Ok, Elmo is actually red.  And he has been around for about 20 years.  However, I just found out yesterday from a Newsweek article on MSNBC.com, that the person that gives life to Elmo is a 45 year old black man.  I always knew that he was a man because when the credits run at the end of anything starring the little red menace it’s Kevin Clash that gets credit.  I recently found out that he was a diva because when you are in the business that I’ve been in for the last several years you tend to run into people that either know him, or work for him.  Yet, I never knew that he was black.  He started voicing Elmo at the age of 25 and has been doing it ever since. 

Forgive me if this is old news to some of you.  I guess I never really cared what color Elmo’s puppet master was until I discovered he was an African American dad, with a really cool job.  Yes, Elmo is annoying, self absorbed, and cute in a way that makes you want to vomit, just like most 3 1/2 year olds.  But I always remind myself that he’s not for me to like.  I’m not his target audience.  He can’t teach me anything that I don’t already know.  He is, however, part of the Sesame Street world that I grew up with, which makes him tolerable.  Plus, my son is equally interested in Thomas, Blue, Bob the Builder, and most recently Curious George, so I don’t have to suffer through endless renditions of the Elmo’s World theme song.  I’m thankful for that.