Elmo's creator has a movie. Deadline says:
So now the show's iconic? Everything's iconic. It's only a matter of time before the word "iconic" is deemed iconic.
Anyway. I met Kevin Clash, the hand and voice of Elmo, at a Toy Fair in New York in the 90s; nice guy. You could tell who had young kids, because they begged him to say something in his Elmo voice into a tape recorder for their kids. Everyone was a little relieved to note that he didn't always talk like Elmo, because that would make for a difficult life. Everyone would always point out that you sounded just like Elmo, and he'd say "well, I am Elmo," and then they'd think he had problems.
Some people hate Elmo, but for that particular demographic it's sweet and harmless. And of course there's Mr. Noodle, and his late lamented brother Mr. Noodle's Brother. (And their sister, played by Kristin Chenoweth, who shot a movie here in the Twin Cities a few years ago that included many third-graders who probably had no idea she was a friend of Elmo. But the show is not without detractors! Elmo's wikipedia page notes:
Never heard a pre-schooler use the third person. By the way, in the course of researching Elmo, I came across a fellow who got Kevin Clash into the Muppet business. This of course is old news to Sesame Street Traditionalists, but even they were amused at first to learn the name of the guy who designed Big Bird, and other characters.
No, that's not where the name came from, which makes it all the better.
