During the Great ToughPig Hiatus of 2006, many great things happened in the world of Muppet fandom. For the first time EVER, Sesame Street had a 37th season. Puppet Up debuts and delivers Mr. Guy into the hearts of children worldwide. Muppets appeared on TV shows like Martha, The Tony Danza Show, Jeopardy, The Late Late Show, and E! True Hollywood Story: Miss Mousey. (Note: the last one may or may not be made up. I am too lazy to fact check.)
One important Muppet product that we didn’t get a chance to criticize is Kevin Clash’s book, “My Life as a Furry Red Monster.” The book was written by the top half of Kevin Clash’s head with Gary Brozek.
When Caroll Spinney wrote “The Wisdom of Big Bird” in 2003, he wanted to write it as an autobiography, but instead wrote it as a compilation of life lessons to boost sales. Kevin Clash must have gotten the same memo because his book is set up similarly. With chapters like “Love,” “Creativity,” “Tolerance,” and “Cooperation,” Clash uses stories about his childhood, working on Sesame Street, and things that happen to Elmo in his everyday, crayon-drawn life to illustrate what he has learned about the overlaying topic. Sadly, crayon-drawing is not one of the chapter headings, though I’m sure Elmo has taught Kevin a lot about the subject.
Speaking of illustrating, in the copy I bought, each chapter includes a cute pencil drawing of Elmo by Louis Henry Mitchell. As much as I enjoyed the pictures (no sarcasm intended), these are the only images in the entire book (with the exception of the dust cover). I was a bit disappointed at the lack of photographs which normally grace an autobiography, but hey, that’s what the Muppet Wiki is for. Actually, I was just hoping for a picture of Kevin puppeteering Juggles the Juggler.
Anyway, back to the words or whatever. Like I said, each chapter has a mix of stories from several different points in Clash’s life. At first, this is a bit confusing since he is taking us on a trip back and forth through time without a DeLorean. But after the first chapter or two, we get used to it and even begin to look forward to it. By the last few chapters, I found myself wondering what Elmo would have though of this anecdote, or how he learned how to share from working on Captain Kangaroo. Y’see how that works?
The last Muppet-related book I read before this was “Sesame Street Dad” by Roscoe Orman (take a looksee here for my review). As much as I enjoyed it, my main gripes were that there wasn’t enough Sesame-related material and that Orman bored me from time to time with lists and facts, rather than to emote his experiences to us. I had neither of these problems with the Furry Red book. With this book, you’re guaranteed to get at least one or two Sesame stories per chapter. Plus, his experiences watching Sesame Street, working as a teenaged puppeteer, and working on shows like Captain Kangaroo and Great Space Coaster are just as exciting as when he’s working with red fur clinging to his arm.
On top of it all, his stories suck you in, whether he’s writing about meeting Jim Henson for the first time or if he’s telling you about a car ride with his family, you will feel like you’re there with him and that you can’t wait for him to succeed and live the dream so many puppeteers can only hope for.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Sesame Street, puppets, television, monsters, America, bathrobes, spare keys, rectangles, gum, or none of the above. It’s a keeper.
I give this book 5 Mr. Noodles out of 5. And now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got many questions to ask to a baby.
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by Joe Hennes – Joe@ToughPigs.com
