Fred is a large, green, dragon-like monster. He debuted as a nameless father monster of a purple, horned son in the sketch "Monster Family" on The Ed Sullivan Show. The character subsequently appeared on Sesame Street, where he is greeted by name in a season one sketch by the character who would become Grover (here, Fred was performed by Jim Henson with a slowed down voice.) In some Sesame Street appearances, his teeth were not visible. In one skit, in which Ernie goes rock hunting, he also had a large rock-like dome instead of horns (Fred was performed by Frank Oz here.)