‘Sesame Street’: Forty years ago today …
(Paul Kaufman commemorates the Nov. 10, 1969, launch of a kid’s show that defined a generation.)
I’m just the right age for this tribute, because I recall the day this new show first appeared in the afternoon lineup when I was five.
“Sesame Street”’s short scenes, fast action and large cast of adorable puppets were very different from other kids’ shows at the time (Captain Kangaroo and Mister Rogers had been my faves). The respectful multiculturalism of this show was groundbreaking, but I won’t try to catalog all the positive social influences of this show here, as I’m sure that’s being discussed at great length elsewhere. (What other anniversary has had a whole week of specialized Google logos?)
For this blog, I do want to emphasize how “Sesame Street” literally rocked in ways that kids’ TV hadn’t before, both with outstanding outside guests:
and as a result of their own magical animation and musicians:
I’ve often wondered whether other kids had been driven to a love of pogo rhythms by early exposure to those cool snippets. I know I was: That was truly my favorite song ages 5-6. Of course, I didn’t realize until much later that none other than Grace Slick provided those distinctive vocals. (Much better than her later work with Sesame Starship.)
So many other great memories! Don’t forget the psychedelic funk:
or moments that really can pull at the heartstrings (or handstrings, as the case may be):
I’ve occasionally checked back in and watched episodes over the years (“doin’ some Street” as they say in my ‘hood), and its still great television because there’s a lot here for adults, too.
Of course there have been a lot of changes since I was a kid. Cookie Monster has 12-stepped his way into being a healthy-food advocate
and Elmo now runs the show. (Rumors of high-pitched backstage screams of “KERMIT, YOU GET NOTHING!” have been all over the tabloids.)
As a new parent, I’m sure I’ll get even more involved in the coming years, and I look forward to it.
What are your favorite memories and snippets? How were you influenced?
P.S. All you conspiracy theorists out there examining the photo at the top: Oscar is very much alive.
— Paul Kaufman
More by Paul Kaufman:
- Beatles: Rock Band … The missing buttons
- Nostradamus I’m Not Part 3: Punk rock sweeps America!
- Nostradamus I’m Not Part 2: The Cold War
- Nostradamus I’m Not Part 1: The Final Frontier
- Sucking in the ’60s
- London Calling
- El sabor de San Diego
Tags: Che Underground, Paul Kaufman, Sesame Street
November 10th, 2009 at 8:35 am
Grover Is Bitter
November 10th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
My mom informed me that at the prime preschool age of three I watched the very first Sesame Street episode. In these early years, Bob, Gordon, Susan…and all the muppets, became like an extended family for me. The show not only supplied me with a rudimentary education on numbers and the alphabet, it also gave me an exposure to creative music and animation. That which is really really good. It has stood the test of time.
Some of my favorite highlights are:
Jim Henson falling down the stairs with nine ice cream sundaes.
“We all live in a Capital I”
“The Ladybug Picnic”
“Everybody Sleeps”
“I Love Trash”
“Would you like to buy an O”
Celebrity appearances like Alan Arkin, Johnny Cash, Jackie Robinson, Stockard Channing, Alice Cooper and Stevie Wonder.
If you were a child of Sesame Street, be sure to buy the Old School box set. My kid loves it! Who cares if it’s not sanitized and censored?
People are too sensitive these days. Fuck Parent magazine. The new Sesame Street episodes have Cookie Monster eating vegetables? That’s just wrong in my opinion. The muppets on SS represented “real people” and children in a New York neighborhood at the time. I appreciate the diversity – and I mean REAL diversity, not a formulaic racial mix to satisfy an affirmative action type quota. Reality. Not everybody is healthy and happy all the time. Oscar is essentially a homeless person who lives in a trashcan. He might be a grumpy guy, but he accepts it. These imperfect characters made the show interesting. NOT a huge fan of Elmo. He’s very cute but was developed in the 80’s when “just say no” Nancy Regan and her right wing army sugar coated children’s programming with a “moral” message.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Great write-up Paul. As always. and this one is near and dear to my heart.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
>>NOT a huge fan of Elmo.
Kristen: I’ve likened old-school “Sesame Street” fans’ attitude toward Elmo to some Beatlemaniacs’ opinion of Yoko. Except I think the former is better justified.
I remember when “Sesame Street” came out, everything from the shots in Central Park to the look of the street itself was indistinguishable from the rest of New York (where I lived). I always had half an eye open for Sesame Street when we went out!
I’ve found a significant microcultural divide between 1964-65 babies who got the first dose of “Sesame Street” and those from 1963 or earlier who were just a little too old to be the target market. Nancy’s a few years older than me, and while she appreciates “Sesame Street,” it’s not her thing.
BTW, I still consider Morgan Freeman “that guy from ‘The Electric Company.’ “
November 10th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
>>Kristen: I’ve likened old-school “Sesame Street” fans’ attitude toward Elmo to some Beatlemaniacs’ opinion of Yoko.
Well, this comparison was inevitable after the release of the Elmo/Plastic Elmo Band album.
November 10th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Bay Area fans of the old skool Sesame Street music should check out The Dead Hensons, who are reuniting in December for a Bottom of the Hill show:
http://www.deadhensons.com/
Folks who prefer a more adolescent/altered view of the muppet universe should know that the Wig Torture LP is now available for free download at:
http://ocanadarm.blogspot.com/2007/12/wig-torture-usa.html
November 10th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
>>Well, this comparison was inevitable after the release of the Elmo/Plastic Elmo Band album.
“GROVER … You had me … But I never had you … ”
“I Found Out” (brought to you by the letter “I”)
“Working Class Muppet”
“Jim Henson’s dead … I can’t get it through my head … “
November 10th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
>>Paul says: Well, this comparison was inevitable after the release of the Elmo/Plastic Elmo Band album.
Which came with the promotional item “Tickle me YOKO”.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Bert and Ernie we’re my surrogate parents, and my first concept of roomates…I miss them terribly.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Stephen Colbert declared Roosevel Franklin “America’s greatest Roosevelt.” (For the record, he also calls him “Sesame Street’s borderline-racist Muppet from the 1970’s.”)
November 10th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
My Dad was on The Good Morning Show in Boston with Jim Henson and Janet Langhart in the mid 70’s
November 10th, 2009 at 6:22 pm
One of the first pretend games my son ever played was mimicking Sesame Street’s game show “Beat the Time”.
“and Heeeeeeere’s Guy Smiley!”
November 10th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Much of the genius of Sesame Street can be attributed to the voices of Frank Oz.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Oh! BTW, since Paul alluded to it in this post, I feel I can publicly congratulate him on joining the fathers’ club.
Welcome little Polystyrene Cervenka Kaufman-Sharp to our extended circle!
November 10th, 2009 at 7:18 pm
Congrats!!….and we love Elmo here!
November 10th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
>>we love Elmo here!
Bruce: Ahhhh, y’know — Elmo’s the Doug Yule of “Sesame Street,” I think. Not untalented … Charming … An interesting counterpoint to the brooding grittiness of Oscar … But no Grover — certainly not capable of an extended solo career or of producing the first Stooges album.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Paul, I bet you’re a natural pappy.
” a loaf of bread, a container of milk, and a stick of buttah.”
that’s all you gotta remember.
November 10th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
(I caught Grover in a small club in Ann Arbor, Mich., in ‘92, ‘93 … He was pretty wasted, but when he got up, threw his head back and started flailing his little arms around — he still had the old fire!)
November 10th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I still consider the bald guy to not be the real Gordon, even though he’s probably been on the show for something like 30 years. I can accept that Oscar is green, though.
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/muppet/images/1/19/Gordon1.jpg
November 10th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
>>I still consider the bald guy to not be the real Gordon, even though he’s probably been on the show for something like 30 years.
Thirty-seven!
Original Gordon, Matt Robinson dies
Courtesy of Yahoo News
August 6, 2002
Matt Robinson, a writer for the 1980s sitcom “The Cosby Show” and the first actor to play kindly neighbor Gordon on the children’s show “Sesame Street,” has died. He was 65.
He died in his sleep Monday at his Los Angeles home after a 20-year struggle with Parkinson’s disease, spokeswoman Patti Webster said Tuesday.
Robinson, father of actress Holly Robinson Peete, began his show-business career in 1963 as a writer, producer and on-air talent at local TV station WCAU in Philadelphia.
In 1969, he took the role of Gordon on the PBS children’s program “Sesame Street” and also performed the voice of purple-faced puppet Roosevelt Franklin. Robinson remained with the show until 1971, and the role was briefly handed to actor Hal Miller. Roscoe Orman has played the part since 1972.
November 10th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
November 10th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
>Eric : Bert and Ernie we’re my surrogate parents, and my first concept of roomates…I miss them terribly.
My wife and I indeed have detailed discussions about which of us is more like Bert (organized, but lacking spontaneity) or Ernie (warm, fun, chaotic). Fortunately, we’re each a mix of both, but we do kid each other on occasion with admonitions of “You’re being Bert!”
November 10th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
I still have my original picture sleeve 45 of Oscar doing “I Love Trash”. My kids spin it almost weekly.
I thought the world was going weird when they started counting over 10…and yeah …that pinball machine animation was amazing…
The box set is very popular around our yurt…as is the Electric Company box set…we’re getting Schoolhouse Rock for christmas this year.
I know Jeff (Mr. Luck Lucas) was a huge Mr. Rogers fan…but I never was. The whole ‘neighborhood of makebelieve’ just pissed me off…whining myow myow nonsense…hated it at 5… still hate it today. Picture Picture was cool though.
Patrick Works
Still aspires to be Grover
November 10th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
I consider the Count the Jerry Cornelius of Sesame Street.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
“Elmo’s the Doug Yule of “Sesame Street,” I think.”
How DO you come up with these obscure references??
Wouldn’t Dave Alexander had been sufficient??
November 10th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
dedicated to all you daddies.
November 10th, 2009 at 11:37 pm
it’s the mad painter! dedicated to all you artists.
(notice who plays the part of the doctor!)
November 11th, 2009 at 12:17 am
Thanks for Daddy Dear!!
I’m re-posting this,(great version), here because it’s the only thread up. As quickly as these are posted Richard takes them down!!
Can this be saved someplace other than Youtube???????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWkOryYF6CI&feature=related
November 11th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Since we have a 10 month old, the new Sesame st has been checked out. For every Elmo, there is a great new character. Murray the Monster (who has a sidekick Lamb that speaks in Spanish) is my new fave. THe cameos are purty good, too. Feist reworked her hit for the number 4 (”…1, 2, 3, 4, chickens just back from the shore..”).
When are they going to do a remake of the “jazzy Stars clips”?
November 11th, 2009 at 12:36 am
jazzy spies! sorry.
November 11th, 2009 at 6:04 am
I loved the mad painter. He was also the English neighbor on The Jeffersons.
November 11th, 2009 at 7:49 am
I found these by reading The Guardian UK’s salute to rock music on “Sesame Street” …
November 11th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
I prefer Born to Add to the original!
November 11th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
Ray says: I prefer Born to Add to the original!
I agree Ray! This goes back to previous posts, but Bruce Springsteen has the effect of making me go into bugsbunny-esque twitches & convulsions before I start to vomit. People say he’s brilliant. Call me “blind” but I just can’t see the genius.
November 11th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Bruce Springsteen seems similar to the Grateful Dead in that people seem to be either nearly fanatical fans or just don’t get it. I’m in the don’t get it category, but like the early albums of both better.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
>>Bruce Springsteen seems similar to the Grateful Dead in that people seem to be either nearly fanatical fans or just don’t get it.
Paul: I like him! The only big stadium concert I ever really enjoyed was Springsteen at the Sports Arena ca. 1981 … However, I am not fanatical. (I think I owned two records.)
November 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
my favorite is when ray charles sings the alphabet
November 11th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I liked REM better after this:
November 12th, 2009 at 5:56 pm
I like the space alien muppets that responded to ringing phones by ringing back at them.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
>>>…Cookie Monster eating vegetables?
C is for cookie. That’s good enough for me.
November 14th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
http://imgur.com/FgaVL
November 14th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Hilarious Ray! Who’s that riding with 50cent?? Haha
November 15th, 2009 at 12:56 am
Wow! That little kid with Paul Simon kicked BUTT! I want her in a band … ‘Course, she’s in her 40s now …
November 15th, 2009 at 1:00 am
November 19th, 2009 at 9:29 am
BTW, I will never accept the proposition that it’s “Elmo’s world.” I would like a UN peacekeeping force and Jimmy Carter to review the election results that reached that conclusion.
November 19th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Speaking of Muppets and San Diego music:
November 20th, 2009 at 8:02 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yho5kK8uMD4
November 25th, 2009 at 11:45 am
January 26th, 2010 at 8:10 am