Hal Miller, the middle Gordon

[minor muppetz]

Has anybody noticed how there seems to be a lot of info on Matt Robinson and Roscoe Orman, yet not much on Hal Miller? Not counting the test pilot Gordon, it seems like Hal is treated like a "middle child" of sorts. Most official publications on Sesame Street talk less about him than the other two, but it does seem natural, as Matt was not only the first Gordon, but also had other duties on the show (writing, producing, voicing Roosevelt Franklin) and Roscoe has been Gordon the longest. Sesame Street Unpaved barely discusses Matt Robinson more than Hal Miller (I guess it helps that he voiced a Muppet), while Street Gang barely mentions Roscoe Orman yet doesn't even mention Hal Miller (the "web exclusive extra chapter" at the street gang website is another story, but it still only briefly mentions Hal Miller). And the 40th anniversary book has pages on both Matt Robinson and Roscoe Orman, while Hal Miller is just briefly discussed and pictured at the end of the Matt Robinson section.

It is a shame that we don't know more about him, in comparison to the others. I doubt he was interviewed for either of the recent books. Noggin only showed three episodes from teh Hal Miller years, one of which didn't have Gordon (at least not in the Noggin airing), another of which cut out one of his scenes on Noggin, and another of which he only makes a brief appearance at the end of the opening scene. The 40th anniversary DVD doesn't have any Hal Miller clips. Sesamestreet.org does have at least two clips with Hal Miller as Gordon.

 

[minor muppetz]

Something that I forgot to touch-up on is the fact that there seems to be quite a sources (Sesame Street Dad - at least judging by a review I read, the 40th anniversary book, a quote from Roscoe Orman that I read somewhere, the extra chapter about Roscoe Orman at the street gang website) that talk about what it was like when Roscoe Orman first took over as Gordon. Most quotes are from Orman, but the 40th anniversary book has one from Loretta Long. But there doesn't seem to be any information regarding whether it was difficult for kids to accept Hal Miller as the new Gordon. But Roscoe Orman had a tough time convincign kids that he was Gordon, as opposed to a new character claiming to be Gordon.

 

[mr3urious]

That's simple: He was the shortest-lived.

 

[Princeton]

Plus, judging by the picture of him in Sesame Street Unpaved, he does strike a pretty uncanny resemblance to OJ Simpson. So, that may have worked against him too.

 

[Drtooth]

Well, considering that I've only seen a little Hal Miller, I can't really make a solid judgment... but I really wasn't impressed. I really liked Matt, and I LOVE Roscoe...but it really seems like someone shared that sentiment about Hal, leading to why we had a third one.

 

[minor muppetz]

The 40th anniversary book just says that Hal Miller wasn't a good fit for the role.

And in a way, it seems like there are similarities between him and the Gordon from the test pilot. Their looks are similar (though Miller's hair is bigger), we don't know much about either (but at least we know Hal Miller's name), apparantly producers weren't satysfied with them (but they were satysfied enough to let Hal Miller play Gordon on the show for two whole years), and.... Well, that's all I can think of.

 

[mikebennidict]

Can't see why he lasted 2 years if he wasn't a good fit.

 

[D'Snowth]

Can't see why he lasted 2 years if he wasn't a good fit.

Probably the same reason Richard Dawson stayed on Hogan's Heroes for all seven years, even though he hated star Bob Crane and was difficult to work with.

Or the same reason Vivian Vance and William Frawley played weds on I Love Lucy though they hated each other in real life.

And so on and so on

 

[JLG]

Hal Miller is on YouTube. Can't remember how I found him last year, but it was by accident. I started a thread about it here, but apparently not too many people noticed it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/lovallp#p/u

 

[D'Snowth]

I have to admit, I wonder exactly how Roscoe Orman ended up taking over the role anyway.

Two notes Sesame Street Unpaved, the book mentioned is that the human cast was chosen by kids who responded well to an actor's performance during the testing, meanwhile Roscoe himself said that it was felt had that "Gordon thing" that people were looking for, as opposed to "Benson" who also lobbied for the role.

This must really prove Roscoe Orman's versatility, because prior to SST, I've seen him in a few TV shows and movies, and he was always the bad guy - being a pimp daddy in Willy Dynamite, and on an episode of Sanford and Son he was a bank robber who always yelled at the top of his lungs... so for a man who is able to make for a believable pimp and bank robber still be able to appeal to the kiddies... that is some wicked versatility I must say.