Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch is a furry , green Grouch who lives in a trash can on " Sesame Street " . In fact , he loves trash so much that he ' s rarely seen outside of his trash can . His trademark song , explaining his passion for refuse , is " I Love Trash " . Like all Grouches , Oscar ' s mission in life is to be as miserable and grouchy as possible , and pass that feeling on to everyone else . When a visitor knocks on his trash can - - invariably interrupting him from a nap or an important task - - Oscar greets them with a snarl . He complains that he wants to be left alone , although when he ' s left entirely to himself , he ' s dissatisfied - - there isn ' t anybody around to irritate or complain to . While Oscar has had many pets , his closest companion is his worm , Slimey . He also has a girlfriend , a Grouch named Grundgetta , although a romantic relationship between two Grouches is understandably rocky . Grundgetta usually calls him Oskie while he occasionally calls her Grungie . Telly Monster and Elmo both consider Oscar to be a close friend , although Oscar disputes this since Telly and Elmo are the two monsters that Oscar doesn ' t like at all . However , Oscar reluctantly confirmed in Grouchland that the latter was indeed his friend . Oscar ' s family includes Granny Grouch , who appeared in season 2 of " Sesame Street " , and was the first indication on the series that Grouches are a separate species . Since then , Oscar has been visited by his grandfather and his mother , and sometimes babysits his niece , Irvine . He also has a brother named Ernest and a sister named Bunny . In both Episode 0131 and " A Special Sesame Street Christmas " , Oscar revealed that he also has a father . According to a 2008 interview with performer Caroll Spinney ( and later confirmed by Oscar himself in an appearance on " 1 vs 100 " ) , Oscar is 43 years old . Origins . According to " Sesame Street Unpaved " , " The character of Oscar was inspired by a nasty waiter from a restaurant called Oscar ' s Tavern in Manhattan . Jim Henson and Jon Stone were waited on by a man who was so rude and grouchy that he surpassed annoying and started to actually amuse both Jim and Jon . They were so entertained that going to Oscar ' s Tavern became a sort of masochistic form of luncheon entertainment for them , and their waiter forever became immortalized as the world ' s most famous Grouch . " In the Ask Henson . com web column , Jim Henson Company Archivist Karen Falk said that the restaurant was named Oscar ' s Salt of the Sea - - and went on to say , " Some of the designs that we have in the Archives were done by Jim Henson on Oscar ' s paper placemats ! " Caroll Spinney says that he based Oscar ' s voice on another New York resident - - a Bronx taxi driver who drove him to work on his first day performing the character . When Spinney got into the cab , the driver snapped , " Where to , Mac ? " While Jim Henson ' s first Oscar sketches were colored purple , the original Oscar puppet was orange ( Henson later said in an interview that this change was made because the early cameras weren ' t good enough to capture the color right ) . In chapter nine of the book " The Wisdom of Big Bird " , Caroll Spinney states that the Oscar puppet was rebuilt about a month after Sesame Street had started taping . Jim tore apart the original puppet , and a new puppet was built . An early version of the green Oscar debuted on " The Flip Wilson Show " in 1970 and Oscar ' s explanation for that was that he had vacationed at Swamp Mushy Muddy , where the dampness had turned him green overnight . In a 2003 appearance , Oscar stated that while his time in Swamp Mushy Muddy made him appear green , he is still in fact orange underneath all the slime and mold . ( With an exception , he ' s just never taken a bath ) . In his introduction to the book ( which also contained his lunch from yesterday , grape juice , and something unidentifiable ) , he explains how he ended up on " Sesame Street " , saying he was a normal when Joan Ganz Cooney and Jon Stone decided to create the show , they hired Jim Henson , who bugged him until he agreed to be on the show for the first episode only . He headed off to Swamp Mushy Muddy after the production wrapped , disgusted , but discovered that his agent , Bernie , had signed a contract to have him on the entire run of " Sesame Street " . Oscar became so mad he that he turned green ( a fictous explanation around how he became green ) , but figured the show wouldn ' t run for more than six months anyway ( obviously disappointed ) . Oscar explained his family roots and fur color again in a Life Magazine article in 2009 , " Most of the family was orange . But I had a lovely vacation in Swamp Mushy Muddy resort . It was so dark and dreary I kind of turned green . It ' s mostly moss . I like it — it goes with my eyes . I accidentally took a bath once , turned orange again and washed all the moss off , so I went right back to Swamp Mushy Muddy , and here I am . " Oscar ' s first line on " Sesame Street " , in episode 0001 , was " Don ' t bang on my can ! Go away . " This sums up his personality as it would remain for over 40 years . Performing Oscar . During the first season of " Sesame Street " , the street set was arranged in such a way that Spinney , who is right - handed , was forced to operate Oscar ' s head with his left hand . A subsequent redesign of the set allowed Spinney to switch hands . In scenes where Big Bird and Oscar ( both performed by Caroll Spinney ) interact in a scene together , the situation has varied depending on the amount of lines one or the other is given . When Spinney performs Big Bird , a second puppeteer operates Oscar to Spinney ' s voice . These puppeteers have included Jerry Nelson ( c . 1970s ) and Jim Martin ( 1990s - 2000s ) . Paul McGinnis also puppeteered Oscar at the 2003 Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala . As of Season 46 , Spinney no longer puppeteers Oscar full - time on the show . Eric Jacobson has become Spinney ' s understudy for Oscar ; sometimes lip - syncing to a prerecorded vocal track by Spinney , and other times doing the voice himself . Jacobson performed Oscar for his Sprout appearances on February 21 , 2015 , and also performed Oscar , un - dubbed , on a 2016 appearance on " Last Week Tonight with John Oliver " and a YouTube video promoting the Sesame Studios channel . Spinney continues to puppeteer Oscar sporadically , such as at live events . Transportation . Oscar has many forms of transportation . He can move with his legs sticking out of his trash can , as seen in early 70s episodes of " Sesame Street " ( portrayed by Hervé Villechaize ) , in the specials " Christmas Eve on Sesame Street " , " Don ' t Eat the Pictures " and various stage shows . He also often has Bruno the Trashman carry his trash can around while he ' s inside . While the puppet Oscar frequently moves outside of the trash can on his own his limbs are rarely shown . Rare moments where his full body was shown include a season 30 episode and a season 39 episode . In a few episodes , he has also made out - of - his - trash - can appearances during which the top half of his body is shown . When he sings , " I ' m Sad Because I ' m Happy " we see his feet splash in the mud but his voice is off - screen . Oscar has a car , the Sloppy Jalopy , which was used in " Follow That Bird " and various episodes of " Sesame Street " . The Sloppy Jalopy ' s New York license plate says " SCRAM . " Oscar has also been seen driving a broken - down taxi cab . See also . _ _ NOWYSIWYG _ _