[3] A furry red monster who speaks in a high-pitched falsetto voice and frequently refers to himself in the third person, he hosts the last full 15-minute segment (five minutes starting in 2017) on Sesame Street, "Elmo's World", which is aimed at toddlers.

[6] Sesame Street staff writer Nancy Sans once described Elmo's origins: "There was this extra red puppet lying around and the cast would pick him up sometimes and try to create a personality, but nothing seemed to materialize.

John Tartaglia, Matt Vogel, and Jim Martin have all been secondary performers for the character, providing movement for Elmo's arms and legs, particularly in green-screen shots.

[9] After becoming a regular guest on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, Elmo began touring the talk-show circuit.

Elmo and a developmental expert gave babysitting tips on the June 18, 2005, episode of Teen Kids News.

On a special episode of Oprah called "The Faces Behind the Famous Names", Kevin Clash and Elmo appeared at the same time.

Elmo also appeared in a fifth-season episode of The West Wing along with his friends Zoe and Big Bird.

Elmo also appeared in the eighth-season episode of Scrubs, "My ABC's", along with Oscar the Grouch, Grover, and an Anything Muppet named "Ex Ray".

[13] Some traditionalist fans of Sesame Street have complained that Elmo's prominent status has caused roles to be greatly reduced for several older characters,[14] with some referring to him as the "Little Red Menace".