Anything Muppets

thumb|300px|Semi-blank versions of Green, Fat Blue and Lavender, from the song "Fat Cat."
Anything Muppets (sometimes referred to as "AMs") are "empty" Muppet heads. Facial features, bodies and clothes can be added to make any kind of character. The corresponding family of monster puppets are known as the AM Monsters.
A similar group of puppets known as Whatnots appeared on The Muppet Show. Some Anything Muppets have also appeared in Muppet movies and specials.
The Anything Muppets were introduced in the first episode of Sesame Street, in a sketch involving Gordon. An Anything Muppet appeared without any facial features, and Gordon introduced her as an Anything Person and proceeded to give her and four other Anything Muppets who appeared in sequence eyes, noses, and hair to form a family.
During the first seasons of Sesame Street, they were known as "The Anything People" who could be anything they wanted. Usually the live actors, like Bob, would turn them into different characters. This concept was abandoned after a few seasons, although every once in a while an Anything Muppet character would take off his nose or lose his mustache.
Although these puppets were usually used to create human characters, animals were also sometimes concocted from Anything Muppets, until the late 1980s, including the Tortoise and the Hare, The Three Little Pigs, and Captain Vegetable. This practice could be seen in The Miss Muffet Play. Aliens, such as The Gonk and The Geefle, and monsters such as Bennett Snerf, Arlene Frantic, Fenwick, Rosemary and Pamela could also be made from Anything Muppets.
Main Sesame Street characters that are made from Anything Muppets include Count von Count, Prairie Dawn, The Amazing Mumford, Mr. Johnson, Roosevelt Franklin, Guy Smiley, Lefty the Salesman, Biff and Sully, the Twiddlebugs, Sherlock Hemlock, and Little Jerry.
Fat_Blue-Anything_Muppet.jpg|Fat Blue Anything Muppet from "The Muppet Character Guide" (1973)
Lavender-Anything_Muppet_with_hands.jpg|Lavender Anything Muppet from "The Muppet Character Guide" (1973)
==Types==
The following types of Anything Muppets appear on Sesame Street; terms for these are derived from CTW style guides and other official sources:
SimonSoundman.jpg|Fat Blue(and live hand variant)|link=Fat Blue
HiddenGem4206.jpg|Green|link=Green
Sully.jpg|Pumpkin(and live hand variant)|link=Pumpkin
Sadman.jpg|Purple|link=Purple
Herbbirdsfoot.jpg|Lavender|link=Lavender
BiffPortrait.jpg|Large Lavender Live Hand|link=Large Lavender Live Hand
Character.librarian.jpg|Orange Gold(and live hand variant)|link=Orange Gold
Busbytwins.jpg|Little Anything MuppetsHot Pink, Reddish Magenta, Orange Pumpkin, Light Green, Brown, and Small Lavender|link=Little Anything Muppets
===Unknown titles===
In addition, a few other types have been used less frequently; official titles are currently unknown.
 	
Large lavender hand rodFirst used during season 14.
:The Count (in The First Day of School and Episode 3012), Rusty, The Yesman, Mr. Essex, Sonny Friendly (originally, 1986-1993), Frankie, The Grand High Triangle Lover (originally), The Princess and the C, Donald Trump Muppet, Ambulance Driver, Hansel and Gretel's Mother, Astronaut in the Yip Yip Number of the Day segments
 	
Large orange live handUsed as early as season 21.
:Laundromat Manager, King Fred, Murray the Mediocre, Sir John Feelgood, Mo, The Grand Royal Square Person, Geppetto, Diva la Diva, Diva D'Abruzzo, Super Nanny, Hansel, Noel Cowherd, Sabrina T. Pagebottom, Phil Rhymington, "The Most Important Meal of the Day" chef, "Once Is Not Enough" father, the dentist from "Dentist of Seville," Dr. Edwynn, Dr. Flippin, Guntag Gelman Jones, Charmin', Suspension Act Magician, , Long Jane Silver, Dani, Imogene, F. N. Jones, I.C. DeForrest, Prince Hal, King Oliver, Dr. Ruster, Jon (hand rods), Buzz Word, Cap-ten Kirk (hand rods)
 	
BrownUsed as early as season 24.
:Kingston Livingston III, Princess (Episode 3585), Sergeant Gabriel
 	
Magenta (has interchangeable live-hands and hand-rods)First used during late season 27.
:Flo, Smelly, , Dinner Theatre cousin, Tyrone, Prince, J.J., Groucho Marx Muppet, Mr. Pogosticker, Tony, Finicky, Pilar
153px	
Large hot pink live handUsed as early as season 36.
:Prairie Dawn's Mom, Virginia Virginia, Gretel, ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ Company Delivery Man, The Closer, Gale Warning (hand rods)
 	
Large light pink live handUsed as early as season 36, but was originally built for Sesame Park.
:Sadie Schwartzbaum, Salesperson, The Ringmaster (hand rods)
 	
Orange hand rod
First used during season 38. For this pattern, the head of the large orange live hand Anything Muppet is on the body of a Pumpkin Anything Muppet.
:Joe Doe, Only One Cannoli, Rapunzel (Episode 4804), Princess Polly
 	
Large green live handFirst used during season 40.
:, , , The Great Halfini, , , , Coach Jones, Hansel and Gretel's Father (hand-rods), The Green Four-net (hand rods)
A number of Anything Muppets were also built between the 2010s and 2021, but with more natural human skin tones and used less frequently. Several of these were based on existing Anything Muppet patterns.
Captain Americauliflower.jpg
AMSkinTone-widehead.jpg|also used as Elin
AMSkinTone-FatBlue.jpg
AMSkinTone-Green.jpg
Leslie-GameOfChairs.jpg
AMSkinTone-OrangeGold.jpg
==Notes==
* The term "AM" is also used to refer to various background characters, such as monsters, animals, Honkers, Dingers, and other creatures. In these cases, scripts call AMs "animated Muppets."
==See also==
* Anything Muppet Sketches
* Whatnot Muppets
==Sources==
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Sesame Street Muppet Characters
Category:Sesame Street Characters
Category:Muppet Characters
Category:Muppet Character Types