Cookie Monster is one of the most well known Muppet characters and his celebrity is likely further reaching than a majority of human actors. I am a big fan of the Muppets and basically anything that Jim Henson is involved in but I never really questioned where did Cookie Monster actually come from? When was the first time he had appeared?
src
Well it turns out that he wasn't originally called Cookie Monster and it was kind of an accident that he became a full-time character for the Jim Henson and eventually a mainstay on Sesame Street.
The first time Cookie Monster appeared he was actually called "Wheel Stealer" and he looked a bit more menacing than he did when I first saw him in the 80's.
Before Jim Henson became a household name he was making commercials and barely scraping out a living. He was not rich and was taking on just about any job he could get. The above commercial was made in 1966 and it never aired. If you listen to the voices though it is very clearly Jim Henson voicing the main speaker and probably one or two of the other voices as well. Later "Wheel Stealer" would be used in an IBM training video. Training for what, i can only guess.
He would later appear in a Frito Lay commercial for Munchos which is a product, if I am not mistaken, is still available for purchase today. Cookie Monster was known as "Arnold the munching monster" at this point.
Once again the voice of the human character appears to be Jim Henson doing the voice. I have no idea if this commercial, which aired in 1969, was popular but overall Jim Henson's fame was growing and even though Frito Lay wanted to make more commercials with Henson and Oz, the duo were working on Sesame Street and declined a new contract.
Still without a name, Cookie Monster made his appearance without his scary fangs on a skit that is one of the most famous in Sesame Street lore and is referred to as the "W lecture."
It wasn't until a year later during a skit where "The Monster" got his name when his catch phrase became "Me want cookie!" or "Me eat cookie." It was during the "C is for Cookie" skit that his name became "Cookie Monster" and the song itself is one of the most recognized songs from Sesame street of all time. This happened all the way back before I (and probably most of you) was born in 1971, yet I still remember most of the words. Talk about a hit!
And remember, if there is one bit of wisdom that you take away from all of Cookie Monster's stoic teachings it's this: "The moon sometimes looks like letter "C," but you can't eat that!"