Character: Grover
Hand Type: Rod
Builder credits:
Pattern – Wally Wingert
Mouth plate fabrication – Wally Wingert
Nose covering – Alex McGee; Alex in Wonderland
Foam head and tummy fabrication – Wally Wingert
Seamstress – Maggie Roberge
Fur trimming and styling – Sergio Lopez
Fur dyeing – Jurgen and Scott
Foam lip dyeing – Wally Wingert
Height: 37”
For the Monsterpalooza convention in the spring of 2023 I wanted to create a Super Grover to take to the show. (After all, Grover IS a monster, right?) I had made the green version of Grover previously, but it was time to make the commonly-adored blue version.
I found some beautiful sapphire blue fur from China, and when it arrived I was stunned by its beauty and texture. But it was still a bit too bright for my tastes. I had intended to make the darker blue, more retro-looking version of Grover from the early 70’s.
My pal Drew Massey introduced me to a couple seasoned puppet pros who dyed a yard of the fur darker blue to fulfill my wishes. The result was gorgeous.
The early Grover’s lower lip is made from dyed foam rubber. Foam rubber dyes easily, but finding the right shade of red dye was no easy task. I also experimented with several patterns for the lower lip (I called it a horseshoe) that would hug the curve of his mouth plate perfectly.
His nose is a styrene craft egg covered in Fuzzelle fleece. His oval eye pieces were bought on ebay, primed and painted the right shade of white, and the pupils are punched velvet. Since I was going for a more “retro” Grover, he has his famous “floppy fingers.” However there is armature wire in his thumbs for poseability.
I knew that I would eventually want to permanently display him as his alter ego Super Grover, so that would require a different take on his arm rod design. (See more details on the Super Grover page)
It’s fun to take Grover out and about and see people’s reactions.
Since Grover has had experience as a waiter, it was only right for him to pose with his waiter contemporaries at the Smoke House in Burbank.
Of all the characters, Grover probably gets the best fan response. It’s a beautiful thing.
Here are some fun shots of me in the early 80s with the first Grover I built. I still have this puppet to this very day.
