The Two-Headed Monster is, as the name implies, a monster with two heads. He speaks gibberish that resembles baby talk, and many of his skits have to do with either cooperation or sounding out parts of words that suddenly show up. Skits with the Two-Headed Monster usually take place with the monster behind a brick wall.

Jerry Nelson remembered that he and Richard Hunt came up with the idea for the monster while playing around on the Sesame Street set, recalling in a 1999 interview:

While right-handed performers use their right hands to perform the heads of characters and their left to perform left hands, whoever performs the left half of the monster performs the head with the left hand, and the right hand with their right hand.

Although the heads don't normally go by names, they have been identified on occasion. In their debut Sesame Street sketch, Olivia reads a story to The Count about cooperation starring the monster, who are given the names Horn and Hardart. They were again called by these names in the end credits for YouTube's 2013 end-of-year video, entitled "YouTube Rewind: What Does 2013 Say?" In The Sesame Street Treasury Volume 13, the pair are featured in a photo answering phones. Their phones are labeled "Frank N." and "Stein" (Frankenstein).

From 2003 to 2006, the Two-Headed Monster made an appearance in each "Journey to Ernie" segment, with Big Bird asking both heads if they'd seen Ernie, and the monster pointing in both directions.

In Season 46, the monster was given a regular space on the street, maintaining a newsstand by the Subway Station.

The question of whether the monster is a singular being or not has led to semantic confusion, typified by this exchange between Bert and Ernie in A Muppet Family Christmas:

On at least one occasion, during the "Ugga Wugga Lullabye" song, the horns-up head refers to the horns-down side as "me" (both in the script and in dialogue).

Primary Performers

Alternate Performers

Picture Summary / EKA Description

Toothbrush

Episode 1189 The monster learns how to use a toothbrush.

Love

Episode 1282 After fighting with each other, the monster reads the word "Love" and forget their feud.

Feet

Episode 1289 The monster sounds out "feet," and then the camera trucks back to reveal a pair of live feet on some grass.

Hiccups

Episode 1318 The monster tries to cure itself of the hiccups.

Fall

Episode 1319 The monster sounds out the word "Fall" and leaves fall on them. Then, they fall over.

Surprise Cakes

Episode 1335 Each half of the monster sleeps one at a time, while the awake half shows the viewer that he has prepared a cake for the other half. Once both are awake, they surprise the other and present their cakes to each other. However, once they taste the other one's cake, they are disgusted, and switch them. Surprise! A brief clip from this sketch was used during the 1981-1982 opening for the Dutch version of the show.

Manners

Episode 1340 The monster learns to use manners while eating with a spoon.

Hat

Episode 1349 After sounding the word "hat," The monster shares one giant straw hat.

Piano

Episode 1366 The monster finds a piano and decides to play it. The left half wants to play short notes, while the other half prefers to run his fingers across the keyboard. They decide to cooperate, and both use their notes to play "Chopsticks."

Trumpet Practice or Sleep?

Episode 1390 One head wants to play the trumpet, but the other head wants to sleep.

Dance

Episode 1395 The monster sounds out the word "dance" at a disco.

Sad

Episode 1422 The monster, after telling itself a joke, reads "SAD" and suddenly gets emotional.

Run

Episode 1446 The monster sounds out the word "run," and starts running.

Bathtime

Episode 1449 The Two-Headed Monster shares a bathtub and help each other get clean. They are discouraged when they are finished and empty the tub, but find joy in drying.

Playground or Zoo

Episode 1475 The monster argues over whether to go to the playground or the zoo.

Kermit Draws a 2

Episode 1479 After Kermit the Frog draws the number 2 onscreen (via a telestrator), the monster appears, inadvertently providing visual aid for Kermit to count with.

Sandwich

Episode 1479 The left half is about to enjoy a large sandwich until the right half asks for some. The left half becomes selfish until his brother starts crying. They end up splitting the sandwich in two.

Mom

Episode 1481 The monster sounds out the word "mom," and then the viewer sees the monster's mother.

Hop

Episode 1482 The monster sounds out the word "hop" and starts hopping.

Mad

Episode 1513 The monster gets mad when the word "MAD" appears on-screen.

Hi De Ho Man

Episode 1540 Cab Calloway sings Hi-De-Ho Man with the Two-Headed Monster and the Anything Muppets.

Telephone

Episode 1569 The monster finds a TELEPHONE, and reads the word.

Pop

Episode 1569 The monster reads the word "Pop" and blows up a balloon so they can pop it.

P vs R

Episode 1574 The monster fights over the letters P and R, one of them displaying P foods and the other one displaying R foods (and a radio). They have a picnic, which is cut short because of another r-word: rain.

Coin Flip

Episode 1583 The Two-Headed Monster are arguing over which direction to go, so Gordon decides to help by teaching them how a coin flip works. Once the monster learns how it works, they decide to stay and play the coin flip game instead!

Snowman

Episode 1622 The monster has built a two-headed snowman and struggles with how to apply a carrot nose.

Follow Arrows

Episode 1627 The monster's arrows point in opposite directions, so they straighten the arrows out and follow them.

Headphones

Episode 1628 One head is listening to some funky music on some headphones. The other head wakes up and asks to listen to the music, but the first head doesn't want to stop listening. They fight over the headphones, which get longer as they struggle. After seeing this, they both shout share, each head takes a speaker, and walks off-screen while the music becomes completely audible to the viewer.

Shapes

Episode 1629 The monster observes different shapes.

Honk

Episode 1653 After sounding out the word "honk," several Honkers suddenly appear and honk their noses. The left half of the monster then honks the right half's nose (and hurts him).

Pillow

Episode 1669 The monster shares a pillow.

Pat

Episode 1697 After sounding the word "pat," The monster pats each other, and they stop crying.

Bubbles

Episode 1732 The monster blows bubbles.

Singing Lesson

Episode 1736 In Bob's room, Bob gives the Two-Headed Monster a singing lesson: singing "Sing."

Listening

Episode 1767 Kermit the Frog explains the importance of listening, using the monster as an example.

Same and Different: Mirrors

Episode 1769 Both heads look at themselves in mirrors, and the right half notices that both of them are the same; they have the same nose, mouth, and hands. The other half points out that they're different: their horns point different ways, their hair is different, and their laughter is different.

Quiet

Episode 1850 The monster observes the letter Q, then the word QUIET.

A Fight

Episode 1857 Part 1: Both heads of the monster argue over which letter is an A. The right head points to the lowercase a ...

Part 2: The left head points to the capital A ...

Part 3: Luis sees the monster arguing, and informs it that both of these letters are the letter A. Relieved, the monster showers him with kisses. The Two-Headed Monster has reversed performers in this sketch. The right half was performed by Jerry Nelson, while the left half was performed by Richard Hunt.

Telephone Booths

Episode 1863 Luis teaches the monster how to use the new telephone booths on Sesame Street. Once they've figured out how to use it, one of the heads uses one booth to call the other head on the other booth.

Highest Flattery

Episode 1880 In a three-part segment, the monster sees a cardboard cut-out of himself wearing cowboy hats. The monster decides to find hats that matches, and copy the picture. Once they have succeeded, the cardboard cut-out falls over, as does the monster.

School

Episode 1907 The Two-Headed Monster reads the sign atop a miniature school building, and observes a small group of children that run out of it. Once they've left, the monster picks up the now empty building, and declares, "School's out!"

Tap

Episode 1912 The monster spells the word "tap," then tap-dances away.

Bed

Episode 1932 The monster sounds out the word "Bed." They then use the word as a bed for their dolly.

Clarinet Cooperation

Episode 1955 Bob gives the monster a music lesson on their clarinet with two mouthpieces, but one head wants to play fast, and the other one slow. When Bob suggest they play at different times, the monster impresses Bob by playing different melodies on the same instrument.

Car Crash

Episode 1966 The monster drives an old green jalopy as they sound out "seatbelt" and "safety." They buckle up, and go for a drive that proves to be very short, since they get into a huge auto accident and crash into a wall (as an old stock car crash sound effect is heard).

Emotions

Episode 1982 The monster shows his emotions.

Lullabye

Episode 2014 At night, one of the heads of the Two-Headed Monster sings his other the "Ugga Wugga Lullabye".

Alphabet Argument

Episode 2033 The monster disagrees on whether to sing or say the alphabet. Jane Curtin resolves the fight by singing the Alphabet Song. When the monster asks Curtin to join in, all three end up speaking in the same monster language!

The How Many Game

Episode 2076 The monster appears on one of Guy Smiley's game shows. The monster has to bring in two of something. The monster brings in one bowling ball, four sheep, and three cows, but then realizes that the monster has two heads.

Pencil

Episode 2096 The monster finds a pencil with a broken point, and demonstrates the fun you can have with it.

Newspaper

Episode 2097 The monster finds a newspaper, and thinks up different uses for it. A man comes along and claims the paper as his, and reads the funny papers (with the monster reading over his shoulders).

Shoe Sizes

Episode 2142 The monster's heads can't agree on which shoes to wear. They eventually agree on something: the shoebox.



Shake

Episode 2557 The Two-Headed Monster sounds out the word SHAKE, and an earthquake happens.

Tipping the Scales

Episode 2577 The monster brings in a suitcase filled with heavy and light objects, and places them on a wall. The right half lays out a feather, a ribbon, and a tissue. The left half puts down a book, a brick, a rock, and a 1000 pound weight, but the more weight that is placed on the wall causes the ground they're standing on to tilt!

Shadow

Episode 2578 The monster sounds out the word "shadow" and then sees one of itself projected behind them. This segment was taped on December 20, 1988, and was directed by Jon Stone.[3]

Story

Episode 2590 The monster takes turns reading itself a story. This segment was taped on December 20, 1988, and was also directed by Jon Stone.[3]

Spin

Episode 2595 The monster sounds out the word "Spin" and watch it spin around, getting dizzy in the process.

Feelings Song

Episode 2710 The monster sings about the emotions they have, including mad, happy, and scared. In the end, they decide to surprise a small yellow monster, and all go out for ice cream.

Trash Can

Episode 2718 The Two-Headed Monster finishes a bag of popcorn, and almost leaves it on the brick wall, but then argues over which trash can to throw it in. Finally, it rips the bag in half to "share" the trash. This segment was taped on November 20, 1989, and was directed by Jon Stone.[3]

Trip

Episode 2721 The monster trips over the parts of the word TRIP.

Milk Carton

Episode 2726 After drinking cartons of milk, The monster reuses the cartons as toy trains.

Twinkle, Twinkle

Episode 2737 The monster sings "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Cheese

Episode 2742 After sounding out the word "cheese," the monster poses for many pictures. This segment was taped on November 20, 1989, and was also directed by Jon Stone.[3]

Two Headed Baseball

Episode 2795 Robin Williams asks Elmo and the kids whether they would allow a nonsense talking, horned two-headed stranger to play baseball with them. The Two-Headed Monster shows up to play.

Fast and Slow Music

Episode 2823 Hoots the Owl convinces the monster that whether music is fast or slow, it's still enjoyable.

Mountains or Seashore?

Episode 2837 The monster is in a disagreement about where to go for vacation: the mountains or the seashore. Cookie Monster says he likes both, better than going to Cucamonga for the National Cookie Convention. Two-Head gets inspired, and heads off for Cucamonga, leaving Cookie to choose between the mountains and the seashore.

Two-Headed Monster School

Episode 2853 The Two-Headed Monster are the teachers of a two-headed-oriented classroom, with Elmo and Telly as their pupil/pupils (they are sharing the same shirt). The first lesson is to say "Good Morning" in monster language, then how to argue over what to read.

Surprise

Episode 2924 The monster demonstrates surprise.

Loud and Soft

Episode 4056 Elmo wants to play with the Two Headed Monster, but they can't decide on whether to play baseball or hockey. Aaron and Nick Carter pass by and are told what's happening, which the brothers can relate to. They sing "Loud and Soft," and sing of their differences. This resolves the monster's argument; now they want to sing! But what can they sing? They start arguing again!

14

Episode 4214 Chris (in voice-over) says the monster will show 14. One half shows 7 pigs, while the other has 7 chickens, neither of which are 14. But when added together, they make 14!

The Number 10

Episode 4249 Chris instructs the monster to show the number of the day (10). They each think the number they're holding is the number of the day, until Chris tells them to put the two numbers next to each other.

Rectangle

Episode 4261 Chris announces the monster who show a rectangle. When they each show a triangle, they learn that they can put them together to make a rectangle.

Conflict

Episode 4280 The Two-Headed Monster help Robin Williams explain the word "conflict."

Who Has More Milk?

Episode 4301 The monster comes across two glasses of milk, but they are of uneven proportions and they try to find a way for them both to be equal.

Take Turns

Episode 4402 Chris teaches the Two-Headed Monster how to take turns when playing with a toy car.