Lefty the Salesman — commonly known as Lefty or simply The Salesman) was a Muppet character on the children's television program Sesame Street. A green Anything Muppet with a small, narrow face, and wearing a gray trenchcoat and black hat, Lefty's traits included a whispery voice, his catchphrase "Riiight!" and unscruplous sales pitches of his wares.
Lefty was featured in a recurring series of skits during the early- to mid-1970s, with either one or more gangster-type characters or Ernie as his co-star. The purpose of the "Lefty" skits was to teach children letters of the alphabet, counting and basic concepts such as sound clusters (such as in the "Golden AN" skit), sizes and that snowmen melt in the sun.
He was performed primarily by Frank Oz, although Carroll Spinney also played the character in some early skits.
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Skits that paired Lefty with Ernie often began with Ernie walking or otherwise minding his own business, Lefty calling out, "Psst! Come here!" and a startled Ernie responding, "Who me?" Lefty would then begin to make his sales pitch for an esoteric item, such as a letter of the alphabet, a box or a snowman. Often, Lefty would give a silly description of said item's "usefulness" so as to trick Ernie (who he hoped was naive and unwary) into buying. However, Ernie usually got the upper hand, frustrating Lefty; at one point, he shakes his head and sighs, "Why me?"
During those skits that paired Lefty with Ernie, Lefty was notorious for looking repeatedly right and left to make sure no one overhears him. For that reason, every time Ernie talked too loudly (which he often did), Lefty would utter a long "Shhhhh!" which usually made Ernie shake like a leaf and sometimes even caused him to intimidatedly crouch down.
Lefty was also seen in skits with a character known simply as "The Boss" (a Fat Blue Anything Muppet). These skits were often set in a dark alley or abandoned warehouse, and involved activities such as trafficking carrots (for a pet rabbit) and theft of items such as the "Golden AN" and reciting the alphabet.
As such, the educational benefit of the "Lefty" skits seemed to be his descriptions of his wares. For example, in addition to telling about the words spelled with the letters he sold, one of his skits talked about the uses of air — breathing, playing instruments, and blowing up balloons.
Lefty was first seen during the first season in skits pairing him with Ernie. Later, he began appearing with a group of gangster associates in another series of skits.
Lefty's boss (performed by Jerry Nelson) is the only character who refers to him as "Lefty." For years, CTW production materials, the book "Sesame Street Unpaved" and Sesame Street merchandise (including storybooks and record albums) referred to the character as simply as "The Salesman." The 2008 Sesame Street book "Storybook ABCs" was the first to feature Lefty's name in print, in a story casting Grover as the main character in "Jack and the Beanstalk".
The Lefty character is reminiscent of a comedic character played by Sheldon Leonard on the Jack Benny radio and television programs. Leonard's character would accost people with shady and unpredictable propositions, opening with lines like, "Hey, buddy, wanna buy a duck?"
Lefty was gradually removed from the American version of the show after concerns were raised by adult viewers who were concerned that he encouraged children to talk to strangers, although the validity of this claim is questioned. However, he is still a rather popular character on Sesamstrasse, the German version of Sesame Street. On this version of the show, he is known as "Schlemihl," a Yiddish word for a "habitual bungler".
In at least one other gangster-related skit, a Blue Anything Muppet character is given the name "Lefty." Unlike the "shady salesman" character best known to Sesame Street viewers, this Lefty had a "scared kid" persona who was easily intimidated by his unnamed boss. The lone skit he appeared in was "The Secret Knock" sketch, wherein Lefty had to knock three times to gain entry to his boss' hideout. The boss threatens Lefty if he forgets the secret knock in the future, then goes outside with another associate to test Lefty's memory. Lefty is too shaken to remember and escapes via a back door, leaving his superiors locked outside.