National Lampoon alumni. From 1963-1970 Mr. Cerf spent eight years as a senior editor at Random House (co-founded by his father Bennett Cerf) working with authors who included George Plimpton, Andy Warhol, Abbie Hoffman, Ray Bradbury, Richard Farina and Dr. Seuss. Collaborated with Marlo Thomas on Free To Be...A Family book and Emmy-winning tv special. He has co-written a number of books, including the James Bond parody Alligator (with Michael K. Frith), The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium Of Authorative Misinformation (with Victor Navasky), The Pentagon Catalog: Ordinary Products At Extraordinary Prices (with Henry Beard), The Book Of Sequels (with Henry Beard, Sarah Durkee and Sean Kelly), The Official Politically Correct Dictionary And Handbook (with Henry Beard), The Official Sexually Correct Dictionary And Handbook (with Henry Beard), Blackie: The Horse Who Stood Still (with Paige Peterson) and Mission Accomplished!: Or How We Won The War In Iraq (with Victor Navasky).
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Biography from IMDb.
- August 19, 1941 (85)
- New York City, New York
- Composer, writer, actor and producer
- 11 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
Known for
What are Christopher Cerf's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 10
Light 10 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
Grounded 6 · Stylized 4 · Heightened 0
Gentle 8 · Charged 2 · Intense 0
Steady 8 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 8 · Funny 2
Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 10 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 9 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 0
Resolved 9 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Christopher Cerf's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, on HBO Max (1).
Subscription and free streaming for Christopher Cerf's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
21 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 4 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 1st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Sesame Street: Elmo and the Bookaneers: Pirates Who Love to Read! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Lomax: The Hound of Music (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Sesame Street: Elmo's World: The Street We Live On! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Between the Lions (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Sesame Street: Elmo Says BOO! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Sillier at the Movies (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Sesame Street Home Video Visits the Hospital (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Sesame Street: Dance Along! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Sesame Street: Rock & Roll! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
Free to Be... a Family(1988)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Sesame Street: Sleepytime Songs & Stories (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films
Out to Lunch(1974)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Electric Company(1971)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows
Career shape
A full career of 17 titles from 1974 to 2019.
Awards
a Primetime Emmy and 3 other major awards from 7 major nominations, 1973–2006.
- Grammy Award, won · Best Spoken Word Album for Children
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Spoken Comedy Album
- Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Children's Program
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Recording for Children
- Grammy Award, won · Best Recording for Children
- Grammy Award, won · Best Recording for Children
- Grammy Award, nominated · Best Recording for Children
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Christopher Cerf's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 74th percentile, the median of all 10; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th4
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 11 titles are Mixed.
- Loved with Detractors1
- Divisive3
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the sound and music 81/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a composer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Christopher Cerf work with?
People who share at least 2 of Christopher Cerf's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Caroll Spinney shares the most, 7.
Directors
- Jon StoneShared titles: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983)See all 6 shared titles with Jon Stone
- J. Squires EmilyShared titles: Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993)See all 4 shared titles with J. Squires Emily
- Ted MayShared titles: Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Ted May
- Kevin ClashShared titles: Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Free to Be... a Family (1988), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988)See all 6 shared titles with Kevin Clash
Writers
- Norman StilesShared titles: Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Free to Be... a Family (1988), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983), Out to Lunch (1974)See all 6 shared titles with Norman Stiles
- Tony GeissShared titles: Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983)See all 5 shared titles with Tony Geiss
- Christine FerraroShared titles: Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2019), Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999)See all 3 shared titles with Christine Ferraro
- Luis SanteiroShared titles: Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988)See all 3 shared titles with Luis Santeiro
Actors
- Caroll SpinneyShared titles: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021), Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983), Out to Lunch (1974)See all 7 shared titles with Caroll Spinney
- Frank OzShared titles: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Free to Be... a Family (1988), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983), Out to Lunch (1974)See all 7 shared titles with Frank Oz
- Jim HensonShared titles: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Free to Be... a Family (1988), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983), Out to Lunch (1974)See all 6 shared titles with Jim Henson
- Jerry NelsonShared titles: Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983), Out to Lunch (1974)See all 5 shared titles with Jerry Nelson
Composers and editors
- John TierneyShared titles: Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988)See all 3 shared titles with John Tierney
- Joe RaposoShared titles: Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Out to Lunch (1974), The Electric Company (1971)See all 3 shared titles with Joe Raposo
- Stephen LawrenceShared titles: Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983)See all 2 shared titles with Stephen Lawrence
- John HutchisonShared titles: Out to Lunch (1974), The Electric Company (1971)See all 2 shared titles with John Hutchison
Producers
- Arlene ShermanShared titles: Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993), Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie (1988), Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983)See all 4 shared titles with Arlene Sherman
- Karin Young ShielShared titles: Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play (2002), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999), Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration (1993)See all 3 shared titles with Karin Young Shiel
- Edith ZornowShared titles: Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1983), Out to Lunch (1974), The Electric Company (1971)See all 3 shared titles with Edith Zornow
- Benjamin LehmannShared titles: Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration (2019), Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Benjamin Lehmann
Mixed roles
- Joan Ganz CooneyShared titles: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021), The Electric Company (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Joan Ganz Cooney
- Jim MartinShared titles: Sesame Street: Elmo's Magic Numbers (2012), Sesame Street: Let's Eat! Funny Food Songs (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Jim Martin
- Clark GesnerShared titles: Out to Lunch (1974), The Electric Company (1971)See all 2 shared titles with Clark Gesner