Sesame Street’s Emotional Answer To A Sad Backstage Event

The makers of Sesame Street were faced with an emotional dilemma. They had experienced a tragic backstage loss and, unfortunately, it couldn’t be ignored in the show itself. The decision on how to proceed wasn’t necessarily a popular one at the network, but it turned out to be 100 percent correct. It also definitively enhanced the show’s reputation, providing a transcendent example of what can be accomplished on kids’ TV.

Timeless values

Sesame Street is a children’s TV institution. It’s also the one show that nearly everyone in the U.S. can agree on — an HBO survey from 2018 found that almost two-thirds of those surveyed felt that the show demonstrated “timeless values.” These same people, from both sides of the political divide, believed the show stood for “the best of America.”

Cultural landscape

The characters who have graced screens over the years — who include Big Bird, Elmo, Bert and Ernie, and Cookie Monster — are beloved parts of the cultural landscape. They also mean everything to kids. Speaking in 2019 Abby Cadabby puppeteer Leslie Carrara-Rudolph told magazine The Hollywood Reporter, “When kids see us, they soul-hug us. You don’t realize the impact you’re having with this show until that happens to you.”

So many Emmys

PBS’ crown jewel has been on the air for over 50 years, and today the show is viewed by 150 million kids all over the world. It has been rewarded with more Emmy awards than any other show in history and a merchandising empire has grown up around it over the years. Oh, and one time Robert De Niro came onto the show to take Elmo to acting school. Pretty cool, huh?

Learning and fun

From its inception, the show has combined entertainment with education. It features human characters interacting with puppets, with fast-paced humor, colorful visuals, and catchy music. Sesame Street doesn’t simply exist to capture kids’ imaginations and teach them their ABC’s, though — it also helps them understand difficult societal topics such as loss.

Can it teach?

The show’s success has been so stratospheric that it’s hard to imagine a time when it seemed like a risky proposition. That was definitely the case in 1966, though, when television was still very much seen as the “idiot box.” But then a New York City public TV producer named Joan Ganz Cooney was asked an important question by one of her dinner guests, namely, “Do you think it can teach anything?”

Program proposal

Soon Cooney and her interlocutor that night — Carnegie Corporation educator Lloyd Morrisett — were writing a proposal for a television program that would give a pre-school education to children from lower-income families. They had raised $8 million by the summer of 1968 and were able to make their show. Amusingly, their initial title, 123 Avenue B, was nixed because it happened to be the name of a real place in New York City. 

Instant hit

Cooney and Morrisett enlisted the help of producer Dave Connell and a then-unknown puppeteer by the name of Jim Henson — you may have heard of him! The show was an instant hit when it began airing, likely because it was so completely different from anything else on TV. Yes, there was the educational aspect, but Sesame Street also went to great pains to reflect the real world. And that would eventually include not shying away from showing the tragedy of loss.

Inner-city setting

No kids’ TV show had ever looked like this. It reflected the inner-city settings huge numbers of American children lived in, with garbage cans, brownstone stoops, and graffiti on the walls. The kids on the show were also racially diverse long before that was something society deemed desirable on the small screen. Sadly, some even railed against it: in 1970 the show was taken off-air for a month in Mississippi for this very reason. 

Real-world problems

Yet the show didn’t only champion diversity when it wasn’t the norm — it also regularly spotlighted real-world problems that children’s television usually swerved. Sesame Workshop’s president of philanthropy Sherrie Westin told The Hollywood Reporter, “We do have a unique ability to tackle tough issues from a child’s perspective. If not Sesame, who?”

Hurricanes and homelessness

Over the course of its five decades on the air, Sesame Street has broached topics such as autism, AIDS, and homelessness. In 2001 a five-part storyline left the beloved street in ruins after a hurricane tore through. These pioneering episodes dealt with the various puppets and humans preparing for the coming storm, then coping with the aftermath.

Natural disaster

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 the storyline was re-aired. Then in 2012 a shortened version, focusing entirely on Big Bird’s nest being destroyed, was shown after Hurricane Sandy hit. While the intention of the story was to show children how to prepare for a natural disaster, it became obvious it could also help them cope in the hard times that followed, too.

Prison focus

In recent years, the show has also used its Sesame Workshop online platform to spotlight new characters who deal with modern problems. In 2013 a puppet named Alex was introduced whose dad was incarcerated. His creation came about in response to a report by Pew Charitable Trusts, which found that one in every 28 children in the U.S. has a parent in prison.

Offer support

The goal was to offer support to these children, who tend to feel shame about their parents’ situation. The online kit also gave families ways to help them speak about the subject with one another. In the end, it was Alex’s purpose to help kids understand their feelings, and it succeeded because he represented another child talking with them.

Mr Hooper

One character who often spoke with kids about their problems was shopkeeper Mr. Hooper, played by Will Lee. He debuted in 1969 and graced 156 episodes with his presence over a 13-year period. Hooper formed a particular bond with the beloved Big Bird over the years. Tragically, though, the actor died at the age of 74 following a heart attack on December 7, 1982.

Untimely passing

At the time, Cooney honored Lee by saying, “He gave millions of children the message that the old and young have a lot to say to each other.” His untimely passing was greatly upsetting for everyone on Sesame Street, as he had been a member of the family. But it also raised an awkward question: how should they deal with his death on the show?

Three options?

The creative team toyed with three options. Firstly, they could potentially write Mr. Hooper out of the show, by saying he had retired from the store and moved to Florida. Secondly, they could re-cast the character. Or thirdly, they could simply not make any mention of his absence and hope their young audience didn’t notice. In the end, though, a fourth choice was selected.

Honest and straightforward

The following year, executive producer Dulcy Singer explained the team’s thinking process to The Associated Press. When it came to Lee’s death, she believed the show needed to tackle it directly. She reasoned, “If we left it unsaid, kids would notice. Our instincts told us to be honest and straightforward.” 

Direct approach

The creative team knew they needed to do their homework, though, so they consulted several child psychologists. The show’s researcher Valeria Lovelace revealed, “We were advised to take the direct approach. Children don’t understand words like ‘passing away.’” In the end, they decided the best way to tackle the subject would be via Mr Hooper’s feathery pal, Big Bird.

Farewell, Mr Hooper

The large yellow bird has often been seen as the most direct representation of a child’s thinking in the show. In essence, he will always ask the questions that would spring into the mind of the average five-year-old. So, in the seminal episode “Farewell, Mr. Hooper”, written by Norman Stiles, it is Big Bird who is told that the shopkeeper has died and won’t be coming back.

A forever thing

In the episode, when Big Bird arrives at Mr. Hooper’s store with drawings to show off, he has already been told about Mr. Hooper dying. But he doesn’t quite comprehend that death is a forever thing. This is a common reaction from young children when confronted with mortality, as they don’t really have a frame of reference for something so permanent. 

Impact

Maria tries to remind him by saying, “Big Bird, don’t you remember, we told you. Mr. Hooper died. He is dead.” Big Bird replies, “Oh, yeah. I remember. Well, I’ll give it to him when he comes back.” At this point, the writers have Big Bird reacting in a manner entirely in keeping with the kids in the audience: he thinks about the impact Mr. Hooper’s death will have on him.

Birdseed milkshakes

“He’s gotta come back,” an upset Big Bird worries. “Who’s going to take care of the store? Who’s gonna make me birdseed milkshakes and tell me stories?” You see, the show’s writers were informed by the child psychologists that children process bad news by making it about themselves. In truth, and not unnaturally given the attention lavished on them, youngsters generally tend to assume the world revolves around them. 

Simply honest

So, how do you get a child to understand the unsettling permanence of death? How do you get them to realize that the love, nourishment, and emotional support they used to get from a grown-up is now gone? How can they possibly fully grasp that it won’t be coming back? Well, Sesame Street was simply honest about it. 

Uncomfortable truth

“Well, I don’t understand!” exclaims the devastated Big Bird. “You know, everything was just fine! I mean, why does it have to be this way? Give me one good reason!” Teacher Gordon Robinson then gives Big Bird an uncomfortable truth: “Big Bird, it has to be this way… because.” Big Bird replies, “Just because?” and Gordon confirms, “Just because.”

No sugar-coating

Big Bird then seems to get his head around what has happened. His acceptance — a simple “Oh” — is one of the most powerful moments in Sesame Street’s history. The writers could have had Gordon try to offer some sort of explanation or something to sugar-coat the blow for Big Bird. They could even have had him tell a little white lie. But they didn’t.  

Mission accomplished

The moment perfectly encapsulated everything Sesame Street was aiming to achieve. Its mission statement was always to talk to children about things on their level and never, ever, talk down to them. In this case, they needed to know that people die and, as sad as it may be, there’s nothing you can do to change that. Sometimes people you love die. Just because

Not the same

Crucially, though, that doesn’t mean you can’t be sad about their passing. It also doesn’t mean you can’t remember them fondly, as Olivia and Bob help Big Bird to understand. When he laments, “Well, it won’t be the same,” Bob responds, “You’re right, Big Bird. It’ll never be the same around here without him.”  

Memories

“But you know something?” continues Bob. “We can all be very happy that we had the chance to be with him, and to know him, and to love him a lot when he was here.” Olivia then chimes in, “And Big Bird, we still have our memories of him,” to which he replies, “Oh, yeah. Our memories. Right. Why, memories… that’s how I drew this picture. From memory.” 

“It makes me sad”

“And we can remember him, and remember him, and remember him, as much as we want to,” continues Big Bird. He then looks down at Mr Hooper’s picture: “But I don’t like it,” he says, choking back some tears, followed by, “It makes me sad.” David then caps everything off with a poignant, “We all feel sad, Big Bird.”

Circle of life

The episode then sees Big Bird hanging the picture of Mr. Hooper — which was drawn by Caroll Spinney, the man inside the costume, himself — close to his nest. Suddenly there is a knock at his door and Big Bird is introduced to a new-born baby by the whole adult cast. The show closes by teaching kids about the circle of life in perfect Sesame Street manner. 

Poignant

“You know what the nice thing is about new babies?” says a happy Big Bird. “One day they’re not here, and the next day they are!” It’s a poignant nod to what he said earlier about Mr. Hooper but given a positive spin instead of a negative one. Kids finish the episode knowing that, while death can seem quick and upsetting, new life can seem equally quick — but it’s something to be cherished.

Devastated

In 2012 Spinney was interviewed by Rock Cellar Magazine about his long-running career under the costumes of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Naturally, conversation turned to the sad death of Lee, and Spinney opened up candidly about how the cast responded to it. He said, “We were devastated by the loss of Will, and we wondered how to deal with his passing on the show.”

Teaching children about loss

Spinney continued, “It was argued that, since our audience is so young, the storyline should be that Mr Hooper retires and moves to Florida, to avoid dealing with the subject of death. But then it was decided that the show be honest and teach children about loss.” History has, of course, proved that this was undoubtedly the right call.

Raw and emotional

Filming the episode would prove to be a raw and emotional experience. Spinney revealed, “When we shot the final scene of that show where all the adult characters — Luis, Maria, David, Olivia, Bob, Susan, and Gordon — explained the death of Mr. Hooper to Big Bird, everyone in the cast had genuine tears in their eyes. We used the first take because it was so real.”

“Best scene we ever did”

Spinney was convinced that the authenticity involved in the scene made it transcend even the usual high standards of the show. He said, “I think it was the best scene we ever did on Sesame Street, and it was our tribute to Will Lee.” The legendary puppeteer then revealed that the cast had all had more than an inkling that Lee wasn’t long for this world.

Last words

“We knew Will hadn’t been well, but he didn’t tell us what it was,” explained Spinney. “He looked kind of purple — blotchy — and it was obvious he was very ill. I was wearing Big Bird’s legs but not the top, and I walked over to him and said — in Big Bird’s voice — ‘I love you, Mr. Looper.’ He looked at me and said, ‘And I love you, Caroll…’ [They were] our last words together.” 

Running gag

Poignantly, these final words referenced a beloved running gag on the show between Big Bird and Mr. Hooper. Spinney remembered, “One day on the show, just to be funny, I said, ‘Hello, Mr. Looper’ and he replied, ‘No, that’s Mr. Hooper, Big Bird.’ It developed into a regular routine where Big Bird wouldn’t be able to remember Mr. Hooper’s name correctly.” 

Thanksgiving show

In the end, “Farewell Mr. Hooper” aired on Thanksgiving Day 1983 and was universally acclaimed. It was shown once, never repeated, and was specifically aired on a holiday to ensure that parents would be at home with their kids while they watched it. The thinking was that, if any of the content upset a child, their parents could discuss it with them and help console them. 

Speaks volumes

In 2004 Loretta Long, who played Susan Robinson, was interviewed by the Archive of American Television and she revealed that this tactic had worked beautifully. She said, “People still come up to me on the street telling me what it meant to them to be able to talk to their children about death.” All in all, it speaks volumes about an episode that is considered a standard-bearer for children’s TV dealing with tough subjects. Interestingly, though, Henson initially had a very different vision for his famous characters.

Henson’s creative outlet

Through beloved characters like Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, and Cookie Monster, Henson found an outlet that allowed him to inform as well as entertain. Yet at the same time, his work was seen as being just for kids. Little do fans know, though, that many of the puppeteer’s later ideas were far more experimental — and racy!

Adult themes

Undeterred, the performer pushed on with his artistic vision and began developing a show that packaged entertainment for everybody. Putting his most recognizable puppets front and center, Henson shot test episodes to pique investor interest. However, bizarre and racy titles such as Sex and Violence ultimately curtailed any financial backing.

Potential elsewhere

But while these pilots left American backers cold, they had a much warmer reception across the Atlantic. In particular, ITV’s Lew Grade – who had previous experience producing ambitious puppet shows such as Thunderbirds – saw the potential the program had. And with the network’s backing, Henson finally got his series off the ground.

Kids and adults

Broadcast simultaneously in the U.K. and the U.S., The Muppet Show solidified Henson’s faith in puppet-led family entertainment. Combining wit, slapstick and satire, the program – which paired Kermit alongside new creations like Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear – appealed to both kids and adults. Consequently, an audience of around 235 million tuned in to see the felt creations’ shenanigans every week.

Celebrities queuing at the door

Perhaps the biggest sign of The Muppet Show’s success, however, was how it breached the generational divide. Each week, celebrities including Elton John and Liza Minnelli queued up hoping to make an appearance. And when the show received its first Emmy award in 1977, it was in the Variety and Music category as opposed to Children’s Programming.

Enduring fame

In the years since their creator’s death, the Muppets have continued to be an internationally successful franchise. Backed by Henson’s son Brian, the characters launched their own chat show, Muppets Tonight, in 1995. Meanwhile, Jason Segel created a modern entry in the puppets’ film series with 2011’s The Muppets.

Getting adult fans

The latter film in particular was a surprising move for a series primarily aimed at kids. Indeed, with credits including R-rated comedies including Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Segel wasn’t an obvious choice to helm a children’s movie. It seemed like the franchise was perhaps making a greater effort to appeal to an older audience.

Branching out

Four years after the premiere of Segel’s film, Kermit and friends appeared in their least-child friendly outing yet. Simply named The Muppets, the ABC production mimicked the mockumentary style of grown-up sitcoms like The Office as it followed the puppet troupe in their daily lives. But the series’ adult tone didn’t just stop with its production style.

Not for children anymore

In the show’s first episode alone, The Muppets featured many jokes designed to fly over kids’ heads. Of particular note, scenes showing Kermit and Fozzie Bear making covert references to sex and drugs startled some, including Bustle’s Kelly Schremph. “If you were expecting to find the fun and innocent Muppets you remember from childhood, then odds are the show’s grand debut left you shocked,” she noted.

Innuendo

But anyone truly au fait with Henson’s comedic style wouldn’t be so surprised by this change in tone. In fact, the Muppets’ past work was full of subtle adult humor that only parents got. For instance, examples of innuendo appear in 1979’s The Muppet Movie wherein a character is told, “Wash up, you’ll get warts” following a chat with Kermit.

Over childrens’ heads

It wasn’t just The Muppet Show that got treated to Henson’s more mature sensibilities, though. During his stint on Sesame Street, Kermit would often slip risqué humor into his lessons on the alphabet. In one instance, the amphibian quipped, “The letter ‘F’ starts a number of words which I can think of.”

Laughs off camera

According to Henson’s son Brian, these ribald jokes weren’t an accident. As he revealed to The Independent in 2018, this comedic sensibility was everywhere on set. “I particularly enjoyed what they would do when the cameras weren’t running,” the puppeteer’s son admitted. “[W]hen they were goofing around off-camera…It got quite blue and off-color.”

Adults-only all along

And it appears that Henson wasn’t happy just making adult jokes before the start of a take. The performer’s dream of entertainment for everybody may have just been a compromise brought on by puppetry’s limitations. Oh, yes, it seems apparent that the entertainer’s vision for the Muppets had been strictly adults-only all along.

The signs were there

Certainly, Henson’s taste for more mature themes could be seen in his work prior to Sesame Street. Fully immersed in the counter-culture of the time, the puppeteer – as noted by biographer Brian Jay Jones – often found jobs based on his “edgy sensibility.” This sensibility was particularly prominent in his ads for Wilkins Coffee which featured puppet characters getting injured and maimed.

“Naughty trouble maker”

As a result, it wouldn’t be until Sesame Street that Henson became known primarily as a children’s entertainer. And as his son explained to Polygon in 2018, the puppeteer began to resent his new-found association with kids’ TV. “[It] really rankled my father,” the younger Henson lamented. “There is a naughty trouble maker that was at the center of my dad’s sense of humor and sensibility.”

Saturday Night Live

After the success of Sesame Street, Henson fought back against his status as kids’ performer. To this end, he joined the then-burgeoning comedy series Saturday Night Live with a new adults-only sketch. Named The Land of Gorch, the segments featured grotesque Muppet characters joking about substance abuse and sex.

More than a kids’ entertainer

Sesame Street was the first thing that [my father] did that was specifically for children,” Henson’s son told The Independent. “That was when he did Saturday Night Live, just to really reassert to the world that his work is not just for kids. And he always had an irreverent, subversive edge that works really nicely when you’re entertaining an adult audience.”

Struggles

Unfortunately, few other people at Saturday Night Live were eager to give Henson his own spot. The show’s cast members especially took exception to giving over their screen time to non-human characters. Meanwhile, the series’ creative team looked at the segments with utter contempt and left the job of writing them to their less experienced staff members.

Frustration

Ironically, working for a mature audience made the entertainer more frustrated than ever before. And as Jones documented in his 2013 biography, he was regularly left exasperated by his lack of creative input on the show. “Somehow what we were trying to do and what [the] writers could write for it never jelled,” Henson said.

Back to kids’ TV

It seems apparent that the Land of Gorch’s failure may have resigned Henson to embracing his role as children’s entertainer. And yet, the puppeteer still managed to weave adult themes into his subsequent work. In The Dark Crystal, for example, Henson introduced the Skeksis, hideous Muppet creatures that gave nightmares to any and all impressionable fans.

Carnal desires

Additionally, Henson’s cinematic follow-up Labyrinth dealt implicitly with female sexuality. Indeed, speaking to Polygon, Henson’s son identified the relationship shared by David Bowie and a teenage Jennifer Connelly in the film as revolving around carnal desires. “You have a young teenage child…Going with some adult feelings and trying to maneuver the dangers of that,” he stated.

X-rated Muppet material

But where Henson failed in making adults-only Muppet material, others would go on to succeed. In 1989, future-Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson – yes, that Peter Jackson – created X-rated puppet comedy Meet the Feebles. Years later, playwright Jeff Whitty created the stage musical Avenue Q which featured Muppet-esque creations talking explicitly about adult matters.

Stage show

While Henson never got to see his Muppet vision enacted in his lifetime, the puppeteer’s son has certainly brought his dream to life. In 2006, the younger Henson launched his own Muppet stage show Puppet Up! which featured decidedly adult content. And in doing so, he finally found an audience welcoming to mature themes performed by felt.

Raunchy

“What I realized is, [the audience] really delighted in very R-rated, raunchy content,” Henson Jr. told The Independent. “And we found a way to do it that we thought was really funny and really delightful. So, off of that show I decided that I wanted to do something scripted in this vain.”

Mature Muppet content

Indeed, that scripted something would turn out to be 2018’s The Happytime Murders. And this movie dived head first into Henson’s adult-only ideals. Billed as “No Sesame, All Street” – a tagline that moved the series’ creators to legal action – the film put puppets in a depraved world of sex, drugs and violence. It also led to the creation of Henson Alternative, a company dedicated to further mature Muppet content.