This appearance was deemed to be somewhat frightening for younger children, so his eyes were made round and white, and his personality friendlier.

By the late 1970s, the storylines had the adult characters becoming increasingly frustrated with Big Bird using Snuffy as a scapegoat whenever something went wrong while they were out of the room.

In September 2014, Mr Snuffleupagus appeared on Good Morning America where he met his hero and purported relative, George Stephanopoulos.

He chooses this word because he knows the grown-ups will not believe him if he tells them his real reason for inviting them to his nest, and "food" is a more credible lure.

When Big Bird calls out the word, Snuffy runs off to tell his mother about the meeting, so once again the grown-ups just miss him.

Then-popular talk show host Phil Donahue, appearing as himself on the episode, was also introduced to Snuffy.

In an interview on the show Still Gaming, Snuffy's performer, Martin P. Robinson, revealed that Snuffy was finally introduced to the main human cast mainly due to a string of high-profile and sometimes graphic stories of pedophilia and sexual abuse of children that aired on 60 Minutes.

His back end has been performed by Richard Hunt, Brian Meehl, Frank Kane, and currently Bryant Young.