The Mystery of the first Gordon

[OldSchoolFan]

this has probably already been posted about, but oh well

i was watching the pilot episode on my Sesame Street Old School Volume 2 dvd, and i noticed the Gordon wasn't a Gordon i was familiar with. I thought it was Matt Robinson at first and he didn't have his mustache yet. at closer look, i noticed it wasn't him at all. it was some dude who looked like the dad on Good Times.

i went onto Muppet Wiki and did a bit of research.

http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sesame_Street_Test_Show_1

all it says about him is "unidentified actor".

does anyone know what the deal is about this mysterious fellow?

 

[mikebennidict]

What do you mean what's the deal?

 

[OldSchoolFan]

basically just wondering who he is, and why nobody ever talks about him? i know it was just a test episode, but you gotta admit, it's a bit strange how he's not even mentioned in like Sesame Street Unpaved

 

[fuzzygobo]

I THINK what he's trying to find out (correct me if I'm wrong) was who was the actor who played Gordon before Matt Robinson.
It was documented elsewhere that was Robert Guillame, before he found fame on SOAP and Benson later on in the 70's.

They were running a series of 5 test shows in July 1969, and the
audience didn't respond too well to him. Thankfully Matt Robinson was on the staff as a producer and writer, and he stepped in and the rest was history.

So Matt was the last addition to the original cast (Will Lee, Bob McGrath, and Loretta Long), and soon we were on our merry way.

 

[Son of Enik]

According to "Sesame Unpaved", Guillame was up against Roscoe Orman for the role of Gordon when Hal Miller left. As to who the original actor in the test show was...search me!

 

[OldSchoolFan]

I THINK what he's trying to find out (correct me if I'm wrong) was who was the actor who played Gordon before Matt Robinson.
It was documented elsewhere that was Robert Guillame, before he found fame on SOAP and Benson later on in the 70's.

yeah thats what im wondering.

but i'm also wondering why nobody talks about him, and why he's an "unidentified actor" on Muppet Wiki. did he not want people to know his identity or something like that?

all i know is that if i ever meet Bob McGrath or Loretta Long, that's the first thing i'd ask them about.

 

[minor muppetz]

I don't think people are avoiding mentioning him. He's listed as "unidentified" at Muppet Wiki because nobody there can identify the actor. The first test pilot, the only one known to be in circulation among fans, does not have credits. I hope that one of the two upcoming Sesame Street 40th anniversary books mentions the actors name. If I ever hear that Bob McGrath, Loretta Long, or Joan Ganz Cooney are to be interviewed on the MuppetCast I will make sure that I request asking them if they remember the actors name (and no, there's been no announcements that they are officially planned).