David

[D'Snowth]

Aw gee, that's too bad; well like I said I've only seen a little bit of David on Sesame Street and he seems like a cool guy.

 

[BEAR]

Aw gee, that's too bad; well like I said I've only seen a little bit of David on Sesame Street and he seems like a cool guy.

He was. He truly was. He brought a kind of edge and soulfulness to the show I think too. He was a wonderful spirit. Though they were both very special, the loss of David was a little different from the loss of Mr. Hooper.

 

[The Count]

Guys... Sorry to have caused some confusion. Didn't know he left of his own volition. So please forgive that little slip up of mine.

What I meant when I said David and Olivia were paired up wasn't so much as a romantic couple... It's more of like Bry tried to explain, David and Olivia were seen together, as just friends, in song or sketch... That, and they sort of had the same sort of vibe of somewhat soulful hipness.
Hope this helps clear things up, and have a good weekend.

 

[JLG]

I think I've posted this elsewhere here, but my parents knew Northern Calloway in the early 70s when they were all in the same acting class. (Around '73 or so.) They were casual acquaintances. My dad remembers going to his apartment one time to rehearse something and that the whole place was filled with dollar bills stuffed into every crevice. Apparantly Calloway was involved in some effort to fund some project that never got off the ground, my dad forgets what.
My mom says he told her once that he felt competitive
toward actor Ben Vereen, because "there can't be two sensitive black guys, and he's the sensitive black guy right now." That's my mom's paraphrasing of what he said. It sounds a little odd at first, but when you consider the harder time black actors have trying to establish themselves, especially back then, it speaks volumes.

I've heard in another chat board (forgot where) that Calloway was having mental problems. In 1980, he reportedly went on a drunken rampage somewhere in Kentucky and attacked some woman in her home. I'm amazed that he not only got off with no jail time, but actually continued to be on SS. (If anyone knows more about this, I'd like to hear it.)
It may not be a coincidence that it was right around this time that his health started to visibly deteriorate--with the weight gain and everything. Who knows what was going on in his head...

I was a little kid in the late 80s, so I saw David a lot. I'll never forget the day they told us he had left to live on his grandmother's farm. (I was six.) I was like, "He went WHERE, now?" I thought it was weird and abrupt even then. A few months later, I overheard my parents talking with some friends about how he had died. Well, that certainly explained it!

I always liked David---he had this infectious good humor. Kinda like a cooler version of Ernie.

 

[BEAR]

Guys... Sorry to have caused some confusion. Didn't know he left of his own volition. So please forgive that little slip up of mine.

What I meant when I said David and Olivia were paired up wasn't so much as a romantic couple... It's more of like Bry tried to explain, David and Olivia were seen together, as just friends, in song or sketch... That, and they sort of had the same sort of vibe of somewhat soulful hipness.
Hope this helps clear things up, and have a good weekend.

Yes, just like how it always seemed to me that Bob and Susan were paired up a lot. Atleast in the early days.

 

[jeffkjoe]

I've heard in another chat board (forgot where) that Calloway was having mental problems. In 1980, he reportedly went on a drunken rampage somewhere in Kentucky and attacked some woman in her home.

Actually, he went on a rampage in Nashville, Tennessee. I remember, cause I still have the newspaper clipping from my hometown Nashvillian newspaper that has the headline: "David from 'Sesame Street'" disrupting the town.

Another piece of trivia- he died in Nashville. So maybe Northern Calloway had a thing for my town.

 

[BEAR]

If that's the truth, I'm surprised Sesame Street kept him on the show after that.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Well, it's not my place to judge someone I've never met. He may have had some issues. You can't control how you behave when you're drinking too much (that's why you shouldn't, hint hint).

Just because an actor works on a kid's show doesn't mean they are saintly in their real life. People in the performing arts do contribute something great to the world with their talents. But it's the art that is perfect, not the people.

 

[BEAR]

It's just surprising that SW would keep him around after that. There must have been some strict rules made after that. He's a role-model for young kids. Still, I always liked David (may he RIP)

 

[redBoobergurl]

I always liked David. He was sort of the soul man on Sesame Street and really, the person I most associate with Hooper's Store, because he ran it for most of the 80's which is right when I was watching the most and because I'm too young to remember Mr. Hooper. I still remember when David hired Gina, but I don't remember him actually leaving and the whole "grandmother's farm" thing. I think that may have taken place when I was watching a little less, because I don't really remember very many episodes with Mr. Handford, that's when I was mostly at school, involved in after school activities and shamefully, "too cool" for Sesame for awhile. I didn't really start watching again until Alan started running the store. I like Alan and all but I'll always remember David as being the coolest at running Hooper's Store.

I've heard some other rumors about what happened to Northern Calloway, but out of respect for him I'm just going to leave it at that. Like Heralde said, actors in real life are living just that, real life. Sometimes real life isn't easy and things happen and we shouldn't hold that against someone. Actors are people too. And Northern Calloway was a great actor.