A-Z Blogging Challenge: C is for Count von Count

Count von Count

First appearing in 1972, Count von Count has been a regular puppet character on Sesame Street for over 40 years, voiced by the late Jerry Nelson until 2012. He is a vampire - though he doesn't drink blood and isn't effected by sunlight - who hails from Transylvania and loves to count anything and everything he can; The more he counts, the happier / more excited he becomes. (Vampires in folklore can often be distracted by throwing grains of salt, rice, etc. on the ground, as they have to count them all before they can pass).  During an "in character" interview with BBC Radio 4 (which you can read about & listen to on the BBC website), the Count stated that his favourite number was 34,969 saying that it was "a square number thing". 

Initially, the Count was more of an ominous presence; manically laughing during loud thunder storms and becoming angry when he couldn't count things. His accent and appearance are often said to have been inspired by Bela Lugosi in Dracula, though, in the 1931 movie, Lugosi didn't have fangs, a monocle, or goatee, but he also has pointed ears like Count Orlok in Nosferatu. However, after complaints from parents that he was too scary, his character was toned down and made somewhat friendlier. Although he does still appear during (quieter) thunder storms, the "scary" laughter has instead been replaced with his distinctive laugh "ah...ah...ah!" and he is much friendlier.

C could also be for Cookie Monster...

This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge, 2013.