List of human Sesame Street characters
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File:Bob McGrath Sesame Place headshot.jpg, who played Bob on Sesame Street from its premiere in 1969 until 2016]]
Since the premiere of the children's television program Sesame Street on November 10, 1969, it has included what writer Malcolm Gladwell has called "the essence of Sesame Street—the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults".Gladwell, p. 106 The original cast, chosen by original producer Jon Stone, consisted of four human actors—Matt Robinson, who played Gordon; Loretta Long, who played Gordon's wife, Susan; Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper; and Bob McGrath, who played Bob. Unlike most children's television programs at the time, the producers of Sesame Street decided against using a single host and cast a group of ethnically diverse, primarily African American actors/presenters,Lesser, p. 99 with, as Sesame Street researcher Gerald S. Lesser put it, "a variety of distinctive and reliable personalities".Lesser, p. 125
Stone did not audition actors until spring 1969, a few weeks before five shows, designed to test the show's appeal to children and to examine their comprehension of the material, were due to be filmed. Stone videotaped the auditions, and researcher Ed Palmer took them out into the field to test children's reactions. The actors who received the "most enthusiastic thumbs up" were cast.Borgenicht, p. 15 For example, when the children saw Long's audition, they stood up and sang along with her rendition of "I'm a Little Teapot".Davis, p. 172 As Stone said, casting was the only aspect of the show that was "just completely haphazard".Davis, p. 167 Most of the cast and crew found jobs on Sesame Street through personal relationships with Stone and the other producers.
The results of the test shows, which were never intended for broadcast and shown to preschoolers in 60 homes throughout Philadelphia and in day care centers in New York City in July 1969, were "generally very positive".{{Cite book|title = "G" is for Growing: Thirty Years of Research on Children and Sesame Street|last1 = Fisch|first1 = Shalom M.|publisher = Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers|year = 2001|isbn = 0-8058-3395-1|location = Mahweh, New Jersey|pages = [https://archive.org/details/gisforgrowingthi00shal/page/39 39]|last2 = Bernstein|first2 = Lewis|editor-last = Fisch|editor-first = Shalom M.|editor2-last = Truglio|editor2-first = Rosemarie T.|chapter = Formative Research Revealed: Methodological and Process Issues in Formative Research|chapter-url = https://archive.org/details/gisforgrowingthi00shal/page/39}} The researchers found that children learned from the shows, that the show's appeal was high, and that children's attention was sustained over the full hour. However, they found that, although children's attention was high during the Muppet segments, their interest wavered when there were only humans on screen. The producers had followed the advice of child psychologists who were concerned that children would be confused, and had recommended that human actors and Muppets not be shown together. As a result of this decision, the appeal of the test episodes was lower than they would have liked,Gladwell, p. 105 so the show's producers knew they needed to make significant changes, including defying the recommendations of their advisers and show the human and Muppet characters together. Lesser called this decision "a turning point in the history of Sesame Street". Muppet creator Jim Henson and his coworkers created Muppets for Sesame Street that could interact with the human actors, and many segments were re-shot.
The human cast currently consists of Alan, Chris, Nina, Charlie, Mia, Dave and Frank. Though no longer part of the show, longtime cast members Bob, Gordon, Susan, Luis, Maria and Gina have still made special appearances on occasion, in online videos, TV specials and at live appearances. In 2019, retired characters from the series such as Linda, Miles and Leela returned for the TV special Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2019-11-09/sesame-street-50-special|title=Who is the 'Sesame Street' 50th anniversary special actually for?|date=November 9, 2019|access-date=June 23, 2020|website=The Los Angeles Times}}{{cite web|url=https://www.cbr.com/hbo-sesame-street-50-anniversary-celebration-details/|title=HBO Reveals Details About Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration|date=October 18, 2019|access-date=June 23, 2020|website=Cbr.com}}
Characters
File:Buffy Sainte-Marie 1970.JPG, shown here in 1970, who made appearances on Sesame Street from 1976 to 1981]]
File:Lily Tomlin 2014.jpg (2008), one of the many celebrities who have appeared on the show and portrayer of Edith Ann and Ernestine the Telephone Operator]]
File:Roscoe orman 2007.jpg, who played Gordon (shown here in 2007)]]
File:Matt Robinson 1970b.jpg, who played Gordon on Sesame Street from 1969 to 1972.]]
File:Sonia Manzano - 2015 National Book Festival.jpg who played Maria]]
File:Charlotte Rae at the 1988 Emmy Awards cropped.jpg (at the 40th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1988), who played Molly in the early 1970s]]
File:Bill Irwin by Gage Skidmore.jpg the original Mr. Noodle]]
File:Michael Jeter at the 44th Emmy Awards cropped.jpg (shown here in 1992), who played Mr. Noodle's brother Mr. Noodle]]
File:Kristin Chenoweth by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg (shown here in 2018), who played Mr. Noodle's Sister, Ms. Noodle from 2003 to 2006]]
File:Daveed Diggs, White House, March 2016.png (2016), who played one of Mr. Noodle's Brothers]]
File:Tina Fey by Gage Skidmore.jpg played a pirate captain in episode 4135 in 2007]]
File:Raul Julia - Dracula.jpg (shown here in 1977), who played Rafael in 1971]]
File: Ruth Buzzi 1996.jpg (shown here in 1996), who played Ruthie from 1993 to 2001]]
See also
Citations
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General and cited references
- Borgenicht, David (1998). Sesame Street Unpaved. New York: Hyperion Publishing. {{ISBN|0-7868-6460-5}}
- Davis, Michael (2008). Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. New York: Viking Penguin. {{ISBN|978-0-670-01996-0}}
- Gikow, Louise A. (2009). Sesame Street: A Celebration—Forty Years of Life on the Street. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. {{ISBN|978-1-57912-638-4}}.
- Gladwell, Malcolm (2000). The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. New York: Little, Brown, and Company. {{ISBN|0-316-31696-2}}
- Lesser, Gerald S. (1974). Children and Television: Lessons From Sesame Street. New York: Vintage Books. {{ISBN|0-394-71448-2}}
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