Experiences with "I'll Miss You, Mr. Hooper"

[DTF]

Maybe I should have waited for the offseson, but with new eipsides only once a week I thought this topic, which i pondered recently, would make a good one for discussion.

What are your first memories of thsi classic episode? I was 14 when it airedso a bit old, though I seem to recall hearing my aunt and uncle talk about it; their oldest were 3 so not totally into it yet, so i don't think theyw atched it.

When i first looked it up and read about it at the toughpigs site it was amazing. I learned there was a book out about it, too, though the end ing was a bit different than the show. I was really impressed with it. I've never seen the whole episode but think it would have been quite interesting to watch.

Who here saw it in 1983? As a child? As a parent, is anyone here that old? And, does anyone remember reading the book based on it? I refer to it a number of times in the "Full House" fanfic I did on it. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2484410/1/We-ll-Miss-You-Pam-Tanner I don't know if it's how most would do, I know I have Danny & Stephanie reading it at the end after Pam's death. Tissue warning of course, but you probably figured that.)

 

[minor muppetz]

Well, I first saw the clip in the special Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting. I was born in 1984, shortly after Mr. Hooper died, so I wasn't too familiar with him. So for about a decade and maybe a half my main exposure to Mr. Hooper was through Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and a few books.

I remember when the Muppet Central review for Sesame Street Unpaved was posted, the reviewer said that he or she dared anyone to read it without getting teary-eyed. I thought, "challenge accepted!" and read it without getting teary eyed. It wasn't until I saw the full clip in 40 Years of Sunny Days that I had finally gotten a saddened response from the clip. By the time that came out, I had seen a lot more Mr. Hooper footage, and also, every time I saw the clip before that, it was edited. 20 and Still Counting edited quite a bit, including the parts with David and Olivia and, most notably, Olivia's line. I can't remember what all was cut when it was shown in the A&E Biography special. And I believe that when the clip was in the Sesame Street Unpaved special, it cut out the beginning when Big Bird gives everybody their portraits. In fact I think the beginning is always cut whenever the clip is included, and I feel it is an important factor in getting those unfamiliar with Mr. Hooper saddened. The scene begins with everyone being unusually happy, before Big Bird gives them their pictures. They're still a bit happy when they get the pictures but seem to calm down a little, and then when they see the Mr. Hooper drawing they just admire it, without the recent happiness, but then realize that although they had told Big Bird that Mr. Hooper had died, he didn't know the concept of death, and that's when it starts getting sad.

Considering they told Big Bird that Mr. Hooper died and he clearly didn't know what it meant, I wonder what it was like when they told him. I guess it's best that they didn't show that part, it might be hard to watch them tell Big Bird without explaining death or asking if there's anything he'd like to know, and Big Bird acting ignorant of the subject until he was ready to give Mr. Hooper his drawing.

I used to think that the whole episode (well, the street scenes) was about Mr. Hooper's death. That was back when I didn't know that many episodes (especially from the 1970s) didn't really have plots. I thought perhaps that it would start with Big Bird being told that Mr. Hooper died, then giving them drawings and finding out what it meant, and then maybe them all dealing with the death, maybe with other Muppet characters talking about it. When I first saw the "just because" clip in the A&E Biography, I noticed Big Bird and Gordon's exchange sounding similar and figured out that it must have been in the same episode, but I expected that scene to come later, like Gordon seeing Big Bird doing silly things even though Mr. Hooper had died and wondering why he was doing so, and Big Bird's "just because" being in reference to Gordon's.

I wonder what it would have been like if the whole episode had that as a plot focus, as opposed to just one scene. I think it's okay to describe Big Bird learning about Mr. Hooper's death as a plot description, but the episode doesn't really have a plot. Most of the street scenes have some minor connection to other street scenes, but the episode is more themed around emotions (and when Big Bird learns of the death, he goes from being worried to angry to sad and then finally accepting though still sad).

Wow, now I'm starting to get teary-eyed typing this.

 

[CensoredAlso]

Same here pretty much. I knew Mr. Hooper from the Christmas special every year but I didn't know about his passing until I saw the 20 and Still Counting special. I remember Bill Cosby talking about how the show didn't take the easy way out and just hire a new actor.

I later saw the entire episode at The Museum of TV & Radio. I was really surprised most of the episode was just business as usual, but then again that makes sense. Life does still go on. And there were still a few particularly touching moments like the sad flower film and Gordon's bit with Forgetful Jones.

I know some people don't like how they handled the subject of death in a very neutral way, avoiding anything spiritual. But really, you can read the scene anyway you want. Like when Big Bird asks why dead people don't come back and Luis replies, "Well, Big Bird, they're dead, they can't come back." You can read that as death is final, or you can read that as a person has just gone on to a different kind of existence. Either interpretation works and that's why it's successful.

 

[D'Snowth]

Yeah, I was born in 1989, so Mr. Hooper was already long gone by the time I came around, and David had just died as well, so I pretty much only knew Mr. Handford (David Langston Smyrl, I don't remember Leonard Jackson)... and I honestly don't remember if I ever questioned the existence of a Hooper behind Hooper's Store or not... matter of fact, I don't think I ever even considered or thought about Mr. Hooper until I saw the A&E BIOGRAPHY special in 2001, where Caroll Spinney talked about the episode in question.

Unfortunately, since I wasn't alive during a time when Hooper's Store was run by Mr. Hooper, it's really hard for me to invest any kind of actual emotion or sorrow whenever I watch the scenes from this episode, because I didn't really know what it was like to have Mr. Hooper in my life.

A year or two later, a friend of mine sent me a VHS copy of CEOSST as a Christmas gift, and that was really my first exposure to Mr. Hooper, and I got to see that he was, very much, like the grandfather figure that people always described him as (and that subplot with him involving Ernie and Bert trading in their most prized possessions to get each other a Christmas present is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen on SST). Then, when Old School Vol. 1 came out, and I got more exposure of Mr. Hooper, it seemed like, to me, that he was something of an old grump who tolerated the residents of the street, but seeing Old School Vol. 2, that aspect of his personality seemed to mellow throughout the years. In fact, I do believe it was the 40 Years book that described him as, "A curmudgeon who had trouble hiding his soft side", and that's probably the best way to describe Mr. Hooper.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I was around to see this episode firsthand (although I was 15, pretty far past the targeted viewing age, but hey, old habits die hard). The one part that stuck with me all these years was Gordon explaining to Big Bird why people die, "Just because..."

Thirty years later, I can't watch this scene without tearing up. I can only imagine how the cast members felt performing this bit.

I've been lucky enough to grow up with Mr. Hooper, and yes, he did have his abrasive side, (more than once he even snapped at Big Bird), but he also showed his tenderness as well. Quite a guy.

 

[Son of Enik]

I was 10 years old when Mr. Hooper died and remember the episode clearly. As I was already aware of the concept of death, I recall being sad and yet impressed that the producers decided to deal with the concept honestly. Rather than write off the character or recast, SS dealt with it in a way kids could understand, through the surrogate 6 year old known as Big Bird. To this day I still get teary-eyed when watching the scene where Big Bird comes to terms with the passing of his beloved friend, and as someone who has experienced loss in my own life, just want to wrap my arms around Bird and comfort him. Very powerful episode and I am proud of the way Sesame Street presented the subject.