Betty Lou

Betty Lou is a young girl from Sesame Street who has been played over the years by various performers.
She is made from the Hot Pink Little Anything Muppet, much like Prairie Dawn. Prairie and Betty Lou are sometimes difficult to separate. For example, sesamestreet.org once used an image of Prairie for both her character page and Betty Lou's.Betty Lou (accessed 4/17/09) "Friendly Betty Lou is always happy to lend a hand. She likes to play, and will always join her friends in a game on the playground. A doll aficionado, she has many dolls of various ethnicities and shapes. She owns many dolls and is good friends with Prairie Dawn." (By December 2009, the site replaced the picture with one of Betty Lou.) A 1994 document from the CTW archives also indicates the difference between the girls by their hair.Sesame Street Muppet Character Descriptions Additionally, Fran Brill, Prairie Dawn's performer, also occasionally played Betty Lou, usually using a different voice from Prairie's.
During the early years (including a named but silent role in "The Mr. and Mrs. Game"), Betty Lou was a minor character who was performed by whoever was available. She seemed to appear more often in books than on the show. Apart from singing "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend" (credited on The Sesame Street Monsters! album as "Little Girl"), notable appearances included the song "Exercise" in 1984 serving as lead singer (backed by Grover and others), and singing "Amigo" with her bilingual friend Carlos in a sketch from 1985. She was also an extra in the song "Bells" and made a named appearance in the Randy Travis song "You Gotta Ask Some Questions."
As part of an increased attempt by Children's Television Workshop to balance the number and prominence of the male and female characters, Betty Lou appeared on a more regular basis, in street storylines and not just inserts, beginning around 1993. Lisa Buckley became her consistent performer, and Betty Lou developed an interest in collecting dolls before fading once again into the background. One episode found her "despondent over the evil spell cast on her doll's lost love, Prince Ted."Hartford Courant "Plainville Girl Takes Her Own Magic To Sesame Street" by Dana Tofig, October 31, 1993 Another episode centered on her opening the "Betty Lou Clinic." Her 1990s renaissance was notably captured in original framing material in the 1996 video Do the Alphabet and in the song "Girl of the World."
Betty Lou lives with her mother. She has a baby sister, seen in the book Grover Learns to Read. She also has a little brother named Herbie who appeared in at least one book, The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook.
Betty Lou made a cameo appearance, alongside Roosevelt Franklin, in a Smart Cookies episode, "Making Whoopie Pie in the Library." She gives a cute little sneeze and gets shushed by the librarian. She also made brief cameos in Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration, where she is seen in the laundromat, and in a crowd shot among other classic Muppets during the "Sing" finale.
==Casting History==
* Frank Oz: "Everyone Likes Ice Cream," Pick Your Pet (as Lucy Jones), Hunt for Happiness (as Helen Happy), Episode 0132, plus occasional generic uses of AM puppet
* Fran Brill: Season 2, Ice Follies sketches, "Exercise," "Amigo"; Audio only: "Sesame Street 4th Of July," audiobooks for Don't Cry, Big Bird, Look What I Found!, Nobody Cares About Me!, Show and Tell, The Alphabet: The Great Alphabet Play, Bert and the Missing Mop Mix-Up, Shapes & Colors: Ernie's Favorites!
* Jerry Nelson: Clubhouse Cooperation
* Marilyn Sokol: "The Subway," "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend"
* Richard Hunt: "It's Funny"
* Lisa Buckley: regular performer from seasons 25 through 29
==Episodic appearances==
*Season 2: 0132, 0145, 0148, 0159, 0177, 0181, 0192, 0193, 0200
*Season 25: 3136, 3158, 3179, 3205, 3215, 3222
*Season 26: 3273
*Season 28: 3535, 3559
*Season 29: 3664
==Book appearances==
* The Sesame Street Storybook (1971)
* The Together Book (1971)
* Bert's Hall of Great Inventions (1972)
* More Sesame Street Finger Puppets (1972)
* Sherlock Hemlock and the Great Twiddlebug Mystery (1972)
* The Sesame Street 1, 2, 3 Storybook (1973)
* The Sesame Street ABC Storybook (1974)
* See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Smell No Evil (1975)
* Big Bird's Busy Book (1975)
* The Sesame Street Pretending Book (1975)
* Bert's Big Band Paint-with-Water Book (1976)
* The Count's Coloring Book (1976)
* The Sesame Street Neighborhood Coloring Book (1976)
* The Sesame Street Mother Goose (1976)
* The Sesame Street Postcard Book (1976)
* Una Sorpresa (1976)
* Paper Doll Players (1976)
* Ernie and Bert's Counting Book (1977)
* The Sesame Street Block Party (1977)
* The Sesame Street Mystery Coloring Book (1977)
* Cookie Monster and the Cookie Tree (1977)
* The Day the Count Stopped Counting (1977)
* Muppets in My Neighborhood (1977)
* The Exciting Adventures of Super Grover (1978)
* Grover's Super Surprise Book (1978)
* The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook (1978)
* The Sesame Street Cookbook (1978)
* Un pique-nique organisé (1978)
* Des experts en bévues (1978)
* A Day on Sesame Street (1979)
* The Amazing Mumford Forgets the Magic Words! (1979)
* Your Friends from Sesame Street (1979)
* Grover fait du skate (1979)
* Sesame Stories (1979)
* People in Your Neighborhood (1979)
* My Favorite Things (1979)
* Big Bird Follows the Signs (1980)
* Going Up! (1980)
* The Sesame Street Dictionary (1980)
* Anybody Can Play (1980)
* Down on the Farm with Grover (1980)
* Early Bird on Sesame Street (1980)
* The House That Biff Built (1980)
* I Can Do It Myself (1980)
* I Like School (1980)
* Look What I Found! (1980)
* The Sesame Street Pet Show (1980)
* The Sesame Street Storybook Alphabet (1980)
* Show and Tell (1980)
* The Tool Box Book (1980)
* What Did You Bring? (1980)
* The Amazing Mumford Presents the Magic Weather Show (1981)
* The Count Counts a Party (1981)
* I Have a Friend (1981)
* Prairie Dawn's Upside-Down Poem (1981)
* Put & Play Inside Outside (1981)
* Put & Play Magic Show (1981)
* Put & Play Yucchy Book (1981)
* The Sesame Street Circus of Opposites (1981)
* The Sesame Street Sun (1981)
* Which One Doesn't Belong? (1981)
* Don't Cry, Big Bird (1981)
* Oscar's Rotten Birthday (1981)
* Sesame Seasons (1981)
* Nobody Cares About Me! (1982)
* Big and Little Stories (1982)
* City (1982)
* A Day at School (1982)
* First Day of School (1982)
* In & Out, Up & Down (1982)
* Seasons of the Year (1982)
* Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 2: The B Book (1982)
* Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 5: The EF Book (1982)
* Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 8: The M Book (1982)
* Sesame Street Finding Out Encyclopedia 10: The PQ Book (1982)
* Monster (1982)
* A Sesame Street Christmas (1982)
* Everyone Makes Mistakes (1983)
* People in Your Neighborhood (1983)
* The Sesame Street Question and Answer Book About Animals (1983)
* Bert and the Missing Mop Mix-Up (1983)
* The Sesame Street Word Book (1983)
* A Baby Sister for Herry (1984)
* Every Morning at Play Group (1984)
* I Think That It Is Wonderful (1984)
* Big Bird's Copycat Day (1984)
* My Doll Is Lost! (1984)
* Grover Sleeps Over (1984)
* Big Bird Can Share (1985)
* Big Bird Says... A Game to Read and Play (1985)
* Ernie's Finish the Picture (1985)
* Grover's Book of Colors (1985)
* Grover's Book of Cute Little Words (1985)
* The House of Seven Colors (1985)
* Look What I Can Do (1985)
* My Sesame Street Yearbook 1985
* Sign Language ABC (1985)
* Welcome Home, Big Bird (1985)
* When Grover Moved to Sesame Street (1985)
* First Times (1986)
* Grover's Bad, Awful Day (1986)
* Why Are You So Mean to Me? (1986)
* ABC (1986)
* Find the Shapes (1986)
* A My Name Is Annabel (1986)
* Baby Animals on the Farm (1986)
* Count to Ten (1986)
* Sesame Street ABC (1986)
* Through the Year (1986)
* Ernie's Neighborhood (1987)
* I Want a Hat Like That (1987)
* The Runaway Soup and Other Stories (1987)
* A Rainy Day on Sesame Street (1987)
* Shape Up! (1987)
* At the Playground (1987)
* Bounce Along with Big Bird (1987)
* Don't Be Shy (1987)
* Friends to the Rescue (1987)
* Bert's New Collection (1988)
* The Day Snuffy Had the Sniffles (1988)
* Going Places (1988)
* It's a Secret! (1988)
* Just Like Ernie (1988)
* A New Playground on Sesame Street (1988)
* Oh, I Am So Embarrassed! (1988)
* The Sesame Street ABC Book of Words (1988)
* When is My Birthday? (1988)
* A My Name Is Alice (1989)
* Come As You Are (1989)
* Great Monsterpieces (1989)
* Happy Mother's Day! (1989)
* Things That Go (1989)
* Big Bird Presents the Nutcracker (1990)
* Ernie Follows His Nose (1990)
* Grover's Bad Dream (1990)
* Grover's Day at the Beach (1990)
* Museum of Monster Art (1990)
* Naptime (1990)
* Oscar's Grouchy Sounds (1990)
* Big Bird Plays the Violin (1991)
* Grover, Grover, Come on Over (1991)
* 1-2-3 (1991)
* Halloween Party (1991)
* Quiet Time (1991)
* Sesame Street 123 (1991)
* Betty Lou's Bad Mood Blues (1992)
* Feeling Fit: Postcards to Color and Send (1992)
* Friends & Family Lace-Ups (1992)
* Grover's 10 Terrific Ways to Help Our Wonderful World (1992)
* Holidays Around the World (1992)
* I Want to Be a Cowboy (1992)
* Mini-Boxes to Color & Share (1992)
* Little Ernie's ABC's (1992)
* My Name Is Big Bird (1992)
* Say Good Night (1992)
* The Sesame Street Book of Poetry (1992)
* Big Bird Meets the Orchestra (1993)
* I Spy: A Game to Read and Play (1993)
* I Want to Be President (1993)
* I Want to Be a Ballet Dancer (1993)
* Sesame Street's Mother Goose Rhymes (1993)
* Elmo's Little Playhouse (1993)
* Imagine... Big Bird Meets Santa Claus (1993)
* Merry Christmas, Everybody! (1993)
* Around the Corner on Sesame Street (1994)
* Elmo's Big Lift-and-Look Book (1994)
* Elmo and the Baby Animals (1995)
* No More Diapers! (1995)
* Ready, Set, Go! A Counting Book (1995)
* B is for Books! (1996)
* Elmo's Twelve Days of Christmas (1996)
* Rise and Shine! (1996; reworked as Up, Up, Up! in 2011)
* Elmo Loves You! (1997)
* Christmas Songs (1997)
* Elmo Saves Christmas (1997)
* Elmo's Christmas Colors (1997)
* Let's Eat! (1998)
* Elmo Says... (1998)
* Elmo's Tricky Tongue Twisters (1998)
* It's Not Easy Being Big! (1998)
* Sesame Street Lift-and-Peek Party! (1998)
* Elmo's Ducky Day (2000)
* A Very Grouchy Christmas! (2000)
* Watch Out for Banana Peels (2000)
* Sesame Street Library (2001)
* Sesame Street Museum (2001)
* Hooper's Store (2001)
* Sesame Street School (2001)
* Clap Your Hands! (2002)
* Elmo Look and Find (2002)
* Fun with Friends (2004)
* Let's Share (2006)
* Sesame Street Musical Pop-Up Treasury (2007)
* My Big Book of Firsts (2009)
* What's Different? (2009)
==Character Merchandise==
*Applause PVC figures
*Applause finger puppets
*Applause rag doll
*Barettes and hair bands
*Betty Lou Bean
*Comics Spain PVC Figure
*German Minikins PVC figure
*Grolier monthly resin ornament
*Knickerbocker rag doll
*Mini Collection plush
*Muppet Miniatures figures
*Paper cups
*Paper Doll
*Tyco Super Blocks figure
*Betty Lou trading card
*Tote bag
==Sources==
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Sesame Street Muppet Characters
Category:Sesame Street Characters
Category:Muppet Characters