Elmo is self-described as three-and-a-half years old and his birthday is on February 3. Elmo characteristically avoids
pronouns in reference to himself, instead
referring to himself in the third person (e.g., saying "Elmo wants this" instead of "I want this"). In its
FAQ, the
Sesame Workshop addresses the allegation that Elmo
referring to himself in the third person will teach children
improper English, by stating that this behavior "mimics the behavior of many preschoolers. Like 3-year-olds, he doesn't always have the skills or knowledge to speak proper English."
Sesame Street staff writer Nancy Sans once described Elmo's origins: "There was this extra red puppet lying around and the cast would pick him up sometimes and try to create a personality, but nothing seemed to materialize." . The character of Elmo was originally conceived as a supporting character and background character by Henson Associates-based Muppet artist/builder
Caroly Wilcox in 1979, first appearing in the
Sesame Street song "We Are All Monsters", which first aired in a Season 11 episode during 1980. Elmo became a named and recurring character on
Sesame Street (during the street storylines) sometime later that season (episode 1439, to be exact), although he still appeared as a supporting character in segments in later episodes of the show at the time. The character was performed by a rotating ensemble of Muppet performers such as
Jerry Nelson and
Kathryn Mullen while he was a background character in such
Sesame Street segments from 1980 to 1984. As a named character, Elmo was performed by
Brian Muehl from 1980 to 1984, and later
Richard Hunt from 1984 to 1985 upon Muehl's departure. However, in 1985, Hunt was so frustrated with the puppet, he squeezed it and threw it at
Kevin Clash, who then performed Elmo. Clash said that Elmo should be a character who is kind and loving. Sans says of Clash, "one day in 1985, Kevin Clash, a talented puppeteer, raised him up and brought energy and life into Elmo and from that day forward we would all write for Elmo." Modern Elmo debuted with the Season 17 premiere of
Sesame Street, episode 2096 (first aired November 18, 1985, following the release of the
Sesame Street film
Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird). In the episode, Big Bird is tired of the adults refusing to believe him about Snuffy, so he decides to arrange for them to come to his nest and meet Snuffy, and Elmo offers to help. Snuffy returns, then tells Elmo he had better go home and brush his fur to prepare for the grown-ups' arrival, but Elmo holds on to his snuffle so he cannot go; as such, the adults meet Snuffy for the first time ever. Clash cites a moment later in season 17 (from Episode 2215 in which Elmo packs for an imaginary vacation) as the moment when he "found his voice" as Elmo, and by 1987, he became added to various episodes and product lines.
John Tartaglia,
Matt Vogel, and
Jim Martin have all been secondary performers for the character, providing movement for Elmo's arms and legs, particularly in green-screen shots. Alongside
Cookie Monster, Elmo has appeared in
The Furchester Hotel, where he is taking an extended stay because of his fascination with the Furchester Hotel. His father Louie is the brother of Funella Furchester. On May 27, 2020,
The Not Too Late Show with Elmo premiered on
Max. The series stars Elmo as the host of his own
late-night talk show. On January 2024, the
X (formerly known as Twitter) account of Elmo posted a query asking users how they're doing. The post received thousands of replies and a few interventions from other
Sesame Street characters. The replies were of heartwarming conversations, trauma, and
dark humor. A few hours after the query, the account for
Sesame Street addressed the users to mental health resources. ==Popular culture==