Rare "Cracks" animation from 1970's Sesame Street

[dycaite]

For those unfamiliar with Crack Master:
http://lostmedia.wikia.com/wiki/Sesame_Street_"Crack_Master"_Short_from_Episode_979_(1977)
Anyhow, soon I'm going to be writing directly to Cosmo Anzilotti regarding the Crack Master video. I've set up a petition that I hope to send him with said letter, if you have time, please sign it:

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/crackmaster

Thanks!

 

[AquaGGR]

Has the petition been sent to Cosmo Anzilotti yet?

 

[dycaite]

Yes, I sent it to him on the 22nd. Keep an eye on the Notice Board section of lostmedia.wikia.com for any future updates.

 

[minor muppetz]

I thought it was called "Crack Monster" (which, though it refers to a crack shaped like a monster, sounds like a very wrong title for a children's educational show).

Back in 2008 Sesame Workshop's Facebook page allowed for fans to nominate clips for Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days. If Sesame Workshop gives fans the same opportunity again for the next anniversary (or any future DVD collection) I'll be sure to nominate this clip.

 

[dycaite]

Yeah, a lot of people remembered it as "Crack Monster", but when Jon Armond got a copy in 2009, he confirmed that it was called "Crack Master".

Cool, I'll be sure to add their page on Facebook and keep an eye out for any future nomination requests.

 

[minor muppetz]

Yeah, a lot of people remembered it as "Crack Monster", but when Jon Armond got a copy in 2009, he confirmed that it was called "Crack Master".

Of course, many segments tend to be titled differently depending on source and release. Who knows how "official" or definitive a title is supposed to be? For example, the number 3 film with a ball going down a wire-sculpture roller coaster has had many titles, usually "Henson Ball #3" or "No. 3 Ball Powder" (which was the title for the music used), but on DVD it's also been called "Henson Ball High-Wire #3" and there was an exhibit that referred to it as "Number Three Ball Film" (Muppet Wiki has that title as the title for the segment page). The animated "bread, milk, and butter" segment has been released on DVD with the titles "Bread, Milk, and Butter" and "Remembering Bread, Milk, and Butter". And the Pinball segments have been released under the titles "Pinball Animation" and "Pinball Number Count".

Cool, I'll be sure to add their page on Facebook and keep an eye out for any future nomination requests.

Of course there's only been two times fans on facebook have been given this kind of opportunity. First in 2008 for 40 Years of Sunny Days, and then in 2012 for Best of Friends, Sesame Workshop had fans vote for clips already nominated. Too bad such opportunities weren't provided for Best of Sesame Street Spoofs! or Old School Volume 3 (though when it comes to releases themed by year, it'd probably be best to just have fans vote on nominated clips, so that casual fans wouldn't risk nominating clips from the wrong eras).

The show has been celebrating its anniversaries every five years since season 20. Hopefully the upcoming 45th season will be no exception, and hopefully Sesame Workshop will let fans nominate clips for whatever big anniversary projects come out (though we don't know if there'll be an official 45th anniversary special, DVD collection, or album... But I'm hoping there'll be a special DVD release).

EDIT to ADD: I just now looked at the link provided. It's weird that the person with the copy is contractually forbidden from sharing the clip with anyone (outside of screenings), yet is apparently allowed to make a documentary of it. And Sesame Workshop said they store very little video footage and don't have a copy in their archives? I thought I read that Sesame Workshop has every episode in its archives and has made copies of every episodes in different formats. Not to mention that thousands of clips over the years have surfaced, whether on recent DVD releases, sesamestreet.org, and of course the thousands of episodes that have repeated segments over the years. Something doesn't sound right there.

 

[dycaite]

I know. It is incredibly weird that he is apparently not allowed to share it, but can when his documentary is released... It's very fishy and makes no sense (especially since he signed a contract to NOT release it at all). And it wasn't Sesame Workshop that said they stored little video footage, it was the CTW Archives held at the University of Maryland.

Even weirder was an email exchange I had with the head of Sesame Workshop's PR Department, who told me "Sorry, we will not be able to release the segment at all. Thank you for understanding." When I asked about why this was so, she simply never replied...

 

[AquaGGR]

All this Crack Master trouble is very odd. Did he get permission from SW to make the documentary in the first place? Also, why can he show the segment in the documentary, but not by itself?

 

[dycaite]

I really don't know. It's unclear as to exactly who he got it from. Supposedly a contact close to Cosmo Anzilotti, the creator, contacted HIM regarding it, and helped him obtain a copy, after reading about his search effort online.

 

[muppet maniac]

http://lostmedia.wikia.com/wiki/Sesame_Street_"Crack_Master"_Short_from_Episode_979_(1977)

This article on Lost Media Wiki says that Jon Armond had been sending an audio version of the documentary to people via email requests. I sent him a request a few weeks ago, but he hasn't replied (maybe his email address is no longer active, I'm not sure).

Namowal had a chance to see the sketch back in 2009, and recounted his experience on his blog (4-part entry):

http://tailotherat.blogspot.com/search/label/The Crack Monster

I too hope this cartoon finds its way on the internet sooner or later.