The Bridgekeeper

The Bridgekeeper was a character who appeared in a series of three animated sketches on Sesame Street beginning in season 12.
He was a tall, thin, wizard-like man with a long white beard, green robes with a matching cone-shaped hat, and possessed of a rather solemn disposition. In all of his appearances, he held a long wooden staff. He was known for almost always talking in rhyme, and a thunderclap would pierce the air whenever the Bridgekeeper would introduce himself. 
Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street credits print cartoonist Gahan Wilson with the segments,Gikow, Louise. Sesame Street: A Celebration - 40 Years of Life on the Street. 2009. p. 240 but scripts, production documents, and CTW archive notes on production art identify Clark Gist as director, producing through his company Gist Zeppelin Fleet. The Bridgekeeper was voiced by John Russell.Documents provided by trusted source
Telly can be seen with him during the credits of Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration.
==Sketches==
Picture	Shape / First Appearance	Description
 	TriangleEpisode 1572 	A young bespectacled man with an accordion (voiced by William Keene) asks "do you work here?" The bearded man dramatically announces himself as the bridgekeeper. The man with the accordion asks how much it costs to cross the bridge. The bridgekeeper says admission is free, but requires that the young man show him three triangles. Two of them are found in the bridgework, and the man uses the bridgekeeper's staff to draw a third triangle in the dirt. Although the bridgekeeper has his order filled, he asks the man to play a tune on his accordion. This additional request takes the young man by surprise, but he is told to do so for the opportunity to cross the bridge.
 	CircleEpisode 1582 	A young man carrying a brown paper bag walks up to the bridgekeeper and asks him if he is "The Bridgekeeper." The bridgekeeper confirms and orders the young man to show him whatever circles are in the bag, and to eat them. The young man is ordered to eat three round foodstuffs: a cookie, a pepperoni pizza, and a slice of watermelon. Once the young man is granted permission to cross the bridge, however, he tells the bridgekeeper that he was merely trying to deliver the latter's groceries.
 	SquareEpisode 1618 	The Bridgekeeper stipulates that answering three questions about the square in his hand is required to cross the bridge. Question One: What is this? Question Two: How many sides does it have? Question Three: What is a square good for? A young man who wishes to cross the bridge has a square-shaped building block in his backpack. And a girl thinks a square makes a good picture frame. Then along hops a light blue-colored monster with a red winter cap, who proceeds to eat the bridgekeeper's square, the better to satisfy his daily diet of "three square meals."
==Sources==
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Category:Sesame Street Animated Segments
Category:Shapes