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About 7 years ago, on the Usenet newsgroup alt.tv.sesame-street (which has been hampered these last few years by a low signal-to-noise ratio) I posted a short frequently-asked questions list, since so many people were asking the same questions. I have pasted it below.
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This is a frequently asked questions list for alt.tv.sesame-street.
These questions are in no particular order.
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Q1. Who was Mr. Hooper and what happened to him?
A. Harold Hooper was the original owner of the general store / soda fountain on the corner, which was known simply as "Mr. Hooper's Store". He was an older man, partly bald, and overall congenial and kind-hearted. He was also Jewish, as someone wished him a happy Hanukkah on one of the Christmas specials. There was a long-running joke where Big Bird always called him "Mr. Looper" or some variation thereof (but Mr. H always corected him, usually patiently).
When Mr. Hooper's actor Will Lee died in real life of a heart attack, the producers of Sesame Street decided to have the character die as well. This was announced on one somber episode where they tried to explain the concept of death to Big Bird. "But who will make me my birdseed milkshakes....?"
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Q2. Was there really a robot on Sesame Street once?
A. Yes, and his name was Sam. Appearing sometime in the early 1970s, Sam was a metallic creature with a cymbal-like mouth.
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Q3. Did Mr. Snuffleuppagas really used to be "Invisible?"
A. Yes. From his appearance on the scene in 1971 until 1986, Snuffy was only "visible" to Big Bird and the children. This wasn't because of any magic tranlucence properties, but it just always happened that every time an adult character appeared, Snuffy would always coincidentally walk out of the scene (usually for some lame reason). As such, the the adults referred to snuffy as Big Bird's imaginary friend.
Big Bird was always trying prove Snuffy's existance, though, often with frustrating disappointment. (Case in point: They were performing at the Metropolitan Opera House, and Snuffy was on the other side of the reflecting pool during intermission. When Big Bird finally convinced the adults to turn around and look, the fountains suddenly came on full blast, obstructing the view.)
The decision to reveal Snuffy to the adults was apparently two-fold: (1) the show's psychologists were afraid that the kids would think adults would not believe them if they said they were sexually abused, and (2) the cast and crew were sick of the gag.
-----
Q4. Are Ernie and Bert gay?
A. Ernie is gay most of the time, but Bert is often in too irate of a mood to be happy and gay.
OK, OK, I know you're referring to sexual orientation rather than disposition. Well you can rest assured that B&E are definitely not homosexual. If you must insist that when two men share an apartment it means they are gay, try telling that to the occupants of a men's residence hall at any large university. Just make sure you have your dental records on file so your remains can be identified later!
If you need more evidence:
-- They sleep in separate beds, complete with an E and B to avoid confusion
-- They are MUPPETS, and Muppets do not have sexual orientations, or sex organs for that matter
-- They never came out and told us what they are, so our speculations are pure conjecture.
-- There is no evidence that they ARE gay. I know this sounds simplistic, but anyone who counters that there's no evidence that they are NOT gay is "Shifting the burden of proof", aka Argumentum ad Ignorantiam. See also Occam's Razor.
[Added for this post: an example of Argumentum ad Ignorantiam
CHARLIE: "I say that President Snerd is not really human, that he is an alien from Antares who was planted to take over the planet."
HARRY: "Heh heh, heh. And what evidence do you have that the President is from Antares?"
CHARLIE: "Heh heh, heh. What evidence do YOU have that he's NOT?"]
-----
Q5. Are they going to kill off Ernie or <insert your favorite muppet character here>?
A. No. This one is a confirmed Urban Legend, which, like most others, are virtually impossible to kill once established (witness, for example, the endurance of the "Little Mikey, Life Cereal and Pop Rocks" legend.) The Children's Television Workshop gets calls on this one at least once a week.
Q6: Did Ernie and Bert get their names from "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A. Ah, who can forget that scene in that timeless classic Christmas movie, where Jimmy Stewart is in front of the abandoned house, and calls out "Bert! Ernie!" to the taxi driver and policeman.
The answer to this question is uncertain. While the show's creators insist that they did not get the names for the muppets from "It's a Wonderful Life", only they themselves really know for sure.
Q7: Why were there three different Gordons?
A. For the first two seasons of Sesame Street, including the first episode, Gordon was played by Matt Robinson, who had a mustache and an afro. For the next two seasons, it was Hal Miller, who was a little skinnier and had less hair. Then, in the fifth season, Roscoe Orman, the current Gordon, made his appearance.
Other characters have come and gone over the years, but this was the only case of someone being re-cast, and twice at that. My feeling is that he was too central a character to be replaced. In fact, in the earlier days, Gordon and Susan seemed to actually serve as the show's "hosts". But why was he replaced to begin with? No one really seems to know. A labor/wage dispute, perhaps? Or family-related reasons. Same reasons that actors leave any TV series.
-----------------------------------------
This is a frequently asked questions list for alt.tv.sesame-street.
These questions are in no particular order.
-----
Q1. Who was Mr. Hooper and what happened to him?
A. Harold Hooper was the original owner of the general store / soda fountain on the corner, which was known simply as "Mr. Hooper's Store". He was an older man, partly bald, and overall congenial and kind-hearted. He was also Jewish, as someone wished him a happy Hanukkah on one of the Christmas specials. There was a long-running joke where Big Bird always called him "Mr. Looper" or some variation thereof (but Mr. H always corected him, usually patiently).
When Mr. Hooper's actor Will Lee died in real life of a heart attack, the producers of Sesame Street decided to have the character die as well. This was announced on one somber episode where they tried to explain the concept of death to Big Bird. "But who will make me my birdseed milkshakes....?"
-----
Q2. Was there really a robot on Sesame Street once?
A. Yes, and his name was Sam. Appearing sometime in the early 1970s, Sam was a metallic creature with a cymbal-like mouth.
-----
Q3. Did Mr. Snuffleuppagas really used to be "Invisible?"
A. Yes. From his appearance on the scene in 1971 until 1986, Snuffy was only "visible" to Big Bird and the children. This wasn't because of any magic tranlucence properties, but it just always happened that every time an adult character appeared, Snuffy would always coincidentally walk out of the scene (usually for some lame reason). As such, the the adults referred to snuffy as Big Bird's imaginary friend.
Big Bird was always trying prove Snuffy's existance, though, often with frustrating disappointment. (Case in point: They were performing at the Metropolitan Opera House, and Snuffy was on the other side of the reflecting pool during intermission. When Big Bird finally convinced the adults to turn around and look, the fountains suddenly came on full blast, obstructing the view.)
The decision to reveal Snuffy to the adults was apparently two-fold: (1) the show's psychologists were afraid that the kids would think adults would not believe them if they said they were sexually abused, and (2) the cast and crew were sick of the gag.
-----
Q4. Are Ernie and Bert gay?
A. Ernie is gay most of the time, but Bert is often in too irate of a mood to be happy and gay.
OK, OK, I know you're referring to sexual orientation rather than disposition. Well you can rest assured that B&E are definitely not homosexual. If you must insist that when two men share an apartment it means they are gay, try telling that to the occupants of a men's residence hall at any large university. Just make sure you have your dental records on file so your remains can be identified later!
If you need more evidence:
-- They sleep in separate beds, complete with an E and B to avoid confusion
-- They are MUPPETS, and Muppets do not have sexual orientations, or sex organs for that matter
-- They never came out and told us what they are, so our speculations are pure conjecture.
-- There is no evidence that they ARE gay. I know this sounds simplistic, but anyone who counters that there's no evidence that they are NOT gay is "Shifting the burden of proof", aka Argumentum ad Ignorantiam. See also Occam's Razor.
[Added for this post: an example of Argumentum ad Ignorantiam
CHARLIE: "I say that President Snerd is not really human, that he is an alien from Antares who was planted to take over the planet."
HARRY: "Heh heh, heh. And what evidence do you have that the President is from Antares?"
CHARLIE: "Heh heh, heh. What evidence do YOU have that he's NOT?"]
-----
Q5. Are they going to kill off Ernie or <insert your favorite muppet character here>?
A. No. This one is a confirmed Urban Legend, which, like most others, are virtually impossible to kill once established (witness, for example, the endurance of the "Little Mikey, Life Cereal and Pop Rocks" legend.) The Children's Television Workshop gets calls on this one at least once a week.
Q6: Did Ernie and Bert get their names from "It's a Wonderful Life"?
A. Ah, who can forget that scene in that timeless classic Christmas movie, where Jimmy Stewart is in front of the abandoned house, and calls out "Bert! Ernie!" to the taxi driver and policeman.
The answer to this question is uncertain. While the show's creators insist that they did not get the names for the muppets from "It's a Wonderful Life", only they themselves really know for sure.
Q7: Why were there three different Gordons?
A. For the first two seasons of Sesame Street, including the first episode, Gordon was played by Matt Robinson, who had a mustache and an afro. For the next two seasons, it was Hal Miller, who was a little skinnier and had less hair. Then, in the fifth season, Roscoe Orman, the current Gordon, made his appearance.
Other characters have come and gone over the years, but this was the only case of someone being re-cast, and twice at that. My feeling is that he was too central a character to be replaced. In fact, in the earlier days, Gordon and Susan seemed to actually serve as the show's "hosts". But why was he replaced to begin with? No one really seems to know. A labor/wage dispute, perhaps? Or family-related reasons. Same reasons that actors leave any TV series.
