Why did Sesame Street cast members leave?

[Pig'sSaysAdios]

Hmm, it just ocurred to me that soon, Alan could qualify as the grandpa figure on the show. He's only six years younger than Will Lee was when the show started and around the same age that David Smyrl was when he joined the show. I was born only the year after Alan joined the show. Suddenly I feel old.

 

[Censored]

Hmm, it just ocurred to me that soon, Alan could qualify as the grandpa figure on the show. He's only six years younger than Will Lee was when the show started and around the same age that David Smyrl was when he joined the show.

I know. It's sad. He will probably get the boot soon too.

 

[Drtooth]

Same with Hal Miller who only played Gordon for two seasons. We know that Matt left because he was never meant to be a permanent cast member anyways and he mainly did writing/producing. The original Gordon from the test pilots scared kids. But what happened to Hal Miller?

Hal Miller was... well... wheat toast. Cardboard. A bowl of plain oatmeal at room temperature. Matt gave a great performance, Roscoe gave a great performance. Hal was...just there. I can see him testing poorly and not working out. We got Roscoe out of it, and he was the best Gordon. There's a reason why he was never recast after that. I just don't see Hal Miller pulling off Lovely Magic Gordon Guy or Trash Gordon with the same level of straightfaced ham.

Just because they were looking for someone younger when they cast Alan, that doesn't mean they let David Smyrl go because of his age. It could just be that he left on his own terms and the producers simply decided to try something different.

That was Around the Corner era when he came on. Can't remember how long he stayed or if he stayed longer after that, but every cast member and most of the new Muppets created for it were gone once they junked the entire ATC concept.

 

[MuppetSpot]

That was Around the Corner era when he came on. Can't remember how long he stayed or if he stayed longer after that, but every cast member and most of the new Muppets created for it were gone once they junked the entire ATC concept.

David Smyrl came in around Season 22 and left after Season 29, I think he had a good 8-9 years on SST.

 

[Drtooth]

Just needed a reminder. Didn't really pay attention much to the show around then so I kind of forgot. But at the same time I seem to remember them having episodes where Mr. Hanford was kinda grooming either Savion or Gina to take over for him. Seems that Hoopers always had an assistant that would take over for the store for a while when they didn't use those actors in certain episodes.

Still, while whatever conspiracy about Bob and Gordon can be had, Sesame Street had a bigger cast member turn around rate than we realize, and often times it was because the younger actors moved on to bigger things. How long was Raoul Julia on? Went on to have a film career. Charlotte Rae. Sitcom star, got popular enough to get a spinoff sitcom as well. Savion created Stomp, a big hit in the 90's and still dancing.

 

[D'Snowth]

Seems that Hoopers always had an assistant that would take over for the store for a while when they didn't use those actors in certain episodes.

That's true. Mr. Hooper had David, David had Gina, Mr. Handford had Gina and eventually Carlo, and Alan has Chris.

How long was Raoul Julia on?

I think just one year, wasn't he?

 

[Censored]

I don't agree with all of the hate being thrown towards Hal Miller. He wasn't a bad Gordon. He just got caught between 2 others who were extremely popular.

 

[Censored]

. We got Roscoe out of it, and he was the best Gordon. There's a reason why he was never recast after that.

You might even say he earned himself a permanent place on the show.

 

[Drtooth]

I don't agree with all of the hate being thrown towards Hal Miller. He wasn't a bad Gordon. He just got caught between 2 others who were extremely popular.

Not so much he was bad much as he was very bland. He seems that he's a very decent actor and has some appeal. Just not as passionate a performance as his predecessor or as much fun as his successor.

 

[Censored]

Not so much he was bad much as he was very bland. He seems that he's a very decent actor and has some appeal. Just not as passionate a performance as his predecessor or as much fun as his successor.

Some of that perception can have to with whether one actually recalls seeing episodes with Hal Miller as a child, or if they are just seeing the very limited clips of Hal on Noggin and Youtube. I remember whole episodes with Hal Miller in which he was quite passionate. There is an episode where he became furious at Oscar and sternly told him that if he kept being nasty to everyone, he would not give him anymore trash. This led to a hilarious show where Oscar was trying to be nice and nasty at the same time. But, yes, if the only sources of reference for Hal Miller are the limited videos today, viewed only by adults with no childhood memory of him, I can see where he might seem bland. Having said all of that, growing up with all 3 Gordons, Matt Robinson and Roscoe Orman are my favorites equally. Matt should be honored in memory and Roscoe should be honored right now.