Beloved Hungarian born Sesame Street regular, who fled Budapest after the 1956 Soviet Invasion. He emmigrated to
Zaire (now The Democratic Republic of Congo), and taught languages to the
Luba tribe, including English.
He was hired in 1967 to teach the letters of the alphabet on a PBS pilot "Sesame Street" and continued to commute between Sesame Street to his classroom in Zaire, when scheduling permitted.
Houston Rocket Great
Dikembe Mutombo was a former
English student of his, and they often dine together in New York.
With the overwhelming fame that came from the success of "Sesame Street", Monster drew attention to issues near and dear to himself. He demonstrated outside the Soviet Embassy following the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and was a constant presence on Television round table discussions during the Polish Solidarity movement of the early 80s He is also an outspoken advocate for Diabetes research (having been diagnosed in 1962).
When the wall fell, the Cookie Monster was finally reunited with his wife
Ildiko and his now grown two sons. His daughter died of mad cow disease in 1975, having never seen him again since his flight from Budapest. Hungarian television blocked access to public television, and denounced Cookie Monster as a traitor and a thief. Ildiko died in 1992 during a grease fire in her new home in Paris.
He currently lives in Monaco with his new wife Prairie Dawn and their three children. He serves as a special ambassador to the UN Human Rights committee, and is also acting as special liaison in the current Israeli-Palestinian
peace talks.
The Cookie Monster is subject to seizures and violent outbursts, which have taken a
toll on his furry blue
intestinal tract.
