, arts, therapeutic recreation is like when you design programs for kids at risk. You know foster homes, yeah well, do no gore plays. So I don't know if you heard that honk, but you know hospitalized kids, different, different environments, and so the puppets that I made were very were soft puppets, or slippers, or very immediate or out of dryer hoses. And you know characters, I would just reach kids through characters. So I'd written a show called Life in Other People's Shoes and I would cartoon the characters. I'd go into them and sing and write stories for them, because I love characters more than anything.
Speaker 2:So when I auditioned for the Muppets, it was a cattle call for female comedians who do voices and can sing in character, and I had no idea what I was doing. I, you know, I didn't have a computer, I didn't have a cell phone. I didn't have. You know, it was back in the day where people had beavers, right. So I I never knew how people did stuff, you know, and I'm like a child of wonder.
Speaker 2:So when I watched the Muppets, I just believe them to be characters. I didn't think what was under, I didn't think about how they came to life. You know, some people just studied it, got certain books and stuff, but I was just like I'm a believer, you know. So when I got on set I was like, oh, I'm going to be fired any second because it's a whole nother art form above your head. You know, making your put your heartbeat in your hand and trying to make somebody care about something on your hand. It was a huge learning curve. And Bill Beretta just took a huge chance on me, and so did Brian. They said she has characters and Kevin was like what am I gonna do with her? How that was painful. Did you hear how loud that was it?
Speaker 1:did it? Did hear that, but look, obviously the gamble worked off right. I mean it worked out. I mean you are amazing at public view. I think it's because you're amazing with the characters, no stop.
Speaker 2:You know. Well, I have to tell you, jerry Nelson got me through that show because I'm a messy performer, like I try everything, you know, and I still feel like I still feel you and I were talking about how you feel it's your first day. I always feel like that. It's my first day, so but Jerry was really awesome because he got to know me as a person. He asked. I had two HBO workspace shows during Muppets Tonight. You know, right up the street I was doing my work and stuff and but people didn't know that I had this whole other life, you know, doing outreach and doing theater and stuff. So I just was a, I just sat on set and I watched everybody and I had a monitor in my room and I just practiced and practiced because I thought it was gonna be fired pretty much every day.
Speaker 1:You know the weird thing about Muppets Tonight, if I recall correctly, that was really the first time the Muppets came out and did anything after the passing of Jim Henson.
Speaker 2:So yeah, as far as the television show, I think Sure yeah.
Speaker 1:And it was weird because you know they didn't have all of the original cast. We're gonna get to that in the trivia section later, by the way, because you know they. You know because it was still too soon and too fresh and people's hearts, so that's gotta be. I always tell people that the weirdest thing about Sesame Street is it doesn't matter how many years you've been on the show, you're the new person. When you have people that have been on the show since season one is still there and you're coming in at season 35, 36, you're the new kid. Even though it's been 20 years since then, you're still the new kid. Yeah, it's gotta be that same way.
Speaker 2:walking into that environment, you know, with oh man, are you talking about Muppets tonight? You're talking about Muppets tonight.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, because you have Dave Gohls, right, you have.
Speaker 2:Dave Gohls, frank Oz, kevin Clash, bill Beretta, brian Henson, steve Whitmire, and when they were like brainstorming, I was sitting there and I full on think they thought I was just a PA. You know, I was just sitting there probably waiting to get them something. You know, I was just frozen Like I don't even know. You know, I just it was a masterclass. But I fell in love with it because I'm I don't really fit into Hollywood or Holly Plastic. You know I just I'm not a.
Speaker 2:I've always struggled with film and television in that world. I just love the art form, like I just love to play with the world. And so I didn't enjoy auditioning. I mean I dreamed of being on SNL I think. You know that was a huge dream of mine. Any female comedian that does characters thinks that that's where they wanna go. But they said they had someone that looked like me. So I was like all right. But and my friend Paula Pell got a job on Muppets I mean, excuse me, on SNL the same time I got a job on the Muppets and she got a job as a writer, and Paula Pell, you know, is one of the funniest people on the planet. I mean we did the Kathy and Mo show together. Have you ever heard of that?
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:Kathy, and Kathy and Jimmy did a two-person show. It was called Parallel Lives, and Paula and I did it, you know, just in an equity theater in Orlando. And then, you know, I always think I'm like we're backstage in these huge angel wings, going, I'm wondering how you make it, you know. And then three months later she's on SNL and I'm on the Muppets and we're like what you know. So I feel like if you just, I mean, I genuinely follow my heart, but I was way out of my league. I didn't even know what I was doing there, you know, except for I just wanted to learn as much as I could. And you know, I pick angel cards all the time. Caitlin, the angel card that I picked for the day of my audition was Adventure, and it's the angel with the walking stick and I was like, okay, well, life's an adventure.
Speaker 1:And it's been a crazy adventure since then. I mean like think of how much that has shaped your life. Right, you met Paul, your husband, didn't you? You met him on, right, yeah.
Speaker 2:On Muppets. So here's something that's just crazy, crazy. So Paul Rudolph, so handsome, so kind, you know I was just like we, you know, work together and he kept on writing parts for me to sing, because a lot of times the guys would sing falsetto and I was like I'm right here, I can sing that part. And you know, in the recording sessions he was the assistant musical director, I think it was, I don't know it was official title, but he used to sit at the piano. There was a piano on set sometimes because people would play live. Like Ralph Sharon, Tony Bennett's musical director, played live on the set for Tony Bennett. Little Richard played live. Paul did drums for him. You should have Paul on your show and he's a great interview. He's got great stories about music.
Speaker 1:But I would want to talk to him about his stage show. Remember his stage show, oh.
Speaker 2:Glank.
Speaker 1:Glank yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, paul and I we sat like, sadly, is, when you independently produce your own stuff it's very hard, you know, when you can't afford to do your show. So, like Paul's, it's hard for Paul to do a show. I'm barely doing my shows, but anyway on. So meeting Paul was just. It was his first show too, so where'd you go?
Speaker 1:I mean wait, no, I'm here. I had to feature you for a second. You were telling a story and I needed to look away. I needed to look away for a second. For the people listening on audio, this is gonna make no sense at all.
Speaker 2:But I don't know, I'm sorry, I got me caught on a roll. Oh, here's my mic. Jerry Nelson, right? Jerry Nelson would pick me a lot. You know I was always the last picked for right hands and stuff, but Jerry would have pity on me. It's like the last one picked him kickball and he'd say, well, look who I have in my armpit. You've got those smelly men and I'm like I'm fresh, you know so, and I think I had the same you know he had his daughter had got her wings and I was near the same age as her. So I think that kind of energy we picked angel cards every day. And so this is I'm getting to a point for the Muppets.
Speaker 2:It was the PS Brosnan show and there was this really wild puppet and I loved her and I saw her and I picked it up and she was in this gold the night. She had a barrel shaped body, she had, you know, sunglasses, a long nose and she was fabulous and I was playing with it and I gave her the name Minnie Goldberg and I had to put it down because I was. The other people get to pick their puppets first for scenes and Dave had gone to pick that puppet and I was so heartbroken and but Jerry had seen me playing around with her and he went over and he grabbed it and said, hey, do you mind less than I are working on something? And I was like I was so shocked, I just was crying because you know, when you come see us on set, most of the fun happens before the camera rolls, because you're sitting, you're improvising, you're back and forth and Jerry and I who's like one of the greatest ever got to improvise and be characters together and it was such a beautiful exchange and cut to Muppets, mayhem and the character is.
Speaker 2:I was like, hey, it only took what? 23 years to do another character, like you know, and it was written by Adam Goldberg. How bizarre is that? I mean, talk about that.
Speaker 1:Cause you're doing Muppets Mayhem right. So like Penny Wexman and yeah, Penny Wexman. Yeah, yeah. So then, how do you? So then, how do you go from Muppets Tonight to Sesame Street? How do you end up as cause? Now I mean, let's be honest, abby Kedaby has got to be one of the now most iconic characters on the show. I mean, you see Abby almost as much as I mean she's got to be the second most featured character on the show. No, certainly merchandising. She's got to sell. You know, top three.
Speaker 2:I you know I that's the part.
Speaker 1:I know you don't pay attention to that stuff, but she's amazing. Abby Kedaby's amazing.
Speaker 2:And I see Abby. Like we just went to the parks, paul and I went to Sesame Place and I was like oh look, who's Abby? And I have to like I never think of it, I never think of her as Wait, wait, wait, hold on, hold on.
Speaker 1:We can't skip that. Did that Abby know that you're Abby? Yeah, oh, okay, okay, absolutely. How meta would that have been.
Speaker 2:I follow the characters, I know how hard they work, the you know, the Japan Abby's, can I just tell you. Their costumes are fierce, they're gorgeous and they just love Abby over there. I just you know Abby is, she's like a fairy puppy. Actually I am a fairy puppy and I'm almost dog now. So it's like, all right, an a fairy, I'm like that's my breed, how perfect.
Speaker 2:But she, I think, because she has her wings, are dragonfly wings, right. So, as a fairy, someone who loves fairy, dragonflies represent transformation and transition and they're able to go between worlds. You know the spiritual world and the real world, you know. And Abby, what I love about Abby is she's between worlds. She's not really, she's multicultural in that sense. You know, she's beaks, dragonfly and you know like she's, she flies within worlds and she can, and she's a wish fairy. So that means that she's a heart, she's guided by heart, you know, which can get. Well, that always gets me in trouble sometimes, but but not really. I mean, following your heart is really the secret to life, you know. So that's why I love Abby and I love the fact that she has a fairy garden and I was always in the garden growing up because I had a lot of energy, you could imagine.
Speaker 1:Oh, you didn't grow this energy as an adult, yet as a kid all the time.
Speaker 2:Oh, my gosh Like, and my mom who's 95, she's got it too Like. She's like energizer bunny, so, anyway, so I it's funny because I see Abby, but I feel like she represents the part of me that is collaborating with my spirit, the part of me that is in love with, you know, with art and animals and people's stories. Does that make sense? Sure so, and she's also crazy.
Speaker 1:Well, hold on. Since you mentioned crazy, I have to. I was gonna segue in the loli from that, but we're gonna pause. I have to. I have to share a story that involves. It's my favorite life story and I've told Leslie this so many. Everybody who knows me knows this story.
Speaker 1:So I was in New York City, I was on the subway and I don't even remember who I was with anymore. I was with a friend who never you were taking this. While you were telling me, I was with a friend who never likes to ride the subway and we and they were like there's so many crazy people on the subway, whatever. I try to avoid it, but I'm like no, I take the subway all the time. Crazy people never bother you. And I remember getting on the subway and it wasn't even a pack train and we sat down and you don't look at people. I mean you people watch, but you watch, but you don't look on the subway.
Speaker 1:I think that's the easiest way to explain it, because if you make eye contact and it's a crazy person, you're now in it, so don't do that. So we're sitting on the car and this crazy bag lady gets on the subway and I know the crazy bag lady is there, but you can't you know eye contact. So I remember I turned my body a little bit, I'm like angling towards my friend, and I'm like we're just gonna like this person's not there. Crazy bag lady sits next to me. Crazy bag lady sits next to me and I'm like, oh my God, this is happening and then hits my arm. So now I have to engage and I turn and the crazy back lady was Leslie and I was like but that is because Leslie has this, you at times you carry that those huge bags Because she's look, leslie has at any given moment a bag of everything, everything. Right now she has a fish. Right she, her purse is like a fish that's like I don't know three feet long. I feel like three feet long.
Speaker 1:It's like three feet long and she goes everywhere with the fish.
Speaker 2:And I have a passport to Oz in that fish.
Speaker 1:So well, I mean, if you're going to go anywhere, why not go to Oz?
Speaker 2:Right, oh, I was looking for these glasses.
Speaker 1:But yeah, but it was just, it was. I forget. You know it was just one of my favorite store, because you know it's not. Once you looked at you I realized it was Leslie. But you know it's that moment where you don't pay attention to the person. You're on the subway.
Speaker 2:Well, I'll have to say, though I was, I was doing my show, I was working on a kid show and I had to carry my characters in the bag because I had to go. No, I know that's what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:You obviously had like. It's not like she was a crazy bag lady, she was just carrying a lot, and Leslie has a very unique fashion.
Speaker 2:Such a nice way to put it. It's fun.
Speaker 1:It's whimsical, it's I thought it was fish shoes.
Speaker 2:No, it's a dragon.
Speaker 1:They're dragons. It's dragon, absolutely. I saw the scales in the eyes.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the other one is the unicorn. But I mean, but listen, I think about this. This is how much I love Paul Rudolph. He, I, he must just be numb to it because there's times I'll realize I have a fish bag. You know, hat. This is just easy for me because I don't like to make an effort unless I'm in a show and I have to make an effort with my hair. But I'm almost always in a baseball cap, I'm usually wearing something whimsical and Paul holds my hand all the time. He even holds my hand when we walk new heart. He's such a gentleman and I often think that people must look and say, oh, look at that nice man keeping that crazy lady from running into traffic. She won't hurt herself. I was like aren't you embarrassed to be seen?
Speaker 1:I mean, I believe, I believe I've heard rumor that as you walk through Queens, people say it's the fish lady.
Speaker 2:Yes, I feel like a unicorn, I'm the fish.
Speaker 1:I feel like there was a deer at some point. You used to walk around with a deer.
Speaker 2:Yes, when I was on um. Okay, so I get, I have a lot of um. I get lost easily and I'm very anxious. Like I've had a not so great thing happen in my life where I was taken right and I. So I get really anxious in cars, like cabs, you know, I want to have to be able to get out. Um, I, when I first got to New York I was really scared. I didn't know how to take the subway. I just I'm afraid to be lost because once I'm lost I don't know how to get back. Like my brain, I have perception processing disorder, so I can't figure out things if I can't visualize it. So if I can't visualize something, it's kind of tricky. So anyway, um, and so when I first got to Queens I lived with my um, my friend's parents. Um, not Queens, but on um is. It is the brownstone of the Muppets, the carriage house. Is that 63rd and third? Or 36th and third? I think it's 36.
Speaker 1:I don't know, but I know you're confusing, I don't remember, I don't remember.
Speaker 2:Well, just so you know, I had to walk 30 blocks to work because I didn't have money for a cab and I was afraid to take a subway. So there's that right. So then my friend then I knew this lady when I worked at Disney. Um, she invited me on the weekends to go stay with her because I didn't have any friends. And we went to a Kmart and there was this big, beautiful plastic reindeer. And just to make my friend laugh, I thought, oh, I'm just going to carry this around the store. I'm like this is my store puppy, because sometimes you do that. You know, you see something you like you carry around, just contemplating whether you want it. But this was a full size plastic light up reindeer. And so I'm walking around. And walking around she goes, okay, we're getting ready to go. And I'm like, okay.
Speaker 2:So I put the deer down and this was just for my friend. I was like you can't come home with me, you have to stay. No, I don't love you. And I just kind of like was trying to do a scene from a movie like no, go, be free. You know, I was joking, right.
Speaker 2:So we walk up to the register and we're standing there and all of a sudden I get this tap on my head. I might, that's not my head, this is a call to shoulder. And the man turns around and there's like the manager, and he's holding this plastic deer and I'm like I know I probably should have put it back. And he goes I believe this is yours. And I'm like what? And he goes up and he tells the red just cast register. He goes, put this on my tap, this is your deer, it belongs with you. And I'm like oh. And then I go, what's your name? And it said Mr Fry. I'm naming this deer Mr Fry.
Speaker 2:And so I took it home and I didn't know what to do with it and so I just thought you know, I'm kind of scared, I'm anxious, I'm just going to walk through New York with this plastic beer deer. So I did like 30 blocks and I walked to. This was for Muppet, this was for Dr Seuss, second season. And I did I was still doing stand up at that time and I would bring it on stage, like I had it on stage with a lobster, lobster bib. And I would just bring it on stage and I tell the story and never make reference to it. I just put on stage and I'd say stay, and then I do my stick and then I leave.
Speaker 1:You're too anxious to ride a subway or take a cab, but gosh darn it, she's walking the streets with a full size light up. Christmas reindeer, that's totally yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm like Frankie Avalon goes, it's Rudolph, I go. No, it's Mr Fry. You're Frankie Avalon, you know. It's Susie Mosier. I love her. I'm actually going up at Susie Mosier's on Tuesday she has it. Susie Mosier has a variety cabaret show every Tuesday and it's great for artists like me who can't afford to, you know, put up their own shows, Like I do a show once a year, once a couple months or something.
Speaker 1:You have a show coming up too, by the way, moonlight Madness, october 21st. Yes, there's two shows, one PM and seven PM. That is Muir Imaged. Some reason. Wait upside down, there it goes. What's the green room?
Speaker 2:Yeah, the green room 42, which is a new venue for me Really nice. I love the beach. Men, I moved above ground first time I've been not in a basement performing Usually perform under Congratulations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I, right right before Sesame Street, I was under a gay bar and silver lake performing once a month just emptying my brain. Called just for fun Because Chuck McCann was kind of like an uncle, almost like my best friend, and used to hang out with me and he was an old time, an old timer, vaudevillian. His parents were in Vaudeville and, like you, brought like the variety show thing and I I feel like I was born at the wrong time. You know, I mean I have puppetry in my show and puppets, but they're characters. Sometimes I use weird things to tell stories, but you know there's some brilliant puppeteers out there who use the art form much nicer than I do.
Speaker 1:No, you are definitely a cat Like you're. What makes Leslie great? Definitely the character work that you do, like you, you when you. But I think that's why the puppetry works, because when you put that puppet on your hand, it just there's so much love and so much love and so much character and so much soul put into it that you, you say I'm not the cleanest puppeteer. All of that just goes away. You know, because Jim Henson always used to say you know, when you watch some of his older interviews he talks about how he's not the best puppeteer. That's why it wasn't a ventriloquist. You know what? That if you think about the time when he was becoming big, it was all ventriloquist and then you had a guy who just hid because he was like I can't. You know, you're always going to see my mouth move.
Speaker 1:And think about the voices too. If you think about the voices, if you think a lot of people don't realize this, but Henson seldom changed his voice. Carol Spinning never changed his voice, frank Oz, you, if you're. But you know who the characters are. You know when Henson was doing Ernie or Kermit same voice. Or Big Bird or Oscar same voice. But the character that they give to that voice is what gives them that inflection. And then you. There's no mistaking. When you hear Ernie or Kermit, you know the two can have a conversation and you know which one's talking, but it's the same Miss Piggy and Yoda are the same voice. I just want to remind that you know people. If you want to mess with your head, watch Yoda, listen to it and then listen to Miss Piggy. It's the same voice.
Speaker 1:Well, at the same timber, you know because each, because they're putting the personality of that character into the voice, but they're not putting on a voice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love the voice. I just think it's such an incredible instrument. I mean, I was fortunate enough to grow up in an area that the arts were affordable. Like I'm from Northern California, so I didn't grow up.
Speaker 1:Way cooler than Southern California. By the way, guys, I'm just like.
Speaker 2:It's completely different, you know, but we had a lot of like. The park and rec department was actually bigger than the city I grew up in. So there's all these outdoor parks, there was theaters, there's programs that like, even I, I mean, I taught after school programs. I started teaching drama when I was 16, at the after school programs, just helping kids create, you know, tell stories and stuff. So, but we did, you know, we did all kinds of theater, like Sweeney Todd, you know I did the bigger woman little shop got to do Audrey, um, pumpoys and dinettes chorus line. You know, we did so many incredible like productions because there was lots of theater, you know, and um, so I'm really grateful for that because, you know, sometimes I feel like gosh.
Speaker 2:You know, I wish I was around here in New York or I wish I'd gotten, you know, but I really don't. I wouldn't change my path or my journey. I mean, you know, certainly it would be great if I was better at social media or if I thought about taping my first one person show, which was when I was 21, you know, but people just didn't do that back then. There was, like I said, there was no YouTube. There was computers. Nobody could afford a computer, you know, nobody had a cell phone. Or like our cameras were disposable, you know. So I mean, those were the fancy ones.
Speaker 1:I mean, think about that, how it's a miracle when we were younger you had to like you would go and you would have this thing in your hand that could take 20 something pictures. Then you had to go someplace, drop it off to a stranger who was then going to look through your pictures before you ever got to see your pictures and you hope that whatever you took looked good and wasn't dirty enough to where the person at the photo mat was going to be like. Oh, it's Leslie, up to my pictures are always weird.
Speaker 2:Obviously, windows. I'm taking pictures of my students dressed up weird, you know, but you know it was great. It was just a time where you're in the moment and you're really celebrating the moment and the people around you with just being there, not stopping holding, you know. So it's just a different vibe nowadays, you know.
Speaker 1:I feel that when I go to concerts.
Speaker 2:I made it because there was no YouTube. It's a miracle that I am even doing what I'm doing today.
Speaker 1:I don't think it's a miracle. I again, I think your character work, as I said in the beginning is is beyond brilliant, beyond brilliant, and where I was saying that the other people didn't change their voice.
Speaker 1:You have, you can have any voice like you are amazing with your voices. Yeah, like I don't know. I love you, I love your work, I just think it's. It's great. And and I want to talk about Lolli, which I've wanted to get to, and we keep getting side track. You created this character, lolli Lard pop, and it started. Did she start as a pipe, as pipe cleaners? Was that her start? Because I have, I have for the for the record. In my living room I have the giant pipe cleaner dragon that you made that everybody comes to my house and says what is that? That is the coolest thing I've ever seen and I'm like it weighs 20 pounds and it's made out of pipe cleaners Wrong thing. Yeah, that's crazy. You guys are just listening to the audio. Go to YouTubecom, search Bad Shess podcast, just to see the visuals of these pipe cleaner characters. It's crazy.
Speaker 2:I know I pulled out. Oh, Andy Warhol doing here Geez, Geez. No, but Lolli, is my phoenix rising she? I had a short live show for the Disney company that was at the El Capitan theater. I wonder if I have a flyer from that. Sometimes they keep that around. Oh yeah, I do Look at this. Since noon today the set has been executed with deathm.
Speaker 1:That's cool.
Speaker 2:At the El Cavite.
Speaker 1:Wahoo wagon.
Speaker 2:Yes, I think I have, I don't know there's a couple other ones. I have lots of buttons if anybody wants them in a poster. But I had a show and it ran for I think I want to say six months, but it was in development and at the time, you know, I didn't have any representation or anything. And so when you sign something, you know you think, wow, this is great, an animated series. Because my cartoons and comedy album, wow, you know, and they were like you're like Tracy Elman meets Peewe Herman I was like, oh my gosh, this is a miracle.
Speaker 2:But it just didn't. It was a live show and, as usual in my life, nobody knew what to do with me because I'm like, and I did a lot of improv, and Disney was like, oh, we got to be careful with the improv. So it kind of morphed into something that anybody could do, you know, because they have to protect themselves. And then it just didn't. You know, I had the best time performing it at the El Capitan Theater and then they would show movies. It was just a blast. But when it terminated I didn't realize the characters wouldn't come back to me. I thought it would take a certain amount of time before they didn't. So, and that was like you know something I learned. I had a great time. I'm so thankful for Disney because they took a chance on a nobody. I literally had been in the Muppets, which was amazing, right, but still nobody knows who you are, right.
Speaker 1:And you're a total nobody. You were only in the Muppets. It's total nobody.
Speaker 2:No, but nobody, you know, I was just kind of a weird fluke, honestly, you know, really, I mean, it was like, again, I didn't think I would get cast on Dr Seuss. I hadn't been to New York except for once during a theater tour where we went for family theater and we went and saw cats.
Speaker 1:We performed in the Muppets Total fluke, total fluke Muppets to Dr Seuss, to Sesame Street. It's just an accident. She fell into it. She fell into Sesame. She was just walking down the street you know, Sesame Street is shot in. Queens and she was just walking down the street and tripped it onto the Abbey.
Speaker 2:No, they had not opticians for Abbey. I'm so sorry, we skipped over that they had opticians for the country. For that, you know, I just happened to have the right energy.
Speaker 1:That she stripped, her hand fell right into the puppet and it was just like, like, like, like, think of King Arthur pulling the sword from the stone. Her hand went into the puppet and it's just, the Abbey didn't come off, it just stayed there and she was like, guess what?
Speaker 2:So, anyway, this next part involves Miss Coco Puru. So after the Disney thing I was Leslie Carrard, but during that time I was allowed to perform. I was rated G, right PG, but I used to still perform under the gay bar and I used to do kinds of crazy things under under Leslie Rudolph. See what I'm saying.
Speaker 2:So, when that went away, I started. So I was Leslie Rudolph and during that time I went to drag competition. Long story I just did. It was a. It was a fundraiser for it was an AIDS benefit which I'm very active in because I lived through the AIDS crisis and watched my friends get their wings to soon I was after the Disney thing.
Speaker 2:I was really nervous about performing because everybody expected all this whimsy for me and my Auntie Irene another in heaven said you know, before all this you were a singer. You know used. When I met you in San Francisco, you were a singer, you were a comedian. Comedian but used to sing. I used to sing with a big band and I was like, yeah, so I want you to be in this camp array and I want you to get back to singing, I want you to just be you. And I was like I was terrified. I was like no one's going to listen. We're going to be on stage, it's going to be weird.
Speaker 2:So I'd become friends with Miss Coco Clinton because we did a lot of the same AIDS benefits together. We kept showing up because I won this drag competition and he's. I said what am I going to do? I'm so nervous. You're such a brilliant writer, do you have any advice? And that's when Coco said well, there's always suicide or you can make a puppet. And at that time Coco clarifies this on her show. There was reading a book, but I chose to make a puppet and that puppet was lolly. So I took that puppet to the cabaret and my Auntie Irene had no idea. I said I'm sorry, I'm late, I needed a sitter and I'd already planned on singing the Candyman, but as myself. But I let Auntie Irene read and goes well, bring whoever it is out here. And I brought lolly out and she sang Candyman, but it took her like 20 minutes because she went through the audience looking through people's purses for mints and candy. So that's how lolly was born and that was 23 years ago.
Speaker 1:Wow, the first time I saw lolly was you had done the Milano. That was my first. She made puppets of Milano cookies and had lolly singing with Milano cookie puppets. I showed it on stream the other night. It was his step. There you go, milano cookie.
Speaker 2:Well, John Kennedy helped me make these. They're from a shade.
Speaker 1:So you perform now with lolly right. You use lolly right through for kids and teenagers, teach them self-esteem, issues and bullying. And yeah, that's you're very passionate about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she has no boundaries. First of all, when you know, if I were, I don't because it's just me and you know I started a company with my creative partner, jamie Domoy, called Humor with a Heart, because we get a lot of asks, that says to me is nonprofit and our characters are preschool, right. So you know I, my friend, was working at detention center with girls and you know he's like I think they need to hear your story because my story is deep, my smile is deep, and so I would take lolly, I'd take granny dot, I do. I teach them how to draw and cartoon and so lolly can go anywhere. I don't, I don't have to, I don't have to get permission. Where I take lolly, you know she's, she has a fairy drag mother, like Coco, you know, and lots of places. So like she is an art activist and so that's why I have lolly, because she can go anywhere. Also, to she's a sock puppet, right. So when you take a puppet into a school, kids can look at it and go.
Speaker 2:I could never make that. That's too nice or that's. You know, even kids play with Abby differently than they do with lolly. When they play with Abby they're like really she's a fairy. They're like oh, you know. It's like. Oh. When they play with lolly, it like there's something on your face. Come here Like but lolly's a sock. But when kids play with lolly they go home and they make a puppet. They're like I can make that.
Speaker 1:Did you have Lolly? Can we see Lolly?
Speaker 2:Yeah, she's in her cosplay for tomorrow. She made her own costume.
Speaker 1:You're going to Comic-Con.
Speaker 2:Yes, tomorrow I'm going to be at Dr Pinkhamstein, which is so crazy. I made a mask out of pipe cleaners and it's so painful, but I don't know if I'll wear it or not. Lolly is All right, I'm super excited. Push down everything, because I made it out of pipe. That's a wonderful song. Boys and girls of liberty age, would you like to hear something strange? Come with us. I knew well, this is the Car Town of Holloway. Hi hi, hi, hi, hi. Yeah, this is hard to manage this hair. It looks over conditioned.
Speaker 1:Right, you have this obsession with pipe cleaners.
Speaker 2:This one. I look like you.
Speaker 1:What is the pipe cleaner obsession? It never ends.
Speaker 2:Well, the thing is, leslie Spinklstein has made our pipe cleaners, and so I just thought I needed to blend. And then this I made out of peel and stick. I'm wearing my sweater backwards the sweater. The sweater belonged to a Chihuahua. I fit in Chihuahua.
Speaker 1:So so you know, I was telling Leslie before the show we had Steph De Bruzzo on and she says I'm an expert at candy trivia and got every candy trivia question wrong and I should have saved the candy trivia. I didn't save it and it's my mistake. I would have loved to have had Lolly do candy trivia and it's yes.
Speaker 2:Red, red lollies, licorice and tamales, rocket pops, raspberry drops, cinnamon bear with fruit, rat pairs. Strawberry jello must be wild watermelon trappy. In my job, fire sticks for red hot bricks is how I get my favorite kind of sugar is red, yeah. A little potato cake thing yeah. The only kind of candy I don't like is nature's candy. Yeah. In fact, in our show moonlight madness Lolly has written the candy bylaws that she's going to make everybody in here too. You have to come to the show. Seven o'clock is wide open. Matt and I is filling up.
Speaker 1:And while you have the puppet in your hand. Just to explain everybody, you talk a lot about right hand. I was this person's right hand. Somebody always picked these people. It's because when you do a puppet right, you have one hand that's the mouth and the other is. You know she's got a rod to control the hand, but how do you control the other hand? That's where the other person comes in, or you know? I don't see it. Leslie's making me a liar now.
Speaker 2:Look, I'm giving myself, I'm self-hugging. Oh, it's so cold, I'm so cold, stop it.
Speaker 1:So that's a rod puppet as opposed to a hand puppet where you know earning whatever. That's a live hand.
Speaker 2:That's a live hand puppet. Yeah, yeah, you need to get the experts on, but I do know that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no no, I was just trying to explain so people you know, since we were talking about it in the in the video earlier, it can make sense to know that you have a loli in your hand.
Speaker 2:I think so Okay, stop it, I have a new face.
Speaker 1:So so the Milano video Loli gets all up in those Milanos right all over you, you feel like. Because it's a sock puppet, you can be as you said. Not only do the kids play with it harder than you, I mean you can play with it harder too, right, because you could just go make another. I mean there's only one, loli. Wait, I'm sorry, there's only one. Why did she jump at the screen?
Speaker 2:It's not true. I saw one of my heads around and, well, it's so funny you could say that Don't listen, loli, I don't have ears. Okay, that's true. So I've had Loli for 23 years and I think there's been this particular Loli. I think, caitlin, you were at my first cabaret in the city.
Speaker 1:Like.
Speaker 2:I finally got the courage to do my cabaret here because it was New York and I was like I don't have a Broadway credit, I'm not part of the cabaret community, so I was really anxious because I wasn't sure anybody would, even though I've been an entertainer for years. I didn't think anybody would come because, again, nobody. I'm a nobody here and people just think like, I'm a writer, I love to tell stories, so I think of myself as a storyteller. If there's puppets in my show, they play a part. There's a reason for them to be there. You know it's so. You want me to eat it.
Speaker 2:So one of the things for Loli is I made a new Loli and that was in 2016. Was that my first 17? Maybe 2000? Yeah, 17 or 18, I don't know. Let's just say even 18, 1920, 21, 22, 23. So, putting your hand in and out of a sock that has everything. So she started to stretch out. My finger was almost going through her and I tried to wash her in moonlight because so it's really hard. So I've got everything. She put a new sock over my face. So I wanted to make a new Loli, but I kind of got attached to this one because Loli, when we went through you know, I'm a cancer survivor and we went through COVID together. We went through outreach together. We've been through so much together that I kind of get attached like Loli. This Loli has history, you know. So even though I've had them, there's only been like five or six.
Speaker 1:I do enjoy that. You were whispering about what you were doing to Loli, so Loli the sock puppet couldn't hear you.
Speaker 2:Listen. My mom sends Loli a birthday card every year.
Speaker 1:My mom what's Loli's birthday?
Speaker 2:It's Halloween, it's the national day of the century, it's the 31st. Ironically, loli doesn't know this, but Abby's birthday is October 21st which is the day of our cabaret, but I'm not telling Loli that.
Speaker 1:I wouldn't.
Speaker 2:She'd be bitter. So she's already bitter. There's restraining, there's lots of things. So what? My mom sends $5 in an envelope and a birthday card to Loli and one time she called me up and she said I didn't get Loli's birthday card out in time. And I'm like I just won't tell her.
Speaker 1:I won't tell her it's not her birthday. Does Loli have an age? Do we know? How does Loli know how old she is?
Speaker 2:I'm five. Well, I'll be five when I get another finger. Look at that. Look how tattered I am. Yeah.
Speaker 1:My friend Heather's making her hands. So listen, leslie, I told you on the show we like to also open it up to viewer questions, but with a twist. With a twist, if we play the game on this show where if a viewer or listener asks a question, we have to roll this D20 die as a knowledge check to see if you can answer your own question. So if anybody in chat has any questions, I mean Leslie. Leslie's an open book and she loves to answer questions, especially if If I can't answer especially.
Speaker 1:Especially if I can't answer. By the way, a couple of people in chat said I guess this one guy said his wife's aunt. After I met my wife's aunt all I could hear was Chucky from Rugrats, from everything she played in. So I'm guessing his wife's aunt does the voice of Chucky. You did a voice in All Grown Up right the Rug. No, I thought you did no. Straight from the record.
Speaker 2:Yeah, peg Puppy, I've been on Nature Cat David Redman was gracious enough to give me a bunch Splash and Bubbles. I both animated it. Digital puppetry did voices. For that that I got nominated for an Emmy Award.
Speaker 1:Have you won Emmys? Do you have Emmys?
Speaker 2:I'm like the Susan Lucci of Children's Television I'm super honored. I always feel weird because I feel like it's such a team sport Everybody's great, but I've lost every single time.
Speaker 1:You know, I don't know if you know the story or not, but I have you either lose the Elmo or a human?
Speaker 1:There's a lot of Emmys for Sesame Street that somebody else won for the work that I did. We're not gonna name names because it's become a running joke for the years. Over the years they never put my name down, even though it's my work. They always put somebody else's name down. So the joke is that that person stole more Emmys from me than most people will ever see in their lifetime, regardless. So there is a question about, in terms of I'm gonna phrase this differently than the question that was asked to me in message they asked about well, I'll just do it Is there a difference between you know the ecosystem of working with the Muppets, working with Sesame Street, doing a puppet for Seuss Like does as you've changed and moved between different groups of puppeteers?
Speaker 1:Does the way people interact with each other or the way the puppets work? Does that change? And the dynamic of it all? But you don't have to answer yet. We have to roll to see if you can, even while you're thinking about it. Oh, it's a 19. You definitely know that answer. If you know it, do you feel like it's the same like going from show to show or brand to brand Like?
Speaker 2:I think what this question is. It depends on where the show is in its development. Like you said, with Sesame Street it's a well-allowed machine, so you're always the new person and that you know. There's Puppet Captain, that hierarchy, there's people that have been there, so you know you're working with these incredible, like the people on Sesame Street. Those puppeteers are genius to me so I was really shy around them because I have a different skill set and it wasn't manipulation.
Speaker 1:Oh no. I would like to point out that at this point, the irony of us talking about being the new kids on the block is, at this point we are some of the older generation.
Speaker 2:now that's on those shows, I mean the nothing, no come in and they it's a completely different thing because they come in already knowing so much because there's puppetry classes, there's workshops, there's video, there's all these tools that they have now that help them understand what to do, whereas me, coming in 23 years ago, I was, I had no clue and it was on a show. That again, where these giants, they don't have time to teach me or tell me what to do. It's like sink or swim kid, if you're here, you better figure it out. So in that sense, in my personal journey, I had to figure it out right, and now I think it's a little different. You know, it's just a little different. And I think also, too, when you start a new show together, everybody's excited to be, create and develop.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of collaboration, Like when we did Splash and Bubbles. You know you're kind of making up your character and the rules of the universe, right. There's certain amount of stuff that you can. You know you can do a few more things. Same with Johnny and the Sprites. It was really fun. You know, johnny is a great leader in a playful environment.
Speaker 2:So I think for me personally, I pretty much I'm always the same, like I never assume that I just like to play. I really am a puppy dog. I really am that. I go in and I have ESP. I wanna eat, sleep and play. So I always start from a place of discovery and I never assume that I know more than anybody else. So that part, and I think the answer depends on the individual and where they see themselves in that journey I know for me, like when I'm in, if I'm in a writing set writing and creating or comedy or improv there's certain places that I feel like I have a stronger skill set. But I don't know, I think it depends on the individual. Like that probably didn't help.
Speaker 1:No, it's like that's the answer that you gave. I mean, so do you ever get confused on what personality goes to what character? Don't answer. Oh no, you don't know this. You have to actually make up an answer. You do not know. If you ever get confused on what personality goes into the character, you see why it's fun. Now, right.
Speaker 2:I can't tell because I don't know how it works. Though what?
Speaker 1:does that?
Speaker 2:mean I don't know the answer.
Speaker 1:I just don't know the answer you don't know the answer, you have to make up an answer. Do you know? Do you ever get confused on what personality goes to what character?
Speaker 2:I don't understand the answer, the question.
Speaker 1:Do you ever get confused on what personality goes to what character?
Speaker 2:Like when I'm performing yes, oh Well, I do. You know, I do the Wizard of Oz, right? So what I do is I have to hit a body's dance. You know a certain thing. But if I've been doing Lollie like I just did a tour with Lollie and I was Lollie for five days and I had to lower her. She's a little more grating and nasal and she laughs like huh, I had to change Lollie's laugh and then when I go to Abby, she's up here and it's it's like you said, it's like it's the same. You know range, you know, but Abby is just a little bit and sometimes I don't know, you know. So that is kind of tricky. If Abby and Lollie are right next to each other, that's tricky.
Speaker 1:So yes, so that was an honest answer when you were supposed to give a made up answer.
Speaker 2:Oh, I was supposed to make a, make up one. Yeah, I guess I don't know how it works. I never get confused, I'm a genius.
Speaker 1:You know, what's funny is I just heard a little granny dot when you were going between Lollie and Abby.
Speaker 2:it kind of I know and I had to lower that because I'm in a show and I had to lower the song.
Speaker 1:So Okay, there's another question. Do you ever use one of the character's voices and say a swear word? I'm going to roll the dice for this and I'm going to answer this just to protect Leslie. Oh, it's a 14, so we can answer it honestly.
Speaker 1:Back in the day, they used to edit together a, an outtakes reel of Sesame Street, if you will, for the rap party, which is some of the funniest stuff you'll ever see. But that was at a time when it was edited on a tape, like a physical tape, that nobody owned a machine that could play. I mean, the machine to play it was thousands of dollars and tens of thousands of dollars and you needed all this equipment to make it work. They tend they do still do it sometimes, but they protect that because, man, could you imagine some of those videos getting out into the world? Because when I mean, I mean you can answer this for yourself but I mean when you get in the characters, and certainly the characters that are directing, they don't always leave their voice when they want to make a note or make a change, because they're in that scene and they're in the voice, and so they just go and I'll let you answer.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's why they the Avenue Q people got their idea when they saw those things happen. I personally do not swear. I am really adamant about it. My shows are I'm kind of a Mary Poppins meets Monty Python. I'm twisted and dark, but I do not like to swear. I don't like it.
Speaker 1:She has rated PG. I mean, most of her stuff is G, most of your stuff is pretty G.
Speaker 2:I can do double on Chandra, but I don't like it when people swear. In fact, for me, when I feel like a puppet swears, I just think that's lazy comedy. So there you go.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of a star. That's why she wasn't in Avenue Q. She was like I don't need that shenanigans in my life.
Speaker 2:Well, I didn't get called back.
Speaker 1:So so we also have the fun trivia game that we're going to play, and maybe New Heart can play along too, if New Heart knows the answer. So so I you know, when it came time to to do you, I always ask people in advance do you have a fandom Like what? Are you good at, nerd wise, to answer questions? But for you, I think, we have a unique opportunity to play a game of Sesame Street and Muppet trivia, and if you do well, if you, if you get this right, printbills is going to win a prize. Ben and Chad all night. He's very excited about this. Now here's the thing, leslie, just so you know. There's no pressure. Nobody has won. I think these trivia questions are pretty easy. Oh, new Heart's going to answer. So that way, when it's wrong, you got to blame.
Speaker 2:Wait, hold on Someone's here, Hold on.
Speaker 1:Oh no.
Speaker 2:New Heart. Hey, come on, joe, in the middle of a podcast. Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought it was going to be a guy with us At the door. Hey, maybe you could be. If I don't know the answer, maybe you do. Sure, okay, my friend Joe is here Because he's going to Hi Joe. Hey, he's going to sleep Sure.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he can.
Speaker 2:You want to pop in. It's my friend, joe. We've known each other forever. We were in a show with the baked potato together where we wore the giant B-52 wig Huge, huge wigs, anyway, all right.
Speaker 1:Are you ready? Yes, question one.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:The character who would eventually become Grover was first seen. On what TV Show, oh God?
Speaker 2:Oh my God, oh God, he's got my B. I'm going to say laughing.
Speaker 1:It was the Ed Sullivan Show, the Christmas Eve episode in 1967. That's, that's original, grover.
Speaker 2:Oh my God, that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Oh my God, which Muppet was the first to reach national stardom.
Speaker 2:I have to look at it. Oh, I would say Ms Piggy, oh Kermit.
Speaker 1:Kermit was the first, but the first to reach national stardom was Ralph. He was the Purina Spokes dog in 1962 and then became a cast member on the Jimmy Dean show.
Speaker 2:I love those episodes. They're so good.
Speaker 1:What floor did Barton Ernie live on at 123 Sesame Street? What, what? What floor do Berton Ernie live on at 123? They live in the basement.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:What is the name of Elmo's Goldfish?
Speaker 2:Dorothy.
Speaker 1:It is Dorothy. Which human cast member did Barkley belong to?
Speaker 2:Oh, I want to say Bob, but I think it might be Linda.
Speaker 1:Linda.
Speaker 2:I dressed as Barkley one year for Helen.
Speaker 1:As we discussed before, there were characters that did not appear on Muppets Tonight. Ralph appeared in only a single episode of Muppets Tonight. Who was the guest he performed with, by the way? This was because, when and when Henson had passed, Ralph was his favorite puppet, and so they really. That is why Ralph is now not seen as often or used as often as the other puppets. It was out of respect to him. Also, you know, Ralph was the first nationally known one I'm Muppets Tonight.
Speaker 2:The one.
Speaker 1:I was Muppets Tonight.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh my gosh, where's Paul? He played piano. I was gonna say, was it dueling pianos?
Speaker 1:I don't remember. It was Garf Brooks, oh my gosh. He played in the Garf Brooks.
Speaker 2:He was one of my favorite guests.
Speaker 1:Leslie, I gotta give me for you what was the name of the male pig in Bay of Pigs Watch.
Speaker 2:Hogs will have.
Speaker 1:David Hogslehoff as Champ Swimmer.
Speaker 2:That's right.
Speaker 1:In the early days of Sesame Street. Who was the Count's partner?
Speaker 2:The Countess or the baddie cat.
Speaker 1:Countess, countess darling Von Dowling. Ernie is most famously partnered with Burr but in the 70s and early 80s he would also feature with what Shady character, my personal favorite Sesame Street character.
Speaker 2:Oh, wanna play Belle. No, yes, what was his name, you know? Hey, you wanna play Belle. Oh gosh, I wanna say it's not Super Fine Joe's, it's Sherlock Hemlock. Oh, I can't think of it, I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:Sherlock Hemlock was Jerry Nelson Lefty. I know Lefty was Frank.
Speaker 2:Lefty.
Speaker 1:Lefty, by the way. Guys, if you ever, as an adult, wanna go back and watch the brilliance of that era of Sesame Street, watch Ernie and Lefty their bits together legendary, Just hysterical Going to. I wanna resnuffle up against his eyes originally.
Speaker 2:Originally.
Speaker 1:Originally.
Speaker 2:Like the pupils.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Ooh, I'm scared, I don't know, oh, I would be. I'm just gonna say green.
Speaker 1:They were yellow and green.
Speaker 2:Oh, I got that right, you should give me one, that is, that looks like the Toxic Avenger, which, by the way, if that ever comes back to Broadway, please somebody tell him to ask me.
Speaker 1:You know, somebody said in chat that they missed Snuffle Up Against being possibly imaginary. The reason they took that away was, if I recall correctly, it was because, you know, big Bird would always talk about Mr Snuffle Up Against as imaginary friend and people didn't believe him. It was real and it was very important for Sesame Street to teach kids that when you need to tell an adult something, an adult should believe you, and so they didn't want that portrayed on the show, which is why they changed him to a real character, if I recall correctly, yeah, that is absolutely right.
Speaker 1:I also like to point out to people the creepiest thing when you, if you ever show up to the set of Sesame Street not that any of you will, but if you ever did Snuffle Up Against is hanging.
Speaker 2:The bag lady that lives there.
Speaker 1:He is hanging from the light grid right Like in the back by like meat hooks up in the grid like.
Speaker 2:He's gassy when I see the kids, when they tell the kids I go and I'm usually if there's kids on set, I will grab Abby immediately and I'm like Stephanie sleeps. He retains a lot of gas when he's sleeping so when he's not sleeping, man, you can hear it when he's there on a great big air blow.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:That's for your listeners.
Speaker 1:Well, listen, leslie, honestly it's been such a treat having you on. I want to remind everybody, october 21st, two shows 1pm and 7pm. 7pm wide open 1pm. The tickets are almost gone. Green room 42. She's above ground, she's not in the basement anymore. She said I'm moving out of Burton Ernie's apartment. I'm going up, moving on up.
Speaker 2:This is a special show. Do you know why?
Speaker 1:Why is it a special Abby's birthday?
Speaker 2:no, yes, One, I haven't done this show since 2019. That was like five weeks after my surgery. And two, it's not just me, we have a cast. And three, it's storytelling, but it's you're a dog lover. It's very good. So it's kind of like it's not your typical. It's not your typical cabaret.
Speaker 1:It's a lot of when can people?
Speaker 2:get tickets. You can get them at Green Room 42 on the website and also I think it's really important to know, there's a no food or drink minimum. So I'm new to the Green Room 42 and they set their ticket prices. So they'll have main dining room, premium booth, ringside. They're all great seats.
Speaker 1:Ringside.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can be like ringside, but what I'm just saying is that I move around a lot, so I try to give the love all over the place.
Speaker 1:Does Lolly still go through people's bags looking for mints or gum? She might.
Speaker 2:You never know what's gonna happen at one of my shows. So one of my favorite shows, because this is my. If you come to the show you'll understand more about me. My, yeah, it's kind of my coming out party.
Speaker 1:There. I already know some people that have tickets to your show Do.
Speaker 2:Oh, Carolyn, probably Is she watching.
Speaker 1:Carolyn. Carolyn is watching. Carolyn is my biggest fan. I love Carolyn.
Speaker 2:I know well, carolyn appreciates you, and the dogs are probably watching too. So there that's. Ha ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha ha ha, ha, ha ha.
Speaker 1:We. Carolyn is um A dear friend of mine and is the biggest supporter of this. Like she watches every second of every one of these podcasts and will immediately, as soon as a podcast over. She knows where I'm going. It's McDonald's for my dog. My dog needs his chicken nuggets because I keep him out of the room during the podcast, so he loves McDonald's chicken nuggets. I don't know how, but he cries for them.
Speaker 2:Now. I want chicken nuggets now.
Speaker 1:And so we're gonna go. We're gonna go get chicken nuggets, and she will. She knows that we will be on the phone and critiquing this whole episode as soon as it's over.
Speaker 2:You have to have friends like that. I. I'm really appreciative Carolyn, because again she got to know me. For me, you know, outside of Abby and you know, you know how it is to be an artist in this town, you know. So it's just like the shows are hard to put up. The worst part is having to promote it. I might, I hate it, I hate it. Liz Har says well, just, you know, consider inviting people to a party and I go. It's kind of true, because our place is so small we can never have anybody over. I tell these stories to Paul. He's kind of bored with them. He's wearing headphones. Newheart doesn't really comment anymore, so I just kind of go somewhere.
Speaker 1:She tells the stories to Lolly, and Lolly just sits there and stares at me.
Speaker 2:My brain, so it is kind of a party it's. It's my form of cookies, since I don't bake, but I bake up some storytelling. So I hope to see you there.
Speaker 1:So she'll be there. I will probably be there to pen I was. I was actually supposed to be in Vegas for another show, but I don't think I'm going, so yeah.
Speaker 2:I'm sure it's just as, probably as, extravagant as your Vegas show.
Speaker 1:Well, my problem is I have a farm. I have a farm, leslie, did I tell you? I have cows and goats and chickens. Now, and it's starting to get cold, I live on a mountain and I have to build a barn.
Speaker 2:You know, you know the struggles, the farm, you can bring a cow to the show if you want.
Speaker 1:I don't think I can bring a cow to the show, if you see.
Speaker 2:I don't know, might be tricky. There's an elevator, is what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:Fair between me and the cow, though on the elevator the weight limit might be, I feel. Oh my god, leslie, thank you so much for coming on listen. I'm not going to announce next week's guest. It's the Bad Chest podcast. It's available wherever you get your podcasts. You can search for it on Spotify, apple, itunes, odyssey, tune in. It's on YouTube. Youtube, sure, right on YouTube, absolutely can. Thank you so much. You want to. You want to promote me anymore? It's right on right on the YouTube.
Speaker 2:We find you.
Speaker 1:We're live on kick all the time, which we are right now. I mean, oh, it's just so. So many places it's it's hard to mention them all.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:You're welcome and thanks Chad and everybody else. And look, next week we'll be back. We have a great, another great guest, which I can't. I can't. The problem, leslie, as you understand, is there was a writer strike that was going on forever.
Speaker 1:The writer strike ended Now a bunch of people are going back to work and then everyone thought the actors were going to be back to work and now, as of today, that is does not look like it's going to happen anytime soon that those talks broke down, so I know everybody that's been on my show is now like or had that was scheduled, is all like I don't know what we're going to do, because the person that was coming on next week was so under the impression that they were going to be able to plug something and they're like I really might want to wait to see what's going to happen with the strike and it's like you know, I understand, I get it.
Speaker 2:Listen, that's live. Theater is bread and butter right now, like outreach and all that stuff. That's what it's like. It's tricky, oh, there is a sag after a discount to my show. That's why I wanted to say it's sag after all caps 15.
Speaker 1:Thanks for you know. Oh yeah, and that's green room 42. It's October 21st. Don't tell Lolly that it's Abby's birthday. Thank you so much. Let me have a great night, everyone. Thanks for watching. Thanks for tuning in. We'll be back next week, take care.