Proto-Cookie Monster

The character that would become Cookie Monster first appeared as a sharp-toothed monster that ate snack foods and other objects. Through the early years, the puppet would go through significant development before ever appearing on Sesame Street.
The hungry monster originated as the Wheel-Stealer in 1966 for an unaired General Foods commercial for Wheels, Flutes and Crowns. In 1967, Jim Henson used the puppet, then dark green, for an IBM training film called "The Coffee Break Machine." In the sketch, the monster devoured a machine. This sketch was also performed in October 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Arnold, a smaller version of the Wheel Stealer puppet, was created for several 1969 Munchos commercials. The puppet lost its teeth and had light purple fur, appearing closer to the Cookie Monster that would debut on Sesame Street.
The monster appeared throughout the first season of Sesame Street as one of the show's monster ensemble, with scripts generally not specifying which puppet would be used as "Monster" (and thus rotating with the likes of Beautiful Day Monster and the prototype for Grover). 
While he was a ravenous omnivore from the start, his affinity for cookies surfaced as early as Episode 0011. By the second season premiere, the name and persona of the Cookie Monster had been fully-established; the name is used in the "What's My Part?" segment and "I Whistle a Happy Tune."
==Cookie Monster's origin stories==
===Milk and Cookie===
Many sources cite a season one sketch with Ernie as the origins of the monster's cookie fixation. In the sketch that first appeared in Episode 0011, the monster manifests in Ernie and Bert's apartment (neither for the first nor last time). He continually consumes Ernie's snack and waxes rhapsodic at the prospect of Ernie bringing him his own "milk and cookie."
Jeff Moss wrote the sketch for the fuzzy blue monster with googly eyes. The script had the monster saying only two words, milk and cookie, and thus Cookie Monster was born. The story is noted in several interviews and profiles of Moss, some citing him as "the creator" of Cookie Monster.Elizabeth Kastor. Washington Post. 'Sesame Street' Storyteller. October 24, 1992
===The Mr. and Mrs. Game===
Another oft-cited origin story for Cookie Monster is The Mr. and Mrs. Game sketch also produced in the first season and first seen in Episode 0072. While the sketch gives birth to the premise of the cookie-obsessed monster, the initial depiction uses a different monster puppet albeit with Frank Oz performing the character with a similar voice and persona to what would become the Cookie Monster.
According to Jon Stone, the character was born of necessity. "Jerry Juhl (the chief writer) had written a sketch about a quiz show, but it had no ending in the studio; at the end of the contest the master of ceremonies said, 'You have your choice of $10,000, a new house, a three-week vacation in Hawaii, or a cookie.' The character starts thinking and can't make up his mind. He says to his wife, 'You'd like the vacation.' She says, 'Well, yeah, but you know how you like cookies.' He screams, 'Cookie,' and the whole place goes crazy. That puppet was actually different from Cookie Monster, but we liked the idea so much we took another puppet out of Jim's trunk and made him Cookie Monster." Emmens, Carol A. Jim Henson and the People Behind the Muppet Mania. School Library Journal. September 1984, Vol. 31 Issue 1, page 29.
This story is reiterated in Jim Henson: The Works (pages 67, 69) and Street Gang (pages 246-7, sourced from Stone's unpublished memoir). Stone's quote also appears in the 1994 book The Importance of Jim Henson.
==Early naming==
==="The Cookie Monster"===
In his earliest named appearances, Cookie Monster was sometimes referred to as "the cookie monster" with the definite article "the" before the title. This was used occasionally as late as the opening announcement to the Muppets' 1971 The Dick Cavett Show appearance, and even later, by most of the narration and several characters in the 1977 book Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree. Below are some of the earliest known uses of "Cookie Monster."
;Production sources
* In Episode 0059, Gordon refers to "the cookie monster" during a scene with Oscar (aired January 7, 1970).
* The script and final airing of Episode 0087, broadcast March 10, 1970, refers to a cookie-eating monster.
* Album credits for The Sesame Street Book & Record, first issued in early summer 1970, credits Frank Oz as simply "Cookie Monster," referring to one of the singers of "Up and Down" (credited to just "Two Monsters").
* The earliest known mention of Cookie Monster's name formally in dialogue with the character present (as well as in the script) is Episode 0131: the What's My Part? segment and "I Whistle a Happy Tune."
;Press and publicity
* The Sunday News Magazine, dated May 31, 1970 (pictured here, and here) identifies him as "the Cookie Monster."
* A Fairyland flyer from August 1970 advertises "the Cookie Monster"
* "The Cookie Monster" is mentioned as a popular character in a KPIX report on Sesame Street in San Francisco on September 1, 1970. Ron Magers states "It was the kind of a program where even mention of the Cookie Monster received a hand from the kids. And if you don't know who the Cookie Monster is, then your house may be suffering from a Sesame Street gap."
==="Boggle Eyes"===
At least two early scripts, albeit after the first use of "the cookie monster," use descriptions of the character's eyes to specify the puppet: "boggle" or "bobble." 
;production sources
*"Boggle-eyed monster" appears in the script for Episode 0117 for "Monster Tag."
*"Bobble-eyes" is used in the script for Episode 0184 for "Monster Finds the School."
;press and other uses
*An article in South Carolina's The Columbia Record on April 23, 1970 describes him as "Bobble-Eyes the Monster." Similarly, a picture from "If I Knew You Were Coming I'd've Baked a Cake." is captioned "Muppets Bobble-Eyes and Ernie Learn to Cook."The Columbia Record (Columbia, SC) “The Wonderful World of Sesame Street,” by Malie Bruton, page 27, April 23, 1970.
*The May 1970 edition of The Sunday News Magazine uses "Bobble Eyes" as well as "Cookie Monster."
*"Boggle Eyes" appears in some Moss biographies which describe his contribution in developing Cookie Monster.
**Festival Attractions, Inc. website
**The Poetry Foundation
**The Independent obituary
==Early Sesame Street appearances==
Season 1 appearances of the character prior to his name, persona and identity being fully established. Many of these segments feature Frank Oz as the monster's performer unless otherwise noted.
Kermitwlecture1.jpg|Kermit Lecture: W
1scary.jpg|Kermit Lecture: More/Less
Kermitsletterlecture.jpg|Kermit Lecture: B
Ernieerases1.jpg|Eraser sketches
Ernieballoon2.jpg|Balls and boxes
Milkandcookie-115.jpg|Milk and cookies
Kermitlecturerectangle.jpg|Kermit Lecture: Rectangle
Rectangles.jpg|Kermit Lecture: Same/Different
KermitSomeMoreMostMarbles.jpg|Kermit Lecture Jellybeans / Marbles
Adorablecookiemonster.jpg|"A, You're Adorable"
proto-Cookie-IceCream.jpg|"Everyone Likes Ice Cream" (voiced by Joe Raposo)
MouthFull.jpg|What will happen sketches
Pillow.jpg|Ernie's pillow sketch
KermitCookie-K.jpg|Kermit Lecture: K
0044 09.jpg|Street scenes moving in with Oscar (and wanting cookies)Episode 0044
Cookie eats ukulele.jpg|Q, A and U sketches
Cookie11cookies.jpg|Cookies and eggs
Magicglasses.jpg|Magic glasses
CMPhone02.jpg|Phone call sketches
Kermitcookiehappyface.jpg|Kermit Lecture: Happy
Kermit Cookie glass of milk.jpg|Kermit Lecture: Empty/Full
Monsterslookata.jpg|A
10-Ams-monsters.jpg|Counting (performed by Jim Henson)
Monsters-GTag.jpg|G
0573e.jpg|C (performed by Caroll Spinney)
Monsters-Y-Tag.jpg|Y
Kermcookie-2-6.jpg|Kermit Lecture: Sorting
Here and There.jpg|Here and There
Cookie-Bookie.jpg|Cookie Bookie
Kermit-RP.jpg|Kermit Lecture: R
==Sources==
==See also==
*Cookie Monster Through the Years
*proto-Elmo
*proto-Grover
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Category:Character Variants