It’s fair to say my day filming on Sesame Street was unusual, to say the least. A truly good day, but definitely strange from the start. My night had been spent enjoying the vibrant nightlife of Manhattan, specifically getting lost in the captivating jazz trio at The Blue Room in The Algonquin, a performance that delightfully stretched until 5 a.m. Arriving at the Sesame Street studio in Queens a mere two hours later, ‘groggy’ was an understatement. My knowledge of Sesame Street was pretty standard for someone my age – I knew about the Muppets, the catchy tunes, and the talking letters.
Luckily, Kristen, then working at Discovery, was with me for this unique experience. She was a walking encyclopedia of Sesame Street lore and history. (Kristen also has a keen eye for photography and often helps select the images for my posts, including the one I’m sharing today.)
So there we were, right on the legendary Sesame Street set. Kristen was completely starstruck, I was battling a hangover, and the Muppets – or puppets, whatever you prefer – were all around in their full glory. I had a feeling my work that day would involve an encounter with Oscar the Grouch, and I was right. Before I knew it, cameras were rolling, and I found myself in an impromptu conversation with what appeared to be a dirty sock residing in a trash can. Of course, it was actually the incredibly talented Carroll Spinney, the man who had been giving Oscar his iconic voice since the late 1960s. But honestly, when you’re face-to-face with one of these characters, looking into their puppet eyes for a few minutes, the line between reality and make-believe starts to blur.
Now, those who know me might attest to my occasional smart-aleck tendencies, and my habit of trying to slip in a slightly inappropriate comment at the end of on-camera chats for the editors to potentially cut. Well, that very impulse struck on Sesame Street. Oscar the Grouch, in all his grumpy glory, invited me into his “trash can.” He even specified I should “use the back door.” My response, delivered perhaps a little too quickly, was a rather tasteless and certainly untrue, “I always wanted to go in through the back door.”
If you happen to find the clip of this moment, you won’t hear Kristen’s horrified gasp off-camera, but trust me, it happened. What you will see is me, Mike Rowe, getting away with a cheap, childish double-entendre on what is arguably the most beloved children’s program in the history of television.
http://www.collegehumor.com/video/5976667/mike-rowe-sneaks-dirty-joke-into-sesame-street
Am I proud of this particular moment? Definitely not. But it’s a funny story, and a testament to the unexpected and often hilarious turns life can take, even on Sesame Street with Oscar the Grouch.
