First appearance 1985 Aliases Hoots Gender Male Creator Jim Henson | Created by Jim Henson Species Owl Played by Kevin Clash TV show Sesame Street | |
Voiced by Kevin Clash
Ryan Dillon Similar Two‑Headed Monster, Prairie Dawn, Honkers, Telly Monster, Sam the Robot | ||
Sesame street hoots the owl teaches scat singing
Hoots the Owl is a fictional character on the children's television program, Sesame Street, performed by Kevin Clash. He was an owl that plays a saxophone. Perhaps his most famous song was "Put Down the Duckie" in 1988, a song inspired to help Ernie to play the saxophone properly (without holding his rubber duck).
Hoots debuted on Sesame Street for the 16th season (1985), but was retired from the show in the 32nd season (2001). Hoots has a saxophone solo in a well-known segment with Little Richard that aired in 1993. His last skit was an appearance in the Birdland with the Squirrel Nut Zippers.
Hoots returned in the 36th season (2005) to show Cookie Monster that a cookie is a sometimes food, and fruits and vegetables are anytime foods. This information was presented in the song "A Cookie is a Sometimes Food", a parody of the song "A Woman is a Sometime Thing", from the opera Porgy and Bess.
Hoots made a brief appearance in the film Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird as a member of the Feathered Friends group. He was the only one skeptical of Big Bird's supposed sadness.