1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:03,253 --> 00:00:07,007 [upbeat music] 3 00:00:07,090 --> 00:00:12,387 ♪ ♪ 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 5 00:00:12,471 --> 00:00:14,640 - ♪ Sunny day ♪ 6 00:00:14,723 --> 00:00:19,353 ♪ Sweepin' the clouds away ♪ 7 00:00:19,436 --> 00:00:21,772 ♪ On my way ♪ 8 00:00:21,855 --> 00:00:26,193 ♪ To where the air sweet ♪ 9 00:00:26,276 --> 00:00:28,904 ♪ Can you tell me how to get ♪ 10 00:00:28,987 --> 00:00:32,449 ♪ How to get to Sesame Street ♪ 11 00:00:32,533 --> 00:00:34,368 ♪ Sesame Street ♪ 12 00:00:34,451 --> 00:00:37,371 [indistinct chatter] 13 00:00:44,086 --> 00:00:47,840 - Stand by. Here we go. Very quiet. 14 00:00:47,923 --> 00:00:51,927 Five, four, three, two, one, action. 15 00:00:52,010 --> 00:00:54,638 [guitar music playing] 16 00:00:54,721 --> 00:00:58,809 ♪ ♪ 17 00:00:58,892 --> 00:01:00,644 [footsteps pattering] 18 00:01:00,727 --> 00:01:02,521 - Buenas noches, señor, 19 00:01:02,604 --> 00:01:05,274 and welcome to La Casa de Comidas. 20 00:01:05,357 --> 00:01:09,486 I'm Grover, you're favorite singing and dancing waiter. 21 00:01:09,570 --> 00:01:11,238 We have four specials. 22 00:01:11,321 --> 00:01:13,866 Número uno, número dos-- 23 00:01:13,949 --> 00:01:15,117 Nu-num-- 24 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,036 [stammers] [dishes clatter] 25 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,455 - Yes, uh? - Ah! 26 00:01:20,539 --> 00:01:22,791 [upbeat music] 27 00:01:22,875 --> 00:01:24,918 [indistinct chatter] 28 00:01:25,002 --> 00:01:28,297 - Okay. So let's do it. Let's do the... 29 00:01:28,380 --> 00:01:31,175 - On an average day, according to the Nielsen ratings, 30 00:01:31,258 --> 00:01:33,886 more than 12 million American children 31 00:01:33,969 --> 00:01:36,513 under six watch what goes on in this room. 32 00:01:38,140 --> 00:01:39,933 - Okay. All set, guys? 33 00:01:40,017 --> 00:01:43,937 - Jon Stone was instrumental in developing "Sesame Street." 34 00:01:44,021 --> 00:01:47,316 He was its first producer, still directs half the shows 35 00:01:47,399 --> 00:01:49,526 and have you ever stopped smiling 36 00:01:49,610 --> 00:01:50,903 as you've worked on all of the-- 37 00:01:50,986 --> 00:01:52,779 - I wouldn't still be doing it if it weren't fun. 38 00:01:52,863 --> 00:01:54,489 I love it. 39 00:01:54,573 --> 00:01:59,036 - Please welcome the creator of "The Muppets," Mr. Jim Henson. 40 00:01:59,119 --> 00:02:01,121 - I suppose when we first did "Sesame Street" 41 00:02:01,205 --> 00:02:04,333 that was the time where the audience got to know us. 42 00:02:04,416 --> 00:02:05,459 - A turning point in everybody's life, 43 00:02:05,542 --> 00:02:06,793 you and "Sesame Street." 44 00:02:06,877 --> 00:02:07,920 - I was there too. 45 00:02:08,003 --> 00:02:10,422 - Kermit. - Sure. Sure. I was there. 46 00:02:10,506 --> 00:02:11,882 - What the original idea? 47 00:02:11,965 --> 00:02:13,967 What were you trying to accomplish in 1969? 48 00:02:14,051 --> 00:02:15,761 - The original idea came from Joan Cooney, 49 00:02:15,844 --> 00:02:18,514 who is the woman behind the whole project. 50 00:02:18,597 --> 00:02:19,890 - There is no question, 51 00:02:19,973 --> 00:02:20,974 the people who control 52 00:02:21,058 --> 00:02:22,434 the system read 53 00:02:22,518 --> 00:02:23,393 and the people who make it 54 00:02:23,477 --> 00:02:25,187 in the system read. 55 00:02:25,270 --> 00:02:28,023 - Here is Joan Cooney, who is showing us 56 00:02:28,106 --> 00:02:30,150 what television really could be. 57 00:02:30,234 --> 00:02:34,196 I mean, what she is doing is what television would do 58 00:02:34,279 --> 00:02:38,283 if it loved people instead of trying to sell to people, 59 00:02:38,367 --> 00:02:40,702 and there is all the difference in the world. 60 00:02:40,786 --> 00:02:43,789 [upbeat funky music] 61 00:02:43,872 --> 00:02:50,712 ♪ ♪ 62 00:03:26,081 --> 00:03:27,958 - Oh, you're here. 63 00:03:28,041 --> 00:03:29,168 Well, since you're here, 64 00:03:29,251 --> 00:03:31,295 I might as well answer a set of questions 65 00:03:31,378 --> 00:03:35,174 which have been submitted to me here at the old trash can. 66 00:03:35,257 --> 00:03:37,009 What do you think makes "Sesame Street" 67 00:03:37,092 --> 00:03:39,178 so appealing to kids? 68 00:03:39,261 --> 00:03:42,431 I didn't think they liked it. I hate it myself. 69 00:03:42,514 --> 00:03:45,142 [indistinct chatter] 70 00:03:45,225 --> 00:03:46,643 - Stand by. 71 00:03:48,645 --> 00:03:50,314 - Okay. And it's on camera, 72 00:03:50,397 --> 00:03:51,857 and action. 73 00:03:51,940 --> 00:03:53,483 - It's hard to talk about "Sesame Street" 74 00:03:53,567 --> 00:03:56,862 without talking about Jon Stone. 75 00:03:56,945 --> 00:04:00,157 I think Jon was probably, in my view at least, 76 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:04,119 the most critical person to the success of the show. 77 00:04:04,203 --> 00:04:05,537 - Come in and kind of look 78 00:04:05,621 --> 00:04:06,830 at the phone and wonder what it is. 79 00:04:06,914 --> 00:04:08,832 - He was a wonderful writer. 80 00:04:08,916 --> 00:04:10,792 He was an amazing director. 81 00:04:10,876 --> 00:04:13,921 - And bring in the word across the top. 82 00:04:14,004 --> 00:04:15,297 - Will do. 83 00:04:15,380 --> 00:04:17,633 - Oh. - Tele... 84 00:04:17,716 --> 00:04:19,009 - Phone. 85 00:04:19,092 --> 00:04:20,594 [chatter] 86 00:04:20,677 --> 00:04:22,429 - Telephone. - [chatter] 87 00:04:22,513 --> 00:04:24,306 [laughter] 88 00:04:24,389 --> 00:04:28,352 - And he was really the soul of the show. 89 00:04:31,104 --> 00:04:34,399 - Jon was the guy who really created 90 00:04:34,483 --> 00:04:36,902 the whole reality of it, 91 00:04:36,985 --> 00:04:39,863 you know, the style and the vision of the show. 92 00:04:39,947 --> 00:04:41,823 - So the two of you together, when you get about here 93 00:04:41,907 --> 00:04:43,700 I hear a bat going-- [squeaking] 94 00:04:43,784 --> 00:04:45,827 whatever bats do, right? 95 00:04:45,911 --> 00:04:48,038 - Hey, don't worry, Count, we'll help you. 96 00:04:48,121 --> 00:04:50,624 - Oh, we must look everywhere, high, low-- 97 00:04:50,707 --> 00:04:52,000 - You know, there were a lot of shows 98 00:04:52,084 --> 00:04:54,670 that really talked down to kids 99 00:04:54,753 --> 00:04:57,422 and he really didn't want that. 100 00:04:57,506 --> 00:05:00,509 Jon Stone thought that you could have a kid's show 101 00:05:00,592 --> 00:05:03,428 where adults wouldn't run for the door 102 00:05:03,512 --> 00:05:04,930 as soon as it was on. 103 00:05:07,975 --> 00:05:11,436 - Well, I've worked for over 25 years now 104 00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:13,063 in television in New York City, 105 00:05:13,146 --> 00:05:16,066 so I've seen a lot of studios and a lot of shows. 106 00:05:16,149 --> 00:05:18,235 [balloon pops] [children cheer] 107 00:05:18,318 --> 00:05:20,404 And I've sat through so many children's shows, 108 00:05:20,487 --> 00:05:21,738 just terrible stuff. 109 00:05:21,822 --> 00:05:23,156 - Hot Ovaltine at breakfast 110 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,033 gives you the right start in the morning. 111 00:05:25,117 --> 00:05:27,119 - They'd be selling toys and cereals, 112 00:05:27,202 --> 00:05:28,412 all that stuff. 113 00:05:28,495 --> 00:05:29,621 - You tell Mommy or Daddy 114 00:05:29,705 --> 00:05:31,623 that you want Tootsie Rolls. 115 00:05:31,707 --> 00:05:34,376 children: Tootsie Rolls! 116 00:05:34,459 --> 00:05:36,044 - And I hated it. 117 00:05:37,921 --> 00:05:40,465 - Our dad saw the world in black and white, 118 00:05:40,549 --> 00:05:42,050 and so there were good guys. 119 00:05:42,134 --> 00:05:43,927 You were a good guy, 120 00:05:44,011 --> 00:05:46,597 or you were a bad guy, and the good guys, 121 00:05:46,680 --> 00:05:49,516 he loved with all his heart, 122 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:55,439 and the bad guys, there was no gray. 123 00:05:58,192 --> 00:06:01,320 - You know, he took things so much to heart 124 00:06:01,403 --> 00:06:04,615 and Dad came to activism 125 00:06:04,698 --> 00:06:06,200 and feeling strongly about the world 126 00:06:06,283 --> 00:06:07,784 because of the era 127 00:06:07,868 --> 00:06:10,787 that he was kind of becoming an adult in. 128 00:06:10,871 --> 00:06:12,539 [soft dramatic music] 129 00:06:12,623 --> 00:06:14,291 [helicopter whirring] 130 00:06:14,374 --> 00:06:16,960 - The Vietnam War was going full blast. 131 00:06:17,044 --> 00:06:18,420 [bomb whistling] 132 00:06:18,504 --> 00:06:20,881 And the country was very politicized. 133 00:06:22,424 --> 00:06:24,343 Everybody was screaming at everybody else, 134 00:06:24,426 --> 00:06:26,845 and it was impossible 135 00:06:26,929 --> 00:06:28,680 not to feel strongly one way or another. 136 00:06:28,764 --> 00:06:31,266 - Black power. Black power. 137 00:06:31,350 --> 00:06:34,853 - I think Dad wore the pain of the world 138 00:06:34,937 --> 00:06:38,774 in a way that other people can let it go. 139 00:06:38,857 --> 00:06:40,776 - I had really quit the business. 140 00:06:40,859 --> 00:06:42,152 I thought I had done about everything 141 00:06:42,236 --> 00:06:44,571 I was gonna do in television. 142 00:06:46,573 --> 00:06:48,534 - And then he got this call 143 00:06:48,617 --> 00:06:51,620 from a producer saying, you know, 144 00:06:51,703 --> 00:06:53,956 she would like to talk to him about this children's program 145 00:06:54,039 --> 00:06:57,167 that she was starting to create. 146 00:06:57,251 --> 00:07:00,379 - Joan Cooney called me and said she was trying 147 00:07:00,462 --> 00:07:02,589 to put together a staff to do a new children's show, 148 00:07:02,673 --> 00:07:04,424 and would I be interested? 149 00:07:04,508 --> 00:07:08,595 I said no, really, I didn't want to do television anymore, 150 00:07:08,679 --> 00:07:13,058 and she is a very charming and persuasive lady. 151 00:07:13,141 --> 00:07:15,394 - I think what drew Dad in 152 00:07:15,477 --> 00:07:17,604 really had to do with her political vision, 153 00:07:17,688 --> 00:07:19,439 and I think when she started talking 154 00:07:19,523 --> 00:07:21,942 about inner-city children 155 00:07:22,025 --> 00:07:24,236 and the amount of time that kids 156 00:07:24,319 --> 00:07:26,363 are spending watching bad television 157 00:07:26,446 --> 00:07:27,781 with nothing to do 158 00:07:27,865 --> 00:07:29,908 because their parents are working, 159 00:07:29,992 --> 00:07:32,035 that's what pulled him in. 160 00:07:33,787 --> 00:07:36,665 - I had been working at Channel 13 in New York 161 00:07:36,748 --> 00:07:39,585 producing documentaries, and through that work 162 00:07:39,668 --> 00:07:44,006 I had become absolutely involved intellectually 163 00:07:44,089 --> 00:07:47,801 and spiritually with the civil rights movement. 164 00:07:51,138 --> 00:07:54,892 I was not focused on young children though. 165 00:07:54,975 --> 00:07:57,477 That all goes back to Lloyd Morrisett, 166 00:07:57,561 --> 00:08:02,733 who really was the father of "Sesame Street." 167 00:08:02,816 --> 00:08:07,112 - I was a psychologist at the Carnegie Foundation, 168 00:08:07,196 --> 00:08:11,950 and we were heavily influenced by the national dialogue 169 00:08:12,034 --> 00:08:15,746 on the gap that was being created in schools. 170 00:08:15,829 --> 00:08:19,750 - There is a singular lack of equal educational opportunity 171 00:08:19,833 --> 00:08:22,252 in the United States for negroes. 172 00:08:22,336 --> 00:08:23,795 - This is not a racial difference 173 00:08:23,879 --> 00:08:25,714 but a socioeconomic difference. 174 00:08:25,797 --> 00:08:27,132 [children chattering] 175 00:08:27,216 --> 00:08:29,301 - We found that those children 176 00:08:29,384 --> 00:08:32,054 who had entered school three months behind, 177 00:08:32,137 --> 00:08:34,973 and by the end of first grade be a year behind 178 00:08:35,057 --> 00:08:37,392 and get further and further behind. 179 00:08:37,476 --> 00:08:40,562 And I wondered whether there was a possibility 180 00:08:40,646 --> 00:08:44,733 that television could be used to help children with school, 181 00:08:44,816 --> 00:08:46,902 but television was not very popular 182 00:08:46,985 --> 00:08:48,362 with the Carnegie staff. 183 00:08:48,445 --> 00:08:50,656 Academics were not interested in television. 184 00:08:50,739 --> 00:08:53,116 [theme music playing] 185 00:08:53,200 --> 00:08:55,077 They didn't have it in their homes. 186 00:08:55,160 --> 00:08:57,371 - Danger, Will Robinson, danger. 187 00:08:57,454 --> 00:08:59,456 - It was the boob tube. 188 00:08:59,540 --> 00:09:01,875 [theme song playing] - ♪ The middle would be lost ♪ 189 00:09:01,959 --> 00:09:06,046 - And then one of my friends, Joan, held a dinner party 190 00:09:06,129 --> 00:09:09,258 and I knew Joan was a television producer. 191 00:09:09,341 --> 00:09:11,260 And so, we were just talking 192 00:09:11,343 --> 00:09:12,970 and I said "Joan, do you think television 193 00:09:13,053 --> 00:09:16,390 could be used to teach young children?" 194 00:09:16,473 --> 00:09:19,685 - I knew the answer. I knew the answer right away. 195 00:09:19,768 --> 00:09:21,603 - ♪ When you say "Bud" ♪ 196 00:09:21,687 --> 00:09:25,774 ♪ You've said a lot of things nobody else can say ♪ 197 00:09:25,858 --> 00:09:29,194 - Every child in America was singing beer commercials. 198 00:09:29,278 --> 00:09:30,696 all: ♪ It means you want the beer ♪ 199 00:09:30,779 --> 00:09:33,198 ♪ That's got a taste that's number one ♪ 200 00:09:33,282 --> 00:09:36,159 - Now where had they learned beer commercials? 201 00:09:36,243 --> 00:09:37,744 all: ♪ You tell the world you know ♪ 202 00:09:37,828 --> 00:09:40,664 ♪ What makes it all the way ♪ 203 00:09:40,747 --> 00:09:42,958 ♪ When you say "Bud" ♪ 204 00:09:43,041 --> 00:09:44,710 ♪ You say you care enough ♪ 205 00:09:44,793 --> 00:09:46,295 ♪ To only want the King of Beers ♪ 206 00:09:46,378 --> 00:09:47,880 - A lot of children in America 207 00:09:47,963 --> 00:09:49,548 were walking into supermarkets 208 00:09:49,631 --> 00:09:51,633 and identifying product. 209 00:09:51,717 --> 00:09:53,427 - ♪ Even whiter than it is before ♪ 210 00:09:53,510 --> 00:09:55,846 - By having seen Cheer on the screen 211 00:09:55,929 --> 00:09:57,764 or Wonder Bread, et cetera. 212 00:09:57,848 --> 00:10:00,392 children: ♪ An Oscar Mayer wiener ♪ 213 00:10:00,475 --> 00:10:06,064 - So to me it was where kids just adored the medium, 214 00:10:06,148 --> 00:10:09,234 and so why not see if it could educate them? 215 00:10:09,318 --> 00:10:12,112 all: ♪ Budweiser ♪ 216 00:10:12,196 --> 00:10:13,697 - ♪ You've said it all ♪ 217 00:10:15,282 --> 00:10:18,869 - So we hired Joan to do a feasibility study. 218 00:10:18,952 --> 00:10:21,830 [pensive music] 219 00:10:21,914 --> 00:10:23,498 ♪ ♪ 220 00:10:23,582 --> 00:10:26,168 - Television is a reality to young children, 221 00:10:26,251 --> 00:10:28,378 maybe the reality, and certainly 222 00:10:28,462 --> 00:10:30,839 one of the most interesting things to them 223 00:10:30,923 --> 00:10:33,383 in their lives. 224 00:10:33,467 --> 00:10:36,512 - A child between the ages of three and five 225 00:10:36,595 --> 00:10:37,888 watches television 226 00:10:37,971 --> 00:10:41,433 one half of his waking time. 227 00:10:41,517 --> 00:10:44,853 The only thing that exceeds television is sleep. 228 00:10:46,438 --> 00:10:50,025 - Joan had a brilliantly simple notion. 229 00:10:50,108 --> 00:10:51,360 Children were watching 230 00:10:51,443 --> 00:10:52,861 a tremendous amount of television. 231 00:10:52,945 --> 00:10:55,989 If they're going to watch that much television, why not, 232 00:10:56,073 --> 00:10:59,451 one, find out what it is they like to watch, 233 00:10:59,535 --> 00:11:02,871 two, find out what would be good for them to watch, 234 00:11:02,955 --> 00:11:06,333 and then you put the two together, and that's the show. 235 00:11:09,419 --> 00:11:11,797 - We were talking about 130 hours 236 00:11:11,880 --> 00:11:13,715 of television a year, 237 00:11:13,799 --> 00:11:17,010 and so an initial budget was put together. 238 00:11:19,221 --> 00:11:21,139 A budget of $8 million. 239 00:11:21,223 --> 00:11:22,766 [cash register dings] 240 00:11:22,850 --> 00:11:25,769 It was a lot of money. 241 00:11:29,147 --> 00:11:31,608 So the bulk of the original budget 242 00:11:31,692 --> 00:11:34,653 was provided through the Office of Education, 243 00:11:34,736 --> 00:11:36,738 the federal government. 244 00:11:36,822 --> 00:11:39,199 - Someone said it won't be taken seriously 245 00:11:39,283 --> 00:11:41,326 if a woman heads it, 246 00:11:41,410 --> 00:11:46,248 but the problem is, they didn't have a project with me. 247 00:11:46,331 --> 00:11:50,335 Much of it was in my head, which I pointed out to them. 248 00:11:52,838 --> 00:11:56,216 And when "The New York Times" reported on it, 249 00:11:56,300 --> 00:11:57,759 they said she'll be one 250 00:11:57,843 --> 00:12:00,470 of the most powerful women in television. 251 00:12:07,269 --> 00:12:09,062 - I went to Columbia University, 252 00:12:09,146 --> 00:12:13,775 and I got a master's degree in educational psychology, 253 00:12:13,859 --> 00:12:17,029 and my professor told me that there was a group of people 254 00:12:17,112 --> 00:12:19,114 who were developing a television program 255 00:12:19,198 --> 00:12:20,699 for disadvantaged kids, 256 00:12:20,782 --> 00:12:22,951 so I went in and I met with Joan Cooney, 257 00:12:23,035 --> 00:12:24,912 and she said, "You're hired." 258 00:12:24,995 --> 00:12:26,788 And what she wanted to do 259 00:12:26,872 --> 00:12:30,792 was get a group of television writers and producers 260 00:12:30,876 --> 00:12:35,297 and put them together with educators. 261 00:12:35,380 --> 00:12:38,509 This had never been done before. 262 00:12:38,592 --> 00:12:42,429 It was called the Children's Television Workshop originally. 263 00:12:42,513 --> 00:12:44,389 I think there were about ten people 264 00:12:44,473 --> 00:12:46,683 in the workshop when I was hired. 265 00:12:46,767 --> 00:12:49,311 Having educators 266 00:12:49,394 --> 00:12:51,813 and professional television writers 267 00:12:51,897 --> 00:12:53,524 in the same room 268 00:12:53,607 --> 00:12:57,486 working on the same show was a very unique idea. 269 00:12:59,863 --> 00:13:01,740 - They told us that we had to incorporate 270 00:13:01,823 --> 00:13:05,786 all this education into this new show. 271 00:13:05,869 --> 00:13:09,373 I was convinced that it would be impossible to do. 272 00:13:09,456 --> 00:13:11,124 I had never written anything like this before, 273 00:13:11,208 --> 00:13:13,752 but nobody had ever written anything like this before. 274 00:13:13,836 --> 00:13:15,504 [phone ringing] 275 00:13:15,587 --> 00:13:17,422 And all we had was this money 276 00:13:17,506 --> 00:13:19,049 from the government to do this thing, 277 00:13:19,132 --> 00:13:24,513 but we had no format, no title, no set, no nothing. 278 00:13:24,596 --> 00:13:27,266 - I think it was Jon Stone who suggested 279 00:13:27,349 --> 00:13:30,310 that we invite Jim Henson to come to talk to us. 280 00:13:33,146 --> 00:13:36,108 - And here we are sitting in a conference room, 281 00:13:36,191 --> 00:13:38,652 and someone comes in and sits in back 282 00:13:38,735 --> 00:13:42,614 who is bearded with long hair, you know, leather clothes. 283 00:13:42,698 --> 00:13:44,658 And I remember whispering to Dave Connell, 284 00:13:44,741 --> 00:13:46,326 "How do we know that man back there? 285 00:13:46,410 --> 00:13:48,287 He looks like a hippie." 286 00:13:48,370 --> 00:13:50,998 And he said "No, no, that's Jim Henson." 287 00:13:51,081 --> 00:13:54,376 So that was my first experience with Jim. 288 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:03,051 And he was terrific. 289 00:14:03,135 --> 00:14:04,803 - Put out the fire. 290 00:14:04,887 --> 00:14:07,639 [energetic jazz music playing] 291 00:14:07,723 --> 00:14:11,435 ♪ ♪ 292 00:14:11,518 --> 00:14:14,354 - "The Muppets" started as a late-night program 293 00:14:14,438 --> 00:14:17,232 on local television that was, like, 294 00:14:17,316 --> 00:14:19,193 kind of what we would consider today 295 00:14:19,276 --> 00:14:21,653 like, you know, short-form comedy, 296 00:14:21,737 --> 00:14:24,364 and it would just come on quickly after the news, 297 00:14:24,448 --> 00:14:26,992 primarily lip-synching to records. 298 00:14:27,075 --> 00:14:30,078 - ♪ Old black magic has me in its spell ♪ 299 00:14:30,162 --> 00:14:33,207 - ♪ Old black magic that you weave so well ♪ 300 00:14:33,290 --> 00:14:34,791 - It was late-night comedy. 301 00:14:34,875 --> 00:14:36,460 - Yeah, that's right. 302 00:14:36,543 --> 00:14:37,961 - Punsmoke! 303 00:14:38,045 --> 00:14:40,130 - Are you ready? "The Muppets." [applause] 304 00:14:40,214 --> 00:14:42,132 - They did "The Tonight Show." 305 00:14:42,216 --> 00:14:43,675 - The very talented "Muppets." 306 00:14:43,759 --> 00:14:45,260 - Look at that. 307 00:14:45,344 --> 00:14:48,138 - All these adult variety shows. 308 00:14:48,222 --> 00:14:49,848 - I've seen you on television before. 309 00:14:49,932 --> 00:14:52,976 - ♪ In a spin, loving the spin I'm in ♪ 310 00:14:53,060 --> 00:14:54,770 ♪ Under the old black... ♪ 311 00:14:54,853 --> 00:14:56,480 - The creator of "The Muppets," Mr. Jim Henson. 312 00:14:56,563 --> 00:14:57,523 [applause] 313 00:14:57,606 --> 00:14:59,149 - ♪ Loving the spin I'm in ♪ 314 00:14:59,233 --> 00:15:01,276 ♪ Under the old black magic called love ♪ 315 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,111 - This is Jim Henson. 316 00:15:03,195 --> 00:15:04,404 - He's got a completely different 317 00:15:04,488 --> 00:15:06,281 kind of personality-- 318 00:15:06,365 --> 00:15:07,783 - When I was a little kid, 319 00:15:07,866 --> 00:15:10,577 if I told my friends that my father was a puppeteer, 320 00:15:10,661 --> 00:15:12,454 they would assume that that was somebody 321 00:15:12,538 --> 00:15:16,124 who did birthday parties or church puppets. 322 00:15:17,042 --> 00:15:19,419 You know, they mostly felt sorry for us 323 00:15:19,503 --> 00:15:21,880 when they heard about the puppeteer parents. 324 00:15:21,964 --> 00:15:23,423 [end chords] 325 00:15:23,507 --> 00:15:26,343 [applause] 326 00:15:29,054 --> 00:15:33,600 - My father was a pretty quiet, shy person, 327 00:15:33,684 --> 00:15:38,939 but he wanted to be hip, he wanted to be cool, 328 00:15:39,022 --> 00:15:41,525 and he wanted his whole company, Muppets Inc., 329 00:15:41,608 --> 00:15:44,736 to have this very cool reputation. 330 00:15:44,820 --> 00:15:46,655 - We're about to show you the new specially designed 331 00:15:46,738 --> 00:15:49,283 Wilson's Meet Television campaign. 332 00:15:49,366 --> 00:15:50,367 - You mean all those crummy commercials 333 00:15:50,450 --> 00:15:52,160 we knocked together? 334 00:15:52,244 --> 00:15:54,621 - And he would produce these commercial campaigns 335 00:15:54,705 --> 00:15:56,540 that were great. 336 00:15:56,623 --> 00:15:58,709 - You'll adore Wilson's Certified Salami. 337 00:15:58,792 --> 00:16:00,502 - No, I don't fall for that stuff. 338 00:16:00,586 --> 00:16:02,254 - You will. 339 00:16:02,337 --> 00:16:05,674 Drop down to the store for some Wilson's Certified Cold Cuts. 340 00:16:05,757 --> 00:16:07,134 - You'll be up a tree if you don't. 341 00:16:07,217 --> 00:16:09,678 - They were these weird sophisticated commercials 342 00:16:09,761 --> 00:16:12,055 that were sort of a little bit dark. 343 00:16:12,139 --> 00:16:14,016 - Are you getting on the Wilkins Coffee bandwagon? 344 00:16:14,099 --> 00:16:16,143 - Never. 345 00:16:16,226 --> 00:16:18,478 - You either go with Wilkins, or you just don't go. 346 00:16:18,562 --> 00:16:19,938 People who don't drink Wilkins Coffee 347 00:16:20,022 --> 00:16:21,356 just blow up sometimes. 348 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:23,692 - Oh, that's a lot of-- 349 00:16:23,775 --> 00:16:25,402 Oof! 350 00:16:25,485 --> 00:16:26,653 I should have saw this coming. 351 00:16:28,071 --> 00:16:29,948 Ooh, that smart! 352 00:16:30,032 --> 00:16:31,575 - They were sort of this beatnik-y, 353 00:16:31,658 --> 00:16:33,660 kind of hip company, you know? 354 00:16:34,870 --> 00:16:37,080 [laughter] 355 00:16:37,164 --> 00:16:39,166 - Are we rolling? - [laughing] Yes. 356 00:16:39,249 --> 00:16:42,085 [laughter] 357 00:16:45,005 --> 00:16:46,965 - It was almost a little too cool for school, you know, 358 00:16:47,049 --> 00:16:49,134 so that they really didn't want to appear 359 00:16:49,218 --> 00:16:50,636 like just a puppet company. 360 00:16:53,388 --> 00:16:55,599 Because, frankly, children's entertainment 361 00:16:55,682 --> 00:16:58,227 wasn't what he had in mind. 362 00:16:58,310 --> 00:17:00,771 [film strip rolls] 363 00:17:00,854 --> 00:17:02,481 - Sound roll 22. 364 00:17:02,564 --> 00:17:04,816 - Jim Henson interview. 365 00:17:04,900 --> 00:17:08,028 - Most of our work was sort of sophisticated, 366 00:17:08,111 --> 00:17:11,615 and it had a slight black humor kind of quality, 367 00:17:11,698 --> 00:17:14,159 and our audience was really college-aged, 368 00:17:14,243 --> 00:17:15,369 - [gasps] 369 00:17:15,452 --> 00:17:17,120 [audience laughter] 370 00:17:17,204 --> 00:17:19,039 - And so this would be the first time 371 00:17:19,122 --> 00:17:21,750 we'd ever worked for children really. 372 00:17:23,043 --> 00:17:24,920 But when I first heard about it from Jon, 373 00:17:25,003 --> 00:17:26,880 I loved the idea of it, 374 00:17:26,964 --> 00:17:30,801 the whole idea of taking commercial techniques 375 00:17:30,884 --> 00:17:33,679 and applying them to a show for kids. 376 00:17:33,762 --> 00:17:36,390 - We're planning to treat them essentially the same way 377 00:17:36,473 --> 00:17:39,935 a commercial enterprise would create a campaign. 378 00:17:40,018 --> 00:17:43,981 We're trying to sell the alphabet to preschool children. 379 00:17:45,440 --> 00:17:49,736 - We talked to all sorts of college professors, educators, 380 00:17:49,820 --> 00:17:53,490 parents, authors like Maurice Sendak, 381 00:17:53,574 --> 00:17:56,994 and we tried very hard to assimilate all this knowledge 382 00:17:57,077 --> 00:18:00,455 into children's programming that could be entertaining 383 00:18:00,539 --> 00:18:04,084 and content-filled at the same time. 384 00:18:04,168 --> 00:18:06,587 - [as Ernie] Here's one half of my chicken-salad sandwich. 385 00:18:06,670 --> 00:18:09,047 Where's the other half? It's gone. 386 00:18:09,131 --> 00:18:10,799 - [as Sherlock] Egad, the hunt's afoot. 387 00:18:10,883 --> 00:18:12,050 Show me the clues. 388 00:18:12,134 --> 00:18:14,011 - It was very exciting. - Who are you? 389 00:18:14,094 --> 00:18:16,680 - Sherlock Hemlock, the world's greatest detective. 390 00:18:16,763 --> 00:18:20,058 - This was an experiment, you know? 391 00:18:20,142 --> 00:18:22,436 We would try new things. 392 00:18:22,519 --> 00:18:23,770 - The letter J. 393 00:18:23,854 --> 00:18:25,564 Two boys are sitting there talking, 394 00:18:25,647 --> 00:18:26,523 and kind of casually one of the boy says, 395 00:18:26,607 --> 00:18:28,192 "What's happening, man?" 396 00:18:28,275 --> 00:18:30,736 The other boy says, "I don't know, it looks like fishhook." 397 00:18:30,819 --> 00:18:33,822 And at that point we will animate the J into a fishhook. 398 00:18:33,906 --> 00:18:37,784 - Let's create something that's never been done before. 399 00:18:37,868 --> 00:18:39,703 - I don't know. - What's that? 400 00:18:39,786 --> 00:18:41,246 - It looks like a fishhook. 401 00:18:41,330 --> 00:18:42,956 - It's not a fishhook. 402 00:18:43,040 --> 00:18:46,460 It's a J. - We would show video to kids. 403 00:18:46,543 --> 00:18:48,921 - It looks delicious. What is it you want to know? 404 00:18:49,004 --> 00:18:50,923 - What happened to the other half of my sandwich? 405 00:18:51,006 --> 00:18:54,843 - And we developed something called the distractor. 406 00:18:54,927 --> 00:18:57,846 It was basically a slide projector 407 00:18:57,930 --> 00:19:01,016 that would show slides and make a clicking sound. 408 00:19:01,099 --> 00:19:02,893 If what they were watching on television 409 00:19:02,976 --> 00:19:05,062 wasn't really holding their attention, 410 00:19:05,145 --> 00:19:06,605 they would look at the slide projector 411 00:19:06,688 --> 00:19:09,483 for a longer period of time. 412 00:19:09,566 --> 00:19:13,237 - We studied their reactions, and we quizzed them, 413 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:15,364 talked to them, 414 00:19:15,447 --> 00:19:18,158 found out what they retained, what they didn't retain. 415 00:19:18,242 --> 00:19:20,994 - Would you like to hear a story about the letter J, boys? 416 00:19:21,078 --> 00:19:22,829 - I think it's a very good idea, 417 00:19:22,913 --> 00:19:25,958 but the words here are very difficult, you know? 418 00:19:26,041 --> 00:19:28,418 - We're not arguing for a more didactic turnout? 419 00:19:28,502 --> 00:19:29,670 - No. - So much as saying 420 00:19:29,753 --> 00:19:31,380 that this is a difficult entertainment. 421 00:19:31,463 --> 00:19:32,673 - Yeah. Yeah. Right. 422 00:19:32,756 --> 00:19:35,843 - Egad. That's it. I remember. 423 00:19:35,926 --> 00:19:38,762 I ate the other half of your sandwich. 424 00:19:38,846 --> 00:19:40,973 How clever of me to figure it out. 425 00:19:41,056 --> 00:19:45,686 - Why, gosh, Mr. Hemlock. Thanks a lot. 426 00:19:45,769 --> 00:19:47,104 If you hadn't found all those clues, 427 00:19:47,187 --> 00:19:48,564 I never would have known 428 00:19:48,647 --> 00:19:51,400 what happened to that half of my sandwich. 429 00:19:51,483 --> 00:19:54,152 - Very good. [chatter, laughter] 430 00:19:54,236 --> 00:19:58,282 - Television is such a huge influence on children. 431 00:19:58,365 --> 00:20:02,661 There's family or the church or the school and television. 432 00:20:02,744 --> 00:20:05,998 And as an industry, we don't generally face up 433 00:20:06,081 --> 00:20:07,583 to that responsibility, 434 00:20:07,666 --> 00:20:09,918 and I was delighted to be doing that sort of thing. 435 00:20:12,337 --> 00:20:13,839 - Oh, excuse me. 436 00:20:13,922 --> 00:20:16,717 My name is Rowlf, and this is my friend, Kermit. 437 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:19,011 - Hiya. - And I know a lot about this 438 00:20:19,094 --> 00:20:21,096 Children's Television Workshop show 439 00:20:21,180 --> 00:20:24,266 because us Muppets are gonna be on it every day. 440 00:20:24,349 --> 00:20:27,769 - Oh, yeah. Says who? - What do you mean, "Says who?" 441 00:20:27,853 --> 00:20:29,313 Says everybody. - Yeah! 442 00:20:29,396 --> 00:20:30,814 [overlapping chatter] 443 00:20:30,898 --> 00:20:32,107 - Well, if I'm going to get involved, 444 00:20:32,191 --> 00:20:33,775 I want to know a little more about it, 445 00:20:33,859 --> 00:20:36,278 like, what are those guys doing? 446 00:20:36,361 --> 00:20:38,363 - Well, you see, we haven't settled on a title 447 00:20:38,447 --> 00:20:41,116 for the show yet, so the guys are working on it. 448 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:43,577 - All right. All right, then. All right. 449 00:20:43,660 --> 00:20:46,705 - How's about we call it "The Little Kiddie Show"? 450 00:20:46,788 --> 00:20:49,041 - Maybe the "Nitty-Gritty Little Kiddie Show." 451 00:20:49,124 --> 00:20:50,876 - [sighs] - Hey, 452 00:20:50,959 --> 00:20:53,378 these kids can't read or write, 453 00:20:53,462 --> 00:20:54,963 can they? 454 00:20:55,047 --> 00:20:56,048 - Mm-mm. - No. 455 00:20:56,131 --> 00:20:59,968 - Then how's about we call the show 456 00:21:00,052 --> 00:21:02,095 "Hey, Stupid"? 457 00:21:02,179 --> 00:21:03,680 - "Hey, Stupid"? 458 00:21:03,764 --> 00:21:06,391 Oh, what am I going to do, Kermit? 459 00:21:06,475 --> 00:21:09,144 - You really think you're going to get this show on the air? 460 00:21:09,228 --> 00:21:10,896 [contemplative music] 461 00:21:10,979 --> 00:21:13,774 - Our target audience were inner-city children, 462 00:21:13,857 --> 00:21:16,068 and the bull's-eye of the target audience 463 00:21:16,151 --> 00:21:18,028 were inner-city Black children. 464 00:21:20,030 --> 00:21:22,074 But the traditional children's show setting 465 00:21:22,157 --> 00:21:23,700 was always like a cute little tree house 466 00:21:23,784 --> 00:21:25,327 or a club in the backyard 467 00:21:25,410 --> 00:21:28,413 or something fairyland and fanciful, 468 00:21:28,497 --> 00:21:31,458 and so we had struggled with the idea of the setting, 469 00:21:31,542 --> 00:21:33,377 the home base for this for a long time, 470 00:21:33,460 --> 00:21:36,046 and it came into focus for me 471 00:21:36,129 --> 00:21:39,800 when I saw a commercial for the Urban Coalition. 472 00:21:39,883 --> 00:21:43,220 - Send your kid to the ghetto for the summer. 473 00:21:43,303 --> 00:21:45,013 We got all kind of facilities here. 474 00:21:45,097 --> 00:21:46,890 Want to see the pool? Come on. 475 00:21:46,974 --> 00:21:48,267 - And it was shot on location in Harlem, 476 00:21:48,350 --> 00:21:49,601 out on the sidewalk. 477 00:21:49,685 --> 00:21:51,937 - Open up a hydrant, jump right in. 478 00:21:52,020 --> 00:21:54,273 At least one pool on every block. 479 00:21:54,356 --> 00:21:56,775 I'm standing near home plate right now. 480 00:21:56,859 --> 00:21:58,902 Two stores down is our owner. 481 00:21:58,986 --> 00:22:02,364 It's not Shea Stadium, but it's exciting. 482 00:22:02,447 --> 00:22:03,740 - And as soon as I saw it, 483 00:22:03,824 --> 00:22:05,993 I knew exactly where we ought to be on this. 484 00:22:09,121 --> 00:22:13,917 I wanted to capture that New York energy 485 00:22:14,001 --> 00:22:15,711 because to the three-year-olds 486 00:22:15,794 --> 00:22:18,046 cooped up in the room upstairs, 487 00:22:18,130 --> 00:22:20,424 the action is on the street. 488 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,890 - I remember Joan said in an interview, 489 00:22:27,973 --> 00:22:30,559 Joan turned several shades of pale. 490 00:22:30,642 --> 00:22:33,395 It did seem odd to me to have an inner city street. 491 00:22:35,355 --> 00:22:39,902 I didn't know how it would play with suburban parents, 492 00:22:39,985 --> 00:22:44,781 but I so trusted his judgment, so I said, "Go ahead. Try it." 493 00:22:46,533 --> 00:22:49,620 - I wanted a realistic set. 494 00:22:54,166 --> 00:22:56,293 Something that would feel like 495 00:22:56,376 --> 00:22:58,962 it's a real street, kind of a real neighborhood. 496 00:23:00,589 --> 00:23:03,425 - Where's this show going to take place? 497 00:23:03,509 --> 00:23:06,845 - On a street, on the front steps of a house. 498 00:23:06,929 --> 00:23:10,432 - On a street? Hey, Rowlf? - Hmm? 499 00:23:10,516 --> 00:23:14,228 - Why don't you call your show "Sesame Street"? 500 00:23:14,311 --> 00:23:17,231 - What--what was that? - "Sesame Street," 501 00:23:17,314 --> 00:23:19,816 you know, like "Open Sesame." It kind of gives the idea 502 00:23:19,900 --> 00:23:23,111 of a street where neat stuff happens. 503 00:23:23,195 --> 00:23:26,365 - Kermit, why you're a genius. Mwah! 504 00:23:26,448 --> 00:23:27,616 - Yuck. 505 00:23:27,699 --> 00:23:29,493 - "Sesame Street." 506 00:23:49,263 --> 00:23:51,098 - I was working here and there, 507 00:23:51,181 --> 00:23:54,935 and then one day, my boss called me up and said, 508 00:23:55,018 --> 00:23:56,770 "Next week, here's your schedule. 509 00:23:56,854 --> 00:23:58,522 You're going to 81st Street. 510 00:23:58,605 --> 00:24:01,692 You're going to shoot this show we just got," and he says, 511 00:24:01,775 --> 00:24:05,904 "I'm sending a whole crew down there. We start Monday." 512 00:24:05,988 --> 00:24:11,118 [indistinct chatter] 513 00:24:11,201 --> 00:24:16,081 - So I go down there and my camera was camera one, 514 00:24:16,164 --> 00:24:19,418 front of the store, Mr. Hooper's Store. 515 00:24:20,335 --> 00:24:22,838 And then we started shooting "Sesame Street." 516 00:24:22,921 --> 00:24:26,216 [indistinct chatter] 517 00:24:31,054 --> 00:24:35,517 - Initially, when my dad had the idea of "Sesame Street" 518 00:24:35,601 --> 00:24:38,520 and having it be like a real neighborhood, 519 00:24:38,604 --> 00:24:41,773 it was going to be just humans on the street. 520 00:24:41,857 --> 00:24:45,277 - And it's on camera, action. 521 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:47,905 - And then the Muppets would be separate pieces. 522 00:24:50,032 --> 00:24:51,325 - Ah! - Ah! 523 00:24:51,408 --> 00:24:52,451 - Ah! - Ah! 524 00:24:52,534 --> 00:24:53,744 - [laughs] 525 00:24:53,827 --> 00:24:56,747 - Ah! [laughter] 526 00:24:56,830 --> 00:24:58,874 - So the Muppets weren't actually going to 527 00:24:58,957 --> 00:25:00,751 be connected with the street, they were going to be separate. 528 00:25:00,834 --> 00:25:03,212 [tape rewinding] 529 00:25:03,295 --> 00:25:04,546 And then they started to run the show 530 00:25:04,630 --> 00:25:06,924 with the test audiences 531 00:25:07,007 --> 00:25:08,634 and there was absolutely no way 532 00:25:08,717 --> 00:25:10,969 the street could compete with the Muppets. 533 00:25:11,053 --> 00:25:13,263 [chatter] [children laughter] 534 00:25:13,347 --> 00:25:15,557 All the kids wanted were the Muppets, 535 00:25:15,641 --> 00:25:18,227 the street was boring, in comparison. 536 00:25:20,187 --> 00:25:22,481 And that's when they decided to blend the two 537 00:25:22,564 --> 00:25:24,274 and "Sesame Street" became 538 00:25:24,358 --> 00:25:25,734 New York City neighborhood that happens 539 00:25:25,817 --> 00:25:29,655 to have an 8-foot tall yellow bird walking around. 540 00:25:29,738 --> 00:25:32,241 [indistinct chatter] - [humming] 541 00:25:32,324 --> 00:25:34,159 - Hi, Big Bird. - Hey, Big Bird. 542 00:25:34,243 --> 00:25:35,953 - Hi, Susan. - You know what? 543 00:25:36,036 --> 00:25:41,083 - So we're shooting the show, and you see this ugly bird. 544 00:25:41,166 --> 00:25:43,168 - Good morning, Mr. Sooper. 545 00:25:43,252 --> 00:25:45,921 - Uh, Big Bird, Hooper, say Hooper. 546 00:25:46,004 --> 00:25:48,298 - And the first year... - Hooper. 547 00:25:48,382 --> 00:25:52,261 - Big Bird wasn't that good looking, you know? 548 00:25:52,344 --> 00:25:54,721 I remember thinking, "Who's going to watch this shit?" 549 00:25:54,805 --> 00:25:57,182 [laughing] 550 00:25:59,351 --> 00:26:01,979 [dynamic tones] 551 00:26:04,690 --> 00:26:06,733 - Public television in those days 552 00:26:06,817 --> 00:26:09,778 was largely on UHF channels. 553 00:26:09,862 --> 00:26:13,240 You really had to work with the set and move 554 00:26:13,323 --> 00:26:16,535 the antenna around and so on to get a clear picture. 555 00:26:16,618 --> 00:26:19,037 So, many people thought that we would not register 556 00:26:19,121 --> 00:26:21,707 a Nielsen number, 557 00:26:21,790 --> 00:26:24,001 that we would have too small an audience. 558 00:26:26,295 --> 00:26:30,340 Evelyn Davis led the community outreach work. 559 00:26:30,424 --> 00:26:32,467 We weren't so worried about reaching 560 00:26:32,551 --> 00:26:34,720 middle-class children, 561 00:26:34,803 --> 00:26:39,266 but we really, really wanted to reach inner-city kids, badly. 562 00:26:39,349 --> 00:26:46,356 It was hardly worth doing if we didn't reach them. 563 00:26:46,440 --> 00:26:48,859 - We hope that every child in the country watches it, 564 00:26:48,942 --> 00:26:51,028 but we do make a particular effort 565 00:26:51,111 --> 00:26:54,072 to be sure that children from minority communities 566 00:26:54,156 --> 00:26:56,658 and low-income communities watch the program. 567 00:27:00,329 --> 00:27:04,082 - So Evelyn worked to try to reach every parent, 568 00:27:04,166 --> 00:27:08,504 caretaker, YMCA, YWCA, 569 00:27:08,587 --> 00:27:13,217 churches, schools, daycare centers, 570 00:27:13,300 --> 00:27:15,093 any place we could find where we could say, 571 00:27:15,177 --> 00:27:17,679 "This show is coming." 572 00:27:17,763 --> 00:27:20,933 - We had done a lot of work to get the information out. 573 00:27:23,393 --> 00:27:26,230 But obviously we were on pins and needles 574 00:27:26,313 --> 00:27:28,065 before it went on the air. 575 00:27:32,361 --> 00:27:37,282 - There never has been before a nationwide TV program 576 00:27:37,366 --> 00:27:40,869 designed especially to help prepare young children 577 00:27:40,953 --> 00:27:43,205 for school. 578 00:27:43,288 --> 00:27:46,041 This week, there will be. 579 00:27:46,124 --> 00:27:48,961 [dynamic music playing] 580 00:27:49,044 --> 00:27:53,131 ♪ ♪ 581 00:27:53,215 --> 00:27:55,968 ["Sesame Street" theme plays] 582 00:27:56,051 --> 00:28:00,055 ♪ ♪ 583 00:28:00,138 --> 00:28:02,140 - ♪ Sunny day ♪ 584 00:28:02,224 --> 00:28:07,271 ♪ Sweepin' the clouds away ♪ 585 00:28:07,354 --> 00:28:12,359 ♪ On my way to where the air is sweet ♪ 586 00:28:12,442 --> 00:28:15,112 ♪ Can you tell me how to get ♪ 587 00:28:15,195 --> 00:28:17,906 ♪ How to get to Sesame Street? ♪ 588 00:28:17,990 --> 00:28:19,408 - When it went on the air, 589 00:28:19,491 --> 00:28:23,203 the phone started ringing off the wall. 590 00:28:23,287 --> 00:28:25,956 No one had ever seen anything like it. 591 00:28:26,039 --> 00:28:28,584 [percussive music building] 592 00:28:28,667 --> 00:28:33,130 ♪ ♪ 593 00:28:33,213 --> 00:28:35,507 - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 594 00:28:35,591 --> 00:28:37,634 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. 595 00:28:37,718 --> 00:28:40,929 - And there was an immense interest in the show. 596 00:28:41,013 --> 00:28:42,472 - A new children's program 597 00:28:42,556 --> 00:28:44,683 will make use of the commercial technique 598 00:28:44,766 --> 00:28:47,102 to acquaint the youngsters with the alphabet. 599 00:28:47,186 --> 00:28:49,605 The program is called "Sesame Street," 600 00:28:49,688 --> 00:28:54,067 and here is a message from one of its sponsors, the letter X. 601 00:28:54,151 --> 00:28:56,945 - This is an X. 602 00:28:57,029 --> 00:28:59,531 Even upside down, it's still an X. 603 00:28:59,615 --> 00:29:01,742 - This is near. - "Sesame Street" 604 00:29:01,825 --> 00:29:05,704 will be seen on more than 180 educational stations. 605 00:29:05,787 --> 00:29:07,915 - This is far! 606 00:29:07,998 --> 00:29:10,209 ♪ ♪ 607 00:29:10,292 --> 00:29:12,711 - The mysterious nose-snatcher. 608 00:29:12,794 --> 00:29:14,254 - No, I don't think so. 609 00:29:15,589 --> 00:29:16,673 - Two! 610 00:29:16,757 --> 00:29:18,342 [pop] 611 00:29:18,425 --> 00:29:21,678 - The mysterious nose-snatcher. 612 00:29:21,762 --> 00:29:26,433 - I remember when it came out. I was in college, 613 00:29:26,517 --> 00:29:28,352 and I walked into the student union 614 00:29:28,435 --> 00:29:30,979 and there on the screen was a very young, 615 00:29:31,063 --> 00:29:34,441 very bold James Earl Jones reciting the alphabet. "A!" 616 00:29:34,525 --> 00:29:39,571 - A, B, C. 617 00:29:39,655 --> 00:29:41,698 - You know, he's so deliberate and the letters 618 00:29:41,782 --> 00:29:43,575 were flashing over his head, and I thought, 619 00:29:43,659 --> 00:29:45,869 "What is this weird thing on television?" 620 00:29:45,953 --> 00:29:47,663 - E. 621 00:29:47,746 --> 00:29:49,957 - I thought it was a show that taught lip-reading 622 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:51,416 because he was being so deliberate. 623 00:29:51,500 --> 00:29:53,085 It was so odd. 624 00:29:53,168 --> 00:29:56,630 - Wanda had a pet weasel. - I'm a weasel. 625 00:29:56,713 --> 00:29:58,799 - Then they cut to an animation. 626 00:29:58,882 --> 00:30:01,218 It was something wild, I think "Wanda the Witch" or-- 627 00:30:01,301 --> 00:30:03,220 - Wanda the Witch lived 628 00:30:03,303 --> 00:30:06,098 somewhere west of Washington. 629 00:30:06,181 --> 00:30:09,017 - And then very slick singing... 630 00:30:09,101 --> 00:30:10,936 - One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine... 631 00:30:11,019 --> 00:30:13,105 - About the number 10. 632 00:30:13,188 --> 00:30:14,982 - Seven, eight, nine, ten! 633 00:30:15,065 --> 00:30:17,067 - And college students were watching it. 634 00:30:17,150 --> 00:30:21,947 It was such a weird groundbreaking television show. 635 00:30:22,030 --> 00:30:25,367 - "Sesame Street," a unique experimental series. 636 00:30:27,619 --> 00:30:29,788 It's the first educational television show 637 00:30:29,872 --> 00:30:32,749 to compete with commercial programs for its audience. 638 00:30:32,833 --> 00:30:34,793 - Excuse me, sir. - What? 639 00:30:34,877 --> 00:30:37,588 - What is your job in the neighborhood? 640 00:30:37,671 --> 00:30:40,465 - You're kidding me. - No, really, what's your job? 641 00:30:40,549 --> 00:30:43,886 - An elephant trainer. Look at me. I'm driving a bus. 642 00:30:43,969 --> 00:30:46,555 - Working on "Sesame Street," 643 00:30:46,638 --> 00:30:51,185 it was just a dream come true to fall into this job. 644 00:30:51,268 --> 00:30:54,021 ♪ Because a bus driver is a person in your neighborhood ♪ 645 00:30:54,104 --> 00:30:57,858 - ♪ In your neighborhood ♪ both: ♪ In your neighborhood ♪ 646 00:30:57,941 --> 00:31:01,653 - ♪ And the dentist is a person in your neighborhood ♪ 647 00:31:01,737 --> 00:31:03,572 - ♪ They're the people that you meet ♪ 648 00:31:03,655 --> 00:31:05,365 - ♪ When you're walking down the street ♪ 649 00:31:05,449 --> 00:31:08,577 - ♪ They're the people that you meet ♪ 650 00:31:08,660 --> 00:31:12,831 ♪ Each day ♪ 651 00:31:13,332 --> 00:31:14,875 - Open wide, please. 652 00:31:14,958 --> 00:31:18,170 - Don't talk to the driver. Oh, there goes my bus! 653 00:31:18,253 --> 00:31:20,130 - "Tooth-thirty." 654 00:31:24,676 --> 00:31:26,595 - And the first year we toured 655 00:31:26,678 --> 00:31:29,014 some of the major cities in the country. 656 00:31:29,097 --> 00:31:32,768 [cheers and applause] 657 00:31:32,851 --> 00:31:36,396 And I remember Matt Robinson, who was the first Gordon. 658 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:38,398 - Do all of you watch "Sesame Street"? 659 00:31:38,482 --> 00:31:39,525 all: Yeah! 660 00:31:39,608 --> 00:31:41,193 - Do all of you? 661 00:31:41,276 --> 00:31:44,655 - He went out and sort of warmed the audience up. 662 00:31:44,738 --> 00:31:47,241 He came back and said "Geez, this is like Woodstock." 663 00:31:47,324 --> 00:31:51,203 [singer vocalizes] 664 00:31:51,286 --> 00:31:53,163 - I said, "Hi." 665 00:31:53,247 --> 00:31:55,374 - One, two, three. 666 00:31:55,457 --> 00:31:57,251 - ♪ "Sesame Street" ♪ 667 00:31:57,334 --> 00:31:59,253 - The most talked-about series of the '69 season 668 00:31:59,336 --> 00:32:01,547 has been out on the road checking up on its audience 669 00:32:01,630 --> 00:32:03,590 and has found nothing but love. 670 00:32:03,674 --> 00:32:08,178 - These kids know Susan, Gordon, Bob, 671 00:32:08,262 --> 00:32:09,972 Mr. Hooper and Big Bird 672 00:32:10,055 --> 00:32:12,182 as well as their parents know about Bob Dylan 673 00:32:12,266 --> 00:32:14,810 or Frank Sinatra. 674 00:32:14,893 --> 00:32:16,937 - It was a madhouse, so we got a feeling 675 00:32:17,020 --> 00:32:18,605 that the show was working. 676 00:32:18,689 --> 00:32:21,316 That was our first real connection with the audience. 677 00:32:22,734 --> 00:32:24,319 - Considering the adulation that 678 00:32:24,403 --> 00:32:26,697 the "Sesame Street" players received from the younger set, 679 00:32:26,780 --> 00:32:28,407 it was enough to make a TV newsman 680 00:32:28,490 --> 00:32:29,783 want to change his image. 681 00:32:29,867 --> 00:32:31,410 - One, two, three. 682 00:32:31,493 --> 00:32:33,161 - ♪ "Sesame Street" ♪ 683 00:32:33,245 --> 00:32:36,123 - A, B, C and... 684 00:32:36,206 --> 00:32:39,001 - ♪ "Sesame Street" ♪ 685 00:32:39,084 --> 00:32:43,463 - And I was stunned at the overwhelming support 686 00:32:43,547 --> 00:32:45,215 for what we were doing. 687 00:32:45,299 --> 00:32:49,094 It was like a swish of a hurricane 688 00:32:49,178 --> 00:32:51,805 coming in through a window. 689 00:32:51,889 --> 00:32:54,933 It was as if the world had been waiting for this. 690 00:32:55,017 --> 00:32:56,768 - I think "Sesame Street" is the greatest thing 691 00:32:56,852 --> 00:32:58,478 that ever happened in television. 692 00:32:58,562 --> 00:33:01,023 - Oh, yes, aren't they great? - You know? 693 00:33:01,106 --> 00:33:03,233 - ♪ Sesame Street ♪ 694 00:33:03,317 --> 00:33:05,777 - I'd advise three years old start watching "Sesame Street." 695 00:33:05,861 --> 00:33:07,779 I'd set up and watch it. You really can learn. 696 00:33:07,863 --> 00:33:09,740 It's cute the way they put them things together, 697 00:33:09,823 --> 00:33:11,783 and my little daughter watches it, 698 00:33:11,867 --> 00:33:13,994 and she's getting so smart. She knows everything about it. 699 00:33:14,077 --> 00:33:18,749 - ♪ Sesame--"Sesame Street" ♪ - It was amazing. 700 00:33:18,832 --> 00:33:21,668 - What's your feeling about what it does so well? 701 00:33:21,752 --> 00:33:23,921 - Well, I think the public was really ready 702 00:33:24,004 --> 00:33:25,255 for change in television, 703 00:33:25,339 --> 00:33:28,008 and we hit that, the crest of that wave, 704 00:33:28,091 --> 00:33:30,511 and children needed what we're providing. 705 00:33:33,096 --> 00:33:35,599 - Now for the award for children's programming. 706 00:33:35,682 --> 00:33:37,809 Let's see who the winner is: 707 00:33:37,893 --> 00:33:40,687 Jon Stone, Ray Sipherd, Dan Wilcox, Bruce Hart... 708 00:33:40,771 --> 00:33:41,939 [applause] 709 00:33:42,022 --> 00:33:44,441 - It was just one miracle after another. 710 00:33:45,859 --> 00:33:47,277 [cheers and applause] 711 00:33:47,361 --> 00:33:48,862 - Thank you. 712 00:33:48,946 --> 00:33:51,823 ["Sesame Street" theme song playing] 713 00:33:51,907 --> 00:33:54,451 ♪ ♪ 714 00:33:54,535 --> 00:33:57,663 - [whistling to the theme song] 715 00:33:57,746 --> 00:34:00,040 [cars honking] 716 00:34:03,669 --> 00:34:06,839 - Hey. Come on over. Glad you could make it. 717 00:34:06,922 --> 00:34:10,551 This is a swinging sunny day on Sesame Street. 718 00:34:10,634 --> 00:34:14,763 - "Sesame Street" was just so big, and it was so popular. 719 00:34:14,847 --> 00:34:16,765 You know, back then, you say your dad is Gordon 720 00:34:16,849 --> 00:34:18,308 on "Sesame Street," 721 00:34:18,392 --> 00:34:20,227 you know what I mean, that's a big deal, 722 00:34:20,310 --> 00:34:22,896 right, really big deal 723 00:34:22,980 --> 00:34:26,650 because he was so well-known in this world of children. 724 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:31,154 - Hi. - Hi. 725 00:34:31,238 --> 00:34:34,491 - We looked in the TV. It still wasn't registering. 726 00:34:34,575 --> 00:34:36,451 Like, how'd he get in that box? 727 00:34:36,535 --> 00:34:37,953 - How did he get in the box? 728 00:34:38,036 --> 00:34:39,955 - You know, what's he doing there, 729 00:34:40,038 --> 00:34:41,832 and how come he's not stopping everything to say hi to us? 730 00:34:41,915 --> 00:34:43,876 - Sally, you've never seen a street like Sesame Street. 731 00:34:43,959 --> 00:34:46,044 Everything happens here. You're going to love it. 732 00:34:46,128 --> 00:34:48,547 - Yeah, and who's that little girl whose hand he's holding? 733 00:34:48,630 --> 00:34:49,965 - That's another problem. 734 00:34:50,048 --> 00:34:51,383 - Who is that little girl? 735 00:34:51,466 --> 00:34:52,759 - Oh, boy. - She's my age. 736 00:34:52,843 --> 00:34:53,886 - Oh, boy. 737 00:34:53,969 --> 00:34:55,554 - And why is he holding her hand? 738 00:34:55,637 --> 00:34:57,806 - Breathe deeply. You're going to get through it. 739 00:34:59,808 --> 00:35:02,728 - Gordon! I want you to meet Gordon. 740 00:35:02,811 --> 00:35:04,897 - Oh, all right. All right. - Gordon! 741 00:35:04,980 --> 00:35:06,398 - Somebody say, "Mixed neighborhood"? 742 00:35:06,481 --> 00:35:08,192 - Oh, yeah. How you doing? 743 00:35:08,275 --> 00:35:09,484 It's nice to see you. - Okay. 744 00:35:09,568 --> 00:35:11,486 - Before he was on "Sesame Street," 745 00:35:11,570 --> 00:35:15,324 Matt was basically the Black Johnny Carson 746 00:35:15,407 --> 00:35:17,784 in Philadelphia. 747 00:35:17,868 --> 00:35:20,537 - This is "Black Book." I'm Matt Robinson, 748 00:35:20,621 --> 00:35:23,165 and we're going to continue right after this. 749 00:35:23,248 --> 00:35:25,083 - "Black Book." 750 00:35:25,167 --> 00:35:27,961 - That's how he began his television career. 751 00:35:28,045 --> 00:35:30,547 - "Angelitos negros"... - But that show... 752 00:35:30,631 --> 00:35:33,008 - Is Spanish for Black angels. 753 00:35:33,091 --> 00:35:36,220 - Was all about Black, 754 00:35:36,303 --> 00:35:40,682 and it made him just a little more serious 755 00:35:40,766 --> 00:35:43,644 about what the struggle was all about. 756 00:35:43,727 --> 00:35:46,563 Those were revolutionary times. 757 00:35:48,815 --> 00:35:53,153 And then Matt comes home one night 758 00:35:53,237 --> 00:35:58,742 and says he'd been contacted by Children's Television Workshop, 759 00:35:58,825 --> 00:36:01,870 and they wanted him as a writer. 760 00:36:01,954 --> 00:36:05,874 And then they wanted him to be on camera. 761 00:36:05,958 --> 00:36:11,296 He was going to be interacting with people and Muppets. 762 00:36:11,380 --> 00:36:17,177 But where does Mr. Black fit into this kiddie show? 763 00:36:17,261 --> 00:36:23,267 They sold him on what this show could become, 764 00:36:23,350 --> 00:36:26,061 something revolutionary. 765 00:36:26,144 --> 00:36:28,939 - Hey, Gordon! Come on over! - Yeah. Got my whole gang here. 766 00:36:29,022 --> 00:36:30,816 - Groovy. - Give me something, Odetta. 767 00:36:30,899 --> 00:36:33,944 - ♪ Hammer in the morning ♪ - All right. 768 00:36:34,027 --> 00:36:36,196 - ♪ Hammer in the evening ♪ - [clapping along] 769 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:38,031 - ♪ All over this land ♪ 770 00:36:38,115 --> 00:36:39,867 - Mm-hmm. 771 00:36:39,950 --> 00:36:43,787 - We felt we could demonstrate things very subtlety 772 00:36:43,871 --> 00:36:45,455 that were really important. 773 00:36:45,539 --> 00:36:48,041 - 13. - 13. 774 00:36:48,125 --> 00:36:50,294 - 14! - 14. 775 00:36:50,377 --> 00:36:53,088 - So, of course, there was the cognitive stuff, 776 00:36:53,172 --> 00:36:56,884 numbers, letters, all those things, 777 00:36:56,967 --> 00:36:59,928 but equally important, maybe even more important, 778 00:37:00,012 --> 00:37:02,556 was the fact that Sesame was a neighborhood 779 00:37:02,639 --> 00:37:08,437 where people of all races, kids and adults and monsters... 780 00:37:08,520 --> 00:37:09,646 - Hi, Mr. Looper. What you doing? 781 00:37:09,730 --> 00:37:11,899 - Hooper, Hooper. - Hooper. 782 00:37:11,982 --> 00:37:13,400 - Live together. 783 00:37:13,483 --> 00:37:15,652 [overlapping chatter] - I love that ice-cream store. 784 00:37:15,736 --> 00:37:18,113 - ♪ If I had a song ♪ - If I had a song. 785 00:37:18,197 --> 00:37:20,365 - ♪ I'd sing it in the morning ♪ 786 00:37:20,449 --> 00:37:23,327 - ♪ Sing it in the morning ♪ - ♪ Sing it in the evening ♪ 787 00:37:23,410 --> 00:37:25,662 - ♪ Sing it in the evening ♪ - Jon Stone, now that 788 00:37:25,746 --> 00:37:27,581 "Sesame Street" is into its second season, 789 00:37:27,664 --> 00:37:30,876 what has been the impact of the special things 790 00:37:30,959 --> 00:37:33,337 that you've done, the integrated cast, 791 00:37:33,420 --> 00:37:35,005 as you've seen it? 792 00:37:35,088 --> 00:37:38,091 - It really speaks for itself on the air. 793 00:37:38,175 --> 00:37:41,386 We've never beaten that horse to death by talking about it. 794 00:37:41,470 --> 00:37:43,514 We simply show it. 795 00:37:43,597 --> 00:37:46,517 - ♪ It's the hammer of justice ♪ 796 00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,727 ♪ The bell of freedom ♪ 797 00:37:48,810 --> 00:37:51,480 ♪ A song about love ♪ 798 00:37:51,563 --> 00:37:53,190 ♪ For all of my brothers ♪ 799 00:37:53,273 --> 00:37:58,946 ♪ All over the land ♪ 800 00:37:59,029 --> 00:38:01,907 [somber music] 801 00:38:01,990 --> 00:38:05,911 ♪ ♪ 802 00:38:05,994 --> 00:38:08,956 - This million-dollar public television facility 803 00:38:09,039 --> 00:38:11,875 located in the affluent white suburbs of Jackson 804 00:38:11,959 --> 00:38:15,212 is broadcasting five hours a day, 805 00:38:15,295 --> 00:38:18,382 mostly film and tape programs produced in the North. 806 00:38:21,844 --> 00:38:24,930 But "Sesame Street" is not on the air. 807 00:38:25,013 --> 00:38:27,391 Some who saw it apparently disliked the number 808 00:38:27,474 --> 00:38:29,226 of Black performers. 809 00:38:29,309 --> 00:38:31,645 - Mrs. Cooney, what is your reaction? 810 00:38:31,728 --> 00:38:33,230 - There's no question 811 00:38:33,313 --> 00:38:34,606 that we're integrated, 812 00:38:34,690 --> 00:38:36,275 and we reflect to some degree 813 00:38:36,358 --> 00:38:37,818 inner city, I would say, 814 00:38:37,901 --> 00:38:39,903 Black inner city life, 815 00:38:39,987 --> 00:38:42,030 and we're very proud of that. 816 00:38:42,114 --> 00:38:43,407 I mean, if that's our worst sin, 817 00:38:43,490 --> 00:38:46,285 I'm happy to be a sinner. 818 00:38:46,368 --> 00:38:47,870 - Is there anything about "Sesame Street" 819 00:38:47,953 --> 00:38:49,246 which would make it not fit 820 00:38:49,329 --> 00:38:51,415 the needs of people in Mississippi? 821 00:38:52,583 --> 00:38:54,543 - Uh, 822 00:38:54,626 --> 00:38:57,296 "Sesame Street" was considered along with the other ones. 823 00:38:57,379 --> 00:38:59,089 For instance, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" 824 00:38:59,173 --> 00:39:01,091 uses puppets in a different way. 825 00:39:01,175 --> 00:39:02,885 It's a quiet program. 826 00:39:02,968 --> 00:39:05,095 - Give me some help here. Tell me, "Sesame Street," 827 00:39:05,179 --> 00:39:06,805 it is integrated racially, isn't it? 828 00:39:06,889 --> 00:39:08,056 - Yes. 829 00:39:08,140 --> 00:39:09,349 - Do you think that had anything to do 830 00:39:09,433 --> 00:39:11,602 with the tabling, if that's what we can call it 831 00:39:11,685 --> 00:39:12,895 accurately, of "Sesame Street" 832 00:39:12,978 --> 00:39:14,563 for the fact that it heavily integrated 833 00:39:14,646 --> 00:39:19,484 that there is a Black father figure in the program? 834 00:39:19,568 --> 00:39:24,031 - That's an extremely difficult question for me to answer. 835 00:39:24,114 --> 00:39:26,033 If the people want it, they'll let us know. 836 00:39:26,116 --> 00:39:29,077 If they don't, they'll let us know. 837 00:39:29,161 --> 00:39:33,081 - Okay. Jimmy, do you like "Sesame Street"? 838 00:39:33,165 --> 00:39:35,083 - I like it quite a bit. 839 00:39:35,167 --> 00:39:36,752 - Do you like it better than other programs, 840 00:39:36,835 --> 00:39:38,837 or is there something else you like better? 841 00:39:38,921 --> 00:39:41,798 - I like that the best. 842 00:39:41,882 --> 00:39:43,884 - What do you learn there? 843 00:39:43,967 --> 00:39:45,511 - ABCs. 844 00:39:47,137 --> 00:39:49,681 - Mississippi is one of the poorest states. 845 00:39:49,765 --> 00:39:52,601 Many children, Black and white, never see a book 846 00:39:52,684 --> 00:39:55,020 until they start first grade. 847 00:39:55,103 --> 00:39:56,897 - We're making an attempt to persuade 848 00:39:56,980 --> 00:39:59,107 the Educational Television Commission 849 00:39:59,191 --> 00:40:01,193 to consider carrying this program-- 850 00:40:01,276 --> 00:40:04,947 - A man that was running a commercial station in Jackson 851 00:40:05,030 --> 00:40:06,323 put it on. 852 00:40:06,406 --> 00:40:08,116 - If it is not scheduled, 853 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:09,826 then our station and others in the state 854 00:40:09,910 --> 00:40:11,828 are making plans to do so. 855 00:40:13,413 --> 00:40:14,873 - Good? 856 00:40:18,001 --> 00:40:19,461 - Rolling. 857 00:40:19,545 --> 00:40:21,463 - So while the politicians continue to squabble 858 00:40:21,547 --> 00:40:23,006 over "Sesame Street"... 859 00:40:23,090 --> 00:40:24,174 - Quiet! 860 00:40:26,385 --> 00:40:28,345 - Thousands of Mississippi schoolchildren 861 00:40:28,428 --> 00:40:31,598 are watching the program on commercial stations 862 00:40:31,682 --> 00:40:34,434 whether the officials who control educational TV 863 00:40:34,518 --> 00:40:36,019 here like it or not. 864 00:40:38,021 --> 00:40:40,983 - Eventually Mississippi Public TV 865 00:40:41,066 --> 00:40:42,693 put it back on the air. 866 00:40:42,776 --> 00:40:45,445 [indistinct chatter] 867 00:40:45,529 --> 00:40:48,991 which shows you that all this maybe made a difference. 868 00:40:50,492 --> 00:40:52,244 [device beeps] 869 00:40:52,327 --> 00:40:55,122 - Okay. Anytime. 870 00:40:55,205 --> 00:40:58,917 - I just want you to repeat after me each time, okay? 871 00:40:59,001 --> 00:41:00,377 - Okay. - All right. 872 00:41:00,460 --> 00:41:02,087 Here we go. I am. 873 00:41:02,171 --> 00:41:04,256 children: I am. - Somebody. 874 00:41:04,339 --> 00:41:05,924 children: Somebody. - I am. 875 00:41:06,008 --> 00:41:07,593 children: I am. - Somebody. 876 00:41:07,676 --> 00:41:09,344 children: Somebody. - I may be young. 877 00:41:09,428 --> 00:41:11,263 children: I may be young. - But I am. 878 00:41:11,346 --> 00:41:12,931 - But I am. children: Somebody. 879 00:41:13,015 --> 00:41:14,725 children: Somebody. - I may be small. 880 00:41:14,808 --> 00:41:16,727 children: I may be small. - But I am. 881 00:41:16,810 --> 00:41:18,437 children: But I am. - Somebody. 882 00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:20,814 children: Somebody. - I can change the world. 883 00:41:20,898 --> 00:41:22,482 children: I can change the world. 884 00:41:22,566 --> 00:41:24,026 - I am. children: I am. 885 00:41:24,109 --> 00:41:26,028 - I am! children: I am. 886 00:41:26,111 --> 00:41:27,779 - I am. children: I am. 887 00:41:27,863 --> 00:41:29,281 - Somebody. children: Somebody. 888 00:41:29,364 --> 00:41:30,365 - We are beautiful. 889 00:41:30,449 --> 00:41:31,450 children: We are beautiful. 890 00:41:31,533 --> 00:41:33,368 - Beautiful children will grow up. 891 00:41:33,452 --> 00:41:35,412 children: Beautiful children will grow up. 892 00:41:35,495 --> 00:41:37,289 - And make the whole world beautiful. 893 00:41:37,372 --> 00:41:39,875 children: And make the whole world beautiful. 894 00:41:39,958 --> 00:41:41,710 - Right on. children: Right on. 895 00:41:41,793 --> 00:41:42,920 - [laughs] 896 00:41:45,297 --> 00:41:49,510 - [indistinct] And mark it. 897 00:41:49,593 --> 00:41:51,803 - What? What is it? 898 00:41:51,887 --> 00:41:55,474 Hmm, hmm, hmm. Hmm, hmm. 899 00:41:55,557 --> 00:41:56,767 - What are those? 900 00:41:56,850 --> 00:41:58,185 - Well, these are questions, Bert, 901 00:41:58,268 --> 00:41:59,978 questions that we're supposed to answer. 902 00:42:00,062 --> 00:42:01,355 - Oh. Oh. 903 00:42:01,438 --> 00:42:04,024 - You ready, ready to answer a question, Bert? 904 00:42:04,107 --> 00:42:05,359 - Yeah. Why do we have to answer questions? 905 00:42:05,442 --> 00:42:06,693 - I don't know. 906 00:42:06,777 --> 00:42:08,403 I was given this paper that has questions on it, 907 00:42:08,487 --> 00:42:10,155 and it says, "Answer these questions." 908 00:42:10,239 --> 00:42:12,115 - Okay. - So listen to this. 909 00:42:12,199 --> 00:42:14,785 - Okay. - Are you two best friends? 910 00:42:17,412 --> 00:42:21,208 - Why, yes. We're good buddies until he starts something. 911 00:42:21,291 --> 00:42:23,752 - That's true. Me and my old buddy, Bert, 912 00:42:23,836 --> 00:42:25,754 we are close friends, Bert and I. 913 00:42:25,838 --> 00:42:27,130 - We are. We're the best of friends. 914 00:42:27,214 --> 00:42:28,799 - Yes. - What was that? 915 00:42:28,882 --> 00:42:30,175 - What was what? 916 00:42:30,259 --> 00:42:32,344 - You just-- Your hand went like that. 917 00:42:32,427 --> 00:42:34,471 - Oh, I-- - See. That's what I mean. 918 00:42:34,555 --> 00:42:36,056 We're good friends until he starts something. 919 00:42:36,139 --> 00:42:37,266 - I didn't start anything, Bert. 920 00:42:37,349 --> 00:42:40,477 - Yeah. - Didn't start anything. 921 00:42:40,561 --> 00:42:44,064 Okay. Next question, do you all ever argue? 922 00:42:47,651 --> 00:42:52,155 - Jim Henson, Frank Oz are super puppeteers, 923 00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:53,699 and the Muppets are unquestionably 924 00:42:53,782 --> 00:42:55,367 the stars of the show, 925 00:42:55,450 --> 00:42:58,120 and Bert's my all-time favorite. 926 00:42:58,203 --> 00:43:00,539 - What are some advantages of having a roommate? 927 00:43:00,622 --> 00:43:03,083 - I suppose the main advantage is if you wanted 928 00:43:03,166 --> 00:43:05,002 to mess up the place, you wouldn't have to do it 929 00:43:05,085 --> 00:43:07,171 because your roommate always does it. 930 00:43:07,254 --> 00:43:09,131 - Frank throws himself into the characters 931 00:43:09,214 --> 00:43:11,008 so thoroughly that you just... 932 00:43:11,091 --> 00:43:14,970 You believe Bert as much as if he were Sir Laurence Olivier. 933 00:43:16,305 --> 00:43:17,347 - [sighs] 934 00:43:17,431 --> 00:43:18,724 Are we finished? 935 00:43:18,807 --> 00:43:20,601 - Yeah, that's the last question. 936 00:43:20,684 --> 00:43:21,935 - Okay. - Matter of fact, 937 00:43:22,019 --> 00:43:23,896 there's nothing written on this anyhow. 938 00:43:23,979 --> 00:43:26,190 I made those up, Bert. 939 00:43:28,859 --> 00:43:30,819 - You what? - [laughs] 940 00:43:30,903 --> 00:43:33,405 - You're supposed to go-- [laughter] 941 00:43:33,488 --> 00:43:35,949 - Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, 942 00:43:36,033 --> 00:43:40,662 Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, these are just comedy teams, 943 00:43:40,746 --> 00:43:42,998 and Jim and Frank were a comedy team. 944 00:43:43,081 --> 00:43:46,168 [upbeat music] 945 00:43:46,251 --> 00:43:49,004 - We've worked together as a pair for 12, 13 years now. 946 00:43:49,087 --> 00:43:51,423 - Too long. - Too long. 947 00:43:51,507 --> 00:43:53,133 - We dislike each other tensely, 948 00:43:53,217 --> 00:43:55,552 which is why we can work so well together. 949 00:43:55,636 --> 00:43:57,429 - There's kind of a little bit of love/hate there. 950 00:43:57,513 --> 00:43:58,931 [laughter] 951 00:43:59,014 --> 00:44:00,098 - And you two really don't 952 00:44:00,182 --> 00:44:01,433 agree with each other on anything. 953 00:44:01,517 --> 00:44:02,893 - Oh, on some things, yes. - Oh. 954 00:44:02,976 --> 00:44:04,269 Not on all things. - No. 955 00:44:04,353 --> 00:44:05,646 - Well, not on many things. - Or was. 956 00:44:05,729 --> 00:44:08,565 - Two things. [laughter] 957 00:44:08,649 --> 00:44:10,984 - They weren't even what I would call best friends 958 00:44:11,068 --> 00:44:13,111 away from the set. 959 00:44:13,195 --> 00:44:14,905 You know, Jim had five children, 960 00:44:14,988 --> 00:44:16,448 and Frank was single 961 00:44:16,532 --> 00:44:19,576 and, you know, completely different lives. 962 00:44:19,660 --> 00:44:21,453 - Bert, why don't you loan him your scarf? 963 00:44:21,537 --> 00:44:23,455 - Be nice of you if you pulled the scarf. 964 00:44:23,539 --> 00:44:25,832 - But there was incredible chemistry. 965 00:44:25,916 --> 00:44:27,626 - [silly whoosh noise] 966 00:44:28,544 --> 00:44:30,087 - Maybe you'd loan him your scarf. 967 00:44:30,170 --> 00:44:31,421 - Ah! 968 00:44:31,505 --> 00:44:33,131 Ernie. 969 00:44:33,215 --> 00:44:36,593 - Honestly, to be on the set watching this dynamic 970 00:44:36,677 --> 00:44:39,137 between this two guys, it was magic. 971 00:44:41,807 --> 00:44:43,600 [squeaking] - Ah! Ah! Ah! 972 00:44:43,684 --> 00:44:45,811 - [snickering] Hi, Bert. 973 00:44:45,894 --> 00:44:48,522 - Ernie. [laughter] 974 00:44:48,605 --> 00:44:50,065 - What a drive. 975 00:44:50,148 --> 00:44:53,819 - Before I became a puppeteer, 976 00:44:53,902 --> 00:44:56,738 I was an unemployed actress in New York. 977 00:44:58,198 --> 00:45:00,909 There was an ad in Backstage 978 00:45:00,993 --> 00:45:04,454 saying that Jim Henson was looking to train puppeteers. 979 00:45:06,290 --> 00:45:09,126 The guys had been doing female characters, 980 00:45:09,209 --> 00:45:10,711 and it was hysterical 981 00:45:10,794 --> 00:45:12,713 because they were doing them in falsetto. 982 00:45:12,796 --> 00:45:14,339 - Sky. - It's not? 983 00:45:14,423 --> 00:45:16,967 - No, that's Wanda the Witch. 984 00:45:17,050 --> 00:45:21,763 - And I think they started feeling a little pressure 985 00:45:21,847 --> 00:45:24,183 about how they should hire a real female 986 00:45:24,266 --> 00:45:26,226 to do these characters. 987 00:45:26,310 --> 00:45:29,771 I mean, I'd never played with a puppet in my life, 988 00:45:29,855 --> 00:45:32,900 but it was better than modeling bras at Lady Marlene, 989 00:45:32,983 --> 00:45:34,776 which was one of my other jobs. 990 00:45:34,860 --> 00:45:36,904 - Stand by, rehearsal. 991 00:45:36,987 --> 00:45:41,992 - Okay and theme. 992 00:45:42,075 --> 00:45:47,956 - So the whole idea is to make this piece of felt and fuzz 993 00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:50,792 react and move 994 00:45:50,876 --> 00:45:56,465 and look like a person, like a real thing. 995 00:45:56,548 --> 00:45:58,342 - ♪ Exercise, we just gonna work it out ♪ 996 00:45:58,425 --> 00:46:01,512 - And it's so, so hard to do. 997 00:46:01,595 --> 00:46:04,890 Not only are you keeping the character alive, 998 00:46:04,973 --> 00:46:08,936 but you are looking at a monitor that's on the floor 999 00:46:09,019 --> 00:46:10,687 - All right, hold on. 1000 00:46:10,771 --> 00:46:12,648 - Because that's how you see what you're doing. 1001 00:46:12,731 --> 00:46:15,484 You're not watching the camera. You're looking down here, 1002 00:46:15,567 --> 00:46:20,614 so it's multitasking like you wouldn't believe. 1003 00:46:20,697 --> 00:46:21,907 - Okay. Then we'll... 1004 00:46:21,990 --> 00:46:23,700 - Using the television monitor, 1005 00:46:23,784 --> 00:46:25,869 you can perform 1006 00:46:25,953 --> 00:46:30,499 and see your performance exactly as the audience does. 1007 00:46:30,582 --> 00:46:32,417 - Right, Bert? Bert? 1008 00:46:32,501 --> 00:46:34,878 - This is unique in the performance field. 1009 00:46:34,962 --> 00:46:37,130 I mean, no other actor can ever see their performance 1010 00:46:37,214 --> 00:46:38,715 at the same time they're doing it. 1011 00:46:38,799 --> 00:46:41,134 - Bert? He's sleeping. 1012 00:46:41,218 --> 00:46:42,719 Well, I don't mind if he's sleeping. 1013 00:46:42,803 --> 00:46:45,430 - As we're performing, we're also framing the shots 1014 00:46:45,514 --> 00:46:47,516 in such a way that it feels 1015 00:46:47,599 --> 00:46:50,102 like these things are totally dimensional. 1016 00:46:50,185 --> 00:46:52,271 - Now where is he this time? 1017 00:46:52,354 --> 00:46:55,148 He knew he was supposed to be here. 1018 00:46:55,232 --> 00:46:58,861 Roosevelt Franklin. Roosevelt Franklin. 1019 00:46:58,944 --> 00:47:01,738 - Roosevelt Franklin is whom-- is who--who is he? 1020 00:47:01,822 --> 00:47:04,741 - He is a Black Muppet created 1021 00:47:04,825 --> 00:47:08,328 by the man who plays Gordon, Matt Robinson. 1022 00:47:08,412 --> 00:47:11,748 - ♪ Roosevelt Franklin, what you say? ♪ 1023 00:47:11,832 --> 00:47:16,086 - ♪ You know the very first letter is the letter A ♪ 1024 00:47:16,170 --> 00:47:18,881 - ♪ What more can you tell me ♪ 1025 00:47:18,964 --> 00:47:20,591 - ♪ I know the very next letter is... ♪ 1026 00:47:20,674 --> 00:47:22,301 - Roosevelt was very specific. 1027 00:47:22,384 --> 00:47:23,844 - Roosevelt was a Black kid. 1028 00:47:23,927 --> 00:47:26,597 - He was a Black kid in a classroom telling you 1029 00:47:26,680 --> 00:47:29,391 that learning was cool, and if you weren't down 1030 00:47:29,474 --> 00:47:31,727 with that, couldn't hang out with him. 1031 00:47:31,810 --> 00:47:33,061 - Yeah, 'cause you wanted-- 1032 00:47:33,145 --> 00:47:34,396 everyone wanted to hang with Roosevelt Franklin 1033 00:47:34,479 --> 00:47:36,607 because he had the flavor, you know. 1034 00:47:38,692 --> 00:47:42,279 [overlapping chatter] 1035 00:47:42,362 --> 00:47:45,574 - I don't know what's wrong with everybody, 1036 00:47:45,657 --> 00:47:48,994 but when I come in, I want some action. 1037 00:47:49,077 --> 00:47:50,621 - Action? 1038 00:47:50,704 --> 00:47:54,124 - I think Matt created Roosevelt Franklin 1039 00:47:54,208 --> 00:47:56,293 because he was tired of pretending 1040 00:47:56,376 --> 00:47:59,630 that everybody blended in together. 1041 00:47:59,713 --> 00:48:02,674 He loved the message of "Sesame Street," 1042 00:48:02,758 --> 00:48:06,386 but he wanted children of color 1043 00:48:06,470 --> 00:48:08,972 to be recognized as children of color 1044 00:48:09,056 --> 00:48:11,016 because in real life 1045 00:48:11,099 --> 00:48:14,853 those children knew they were different. 1046 00:48:14,937 --> 00:48:18,273 They knew they were brown, so why couldn't they be brown? 1047 00:48:18,357 --> 00:48:21,527 Why couldn't their difference be recognized? 1048 00:48:21,610 --> 00:48:24,446 - You are free when you are walking and talking, 1049 00:48:24,530 --> 00:48:28,367 and tell everybody I am great when the sun comes up. 1050 00:48:28,450 --> 00:48:29,535 - Yeah! 1051 00:48:29,618 --> 00:48:31,995 - I am great when the sun go down. 1052 00:48:32,079 --> 00:48:33,330 - All right, Roosevelt! - Sun up. 1053 00:48:33,413 --> 00:48:34,623 - Yeah! - Sun down. 1054 00:48:34,706 --> 00:48:35,999 - Yeah! 1055 00:48:36,083 --> 00:48:37,751 - Nobody's ever going to put me down. 1056 00:48:37,835 --> 00:48:40,087 - All right, Roosevelt! 1057 00:48:41,672 --> 00:48:44,925 - But there were a lot of Black parents 1058 00:48:45,008 --> 00:48:47,302 that really complained to "Sesame Street" 1059 00:48:47,386 --> 00:48:48,720 that they didn't like Roosevelt. 1060 00:48:48,804 --> 00:48:50,764 - Letter-writing campaign, they went after him. 1061 00:48:50,848 --> 00:48:52,683 - Yeah, yeah, they did go after Roosevelt. 1062 00:48:55,060 --> 00:48:59,731 - They did not want to be reminded of this character 1063 00:48:59,815 --> 00:49:04,903 who sang in dialect and talked Black. 1064 00:49:04,987 --> 00:49:07,155 - Uh-oh. Check out, Roosevelt. 1065 00:49:07,239 --> 00:49:09,533 - Something must be up. - Yeah. 1066 00:49:11,743 --> 00:49:14,913 - And then Roosevelt disappeared. 1067 00:49:14,997 --> 00:49:17,165 He just disappeared. 1068 00:49:17,249 --> 00:49:22,045 For Matt, Roosevelt Franklin represented truth. 1069 00:49:23,463 --> 00:49:25,299 He knew they meant well, 1070 00:49:25,382 --> 00:49:27,676 but it was the beginning of the end for him. 1071 00:49:29,761 --> 00:49:33,432 And then he left "Sesame Street." 1072 00:49:41,273 --> 00:49:43,942 ["Sesame Street" theme song playing] 1073 00:49:44,026 --> 00:49:47,362 ♪ ♪ 1074 00:49:47,446 --> 00:49:48,572 - Morning. - [yawns] 1075 00:49:48,655 --> 00:49:50,199 Hi, morning, Zoe. How are you? 1076 00:49:51,450 --> 00:49:52,618 - Oh, hey, Gordon. - Hey, Bob. 1077 00:49:52,701 --> 00:49:54,036 - Hey. How you doing? - How you doing? 1078 00:49:54,119 --> 00:49:55,204 - Hey, that was a great time at your place last night. 1079 00:49:55,287 --> 00:49:56,622 - Yeah, wasn't it? 1080 00:49:56,705 --> 00:49:58,332 - I took over the role of Gordon, 1081 00:49:58,415 --> 00:50:00,959 and working on the show was wonderful. 1082 00:50:01,043 --> 00:50:05,005 It had that sense of, you know, 1083 00:50:05,088 --> 00:50:09,426 both serious intent and joy. 1084 00:50:09,510 --> 00:50:12,221 - Yes. - Hi, Forgetful. 1085 00:50:12,304 --> 00:50:15,265 - Oh, hi, Bertram. - Gordon. 1086 00:50:15,349 --> 00:50:16,725 - Gordon? - Gordon. 1087 00:50:16,808 --> 00:50:19,895 - Oh, yeah, Bertram is your wife's name. 1088 00:50:19,978 --> 00:50:21,730 - No, no, no. Her name is Susan. 1089 00:50:21,813 --> 00:50:24,525 - Spontaneity and fun and zany. 1090 00:50:24,608 --> 00:50:26,276 - No. No. Yeah, Susan, of course. 1091 00:50:26,360 --> 00:50:30,072 - And it always respected the children. 1092 00:50:30,155 --> 00:50:34,618 Children were never talked down to on "Sesame Street." 1093 00:50:34,701 --> 00:50:36,620 - Hey. You know something? I'm tired now. 1094 00:50:36,703 --> 00:50:39,164 I think I'm going to go on a coffee break. 1095 00:50:39,248 --> 00:50:40,624 Will you do me a favor? 1096 00:50:40,707 --> 00:50:42,543 Answer the teléfono for me? 1097 00:50:42,626 --> 00:50:44,086 And if they don't speak English, 1098 00:50:44,169 --> 00:50:45,629 you know, [speaks Spanish]. 1099 00:50:45,712 --> 00:50:47,589 - It was very difficult at that time 1100 00:50:47,673 --> 00:50:49,466 to find meaningful work 1101 00:50:49,550 --> 00:50:52,219 as Latino actors, you know? 1102 00:50:52,302 --> 00:50:54,888 I don't remember ever reading for any kind 1103 00:50:54,972 --> 00:50:56,890 of a positive character. 1104 00:50:56,974 --> 00:50:58,642 The only roles that I could find 1105 00:50:58,725 --> 00:51:02,521 were gang members or drug addicts. 1106 00:51:02,604 --> 00:51:05,649 I realized I had gotten a role on television 1107 00:51:05,732 --> 00:51:09,611 that was a role of a Latino, Mexican-American, 1108 00:51:09,695 --> 00:51:12,364 who was like a regular person. 1109 00:51:12,447 --> 00:51:13,657 - Hey, Mack. - Luis. 1110 00:51:13,740 --> 00:51:15,367 - You got a mango? - Have I got a mango? 1111 00:51:15,450 --> 00:51:17,202 - He was part of the neighborhood. 1112 00:51:17,286 --> 00:51:20,080 He had his own business. 1113 00:51:20,163 --> 00:51:21,874 - Maria. - What is it? 1114 00:51:21,957 --> 00:51:23,625 - I got to go out for a few minutes. 1115 00:51:23,709 --> 00:51:26,295 - It was a role that hadn't been shown before. 1116 00:51:26,378 --> 00:51:27,880 [phone ringing] 1117 00:51:27,963 --> 00:51:31,925 - It was Jon Stone who cast me as Maria. 1118 00:51:32,009 --> 00:51:33,385 Hello, Fix-it Shop. 1119 00:51:33,468 --> 00:51:35,262 And I think he was looking for someone 1120 00:51:35,345 --> 00:51:37,181 who was unpolished and raw, 1121 00:51:37,264 --> 00:51:41,018 and, boy, was I unpolished and raw. 1122 00:51:41,101 --> 00:51:43,187 - You can't take a pretty picture with a shiny nose. 1123 00:51:43,270 --> 00:51:46,064 - I remember one day I was all made up, 1124 00:51:46,148 --> 00:51:47,900 and Jon grabbed me off the set 1125 00:51:47,983 --> 00:51:50,527 and dragged me into the makeup room, 1126 00:51:50,611 --> 00:51:52,070 and he says to the makeup artist, 1127 00:51:52,154 --> 00:51:55,824 "I go through all the trouble of hiring a real person, 1128 00:51:55,908 --> 00:51:59,828 and you make her up to look like a Kewpie doll?" 1129 00:52:02,706 --> 00:52:05,250 And I saw it as a political show 1130 00:52:05,334 --> 00:52:08,962 because of the diversity of the cast that was unheard of 1131 00:52:09,046 --> 00:52:12,132 and because we would have seminars with activists, 1132 00:52:12,216 --> 00:52:14,843 and they would say, "You people are doing this, 1133 00:52:14,927 --> 00:52:17,596 and you're not showing us like we really are," 1134 00:52:17,679 --> 00:52:19,681 and La Leche League, you know, 1135 00:52:19,765 --> 00:52:22,976 "Why aren't you showing nursing on 'Sesame Street'?" 1136 00:52:23,060 --> 00:52:26,021 - What you doing, Buffy? - I'm feeding the baby. 1137 00:52:26,104 --> 00:52:28,106 See, he's drinking milk from my breast. 1138 00:52:28,190 --> 00:52:29,691 - It was fantastic, 1139 00:52:29,775 --> 00:52:32,653 and we would, you know, cultivate that. 1140 00:52:32,736 --> 00:52:34,196 - When you're growing up and you don't see yourself 1141 00:52:34,279 --> 00:52:35,864 in the media, 1142 00:52:35,948 --> 00:52:38,116 then you get the feeling that you don't exist, see, 1143 00:52:38,200 --> 00:52:40,452 and that's when you start feeling that you're not part 1144 00:52:40,536 --> 00:52:43,038 of this society, of this culture. 1145 00:52:43,121 --> 00:52:46,750 Television has so much power of doing that. 1146 00:52:46,834 --> 00:52:49,086 - I had a great deal of influence 1147 00:52:49,169 --> 00:52:51,296 in the creation of Maria. 1148 00:52:51,380 --> 00:52:54,299 [both speaking Spanish] 1149 00:52:54,383 --> 00:52:59,304 - And Jon let me know that by rehearsing a script with me 1150 00:52:59,388 --> 00:53:02,057 and then saying, "Would you really talk like that?" 1151 00:53:02,140 --> 00:53:05,143 And I'd say, "Well, no, actually I'd say it like this." 1152 00:53:05,227 --> 00:53:07,938 Of course, the writer is pulling his hair out but-- 1153 00:53:08,021 --> 00:53:10,274 - Do I carry the letter? - You don't have to. 1154 00:53:10,357 --> 00:53:11,400 No, she will carry it. 1155 00:53:13,569 --> 00:53:16,405 - Say, Big Bird, somebody wants to take your picture. 1156 00:53:16,488 --> 00:53:18,115 - Oh, boy. 1157 00:53:18,198 --> 00:53:23,370 Well, which side, my left side or my right side? 1158 00:53:23,453 --> 00:53:25,747 You're it. Tag. 1159 00:53:25,831 --> 00:53:27,666 - Big Bird could walk on 1160 00:53:27,749 --> 00:53:30,377 without a puppeteer being seen, 1161 00:53:30,460 --> 00:53:33,088 and that's because I'm inside. 1162 00:53:33,172 --> 00:53:34,715 And the puppet would be lowered down over me 1163 00:53:34,798 --> 00:53:36,675 and I'd go in through the bottom 1164 00:53:36,758 --> 00:53:40,846 and put my hand up in the head and operate the head like that. 1165 00:53:40,929 --> 00:53:42,389 - Oh, well, then where will I live? 1166 00:53:42,472 --> 00:53:43,807 - Oh, don't worry about that. 1167 00:53:43,891 --> 00:53:45,559 You'll have a house all your own. 1168 00:53:45,642 --> 00:53:46,935 Here's a lovely... 1169 00:53:47,019 --> 00:53:48,896 - His head was very elaborate. 1170 00:53:51,023 --> 00:53:53,442 The thumb was in the bottom part of the beak. 1171 00:53:53,525 --> 00:53:56,987 When they say, "Action," I come alive. 1172 00:53:57,070 --> 00:54:00,157 And there were all kinds of little gears inside his eyes 1173 00:54:00,240 --> 00:54:02,534 that I could move with my little finger. 1174 00:54:02,618 --> 00:54:04,995 That's the only finger I could spare. 1175 00:54:05,078 --> 00:54:06,538 - Ooh, ah, ooh, oh, 1176 00:54:06,622 --> 00:54:10,250 you silly door, right in my way. Hmm. 1177 00:54:10,334 --> 00:54:12,669 - Originally, Big Bird was supposed to be kind of 1178 00:54:12,753 --> 00:54:15,297 a big dumb, goofy guy. 1179 00:54:15,380 --> 00:54:16,590 - Whoa. 1180 00:54:16,673 --> 00:54:19,927 Big Bird, Bird. 1181 00:54:20,010 --> 00:54:22,554 - So I think it was about a month or two in, 1182 00:54:22,638 --> 00:54:24,348 I said, "You know, 1183 00:54:24,431 --> 00:54:27,684 "I don't think I should be playing him as a goofy guy. 1184 00:54:27,768 --> 00:54:31,021 "He has so much more depth. He's a very complex character. 1185 00:54:33,232 --> 00:54:36,193 "I think I should play him as a child who's just learning, 1186 00:54:36,276 --> 00:54:39,196 and he doesn't know a lot of things yet." 1187 00:54:39,279 --> 00:54:41,323 - Oh, I didn't do my share, and that wasn't fair. 1188 00:54:41,406 --> 00:54:43,367 - We needed a peer for the audience. 1189 00:54:43,450 --> 00:54:45,869 - I've got a great idea. I could take all the toys out 1190 00:54:45,953 --> 00:54:48,163 and then put them back in again, and that way-- 1191 00:54:48,247 --> 00:54:50,207 - No, no, Big Bird. 1192 00:54:50,290 --> 00:54:51,959 - A character that was young enough 1193 00:54:52,042 --> 00:54:53,961 to make the same mistakes 1194 00:54:54,044 --> 00:54:55,796 and have the same problems 1195 00:54:55,879 --> 00:54:57,589 that a four-year-old would have. 1196 00:54:57,673 --> 00:54:58,757 - I think you're right. - Yeah. 1197 00:54:58,841 --> 00:55:00,342 - Yay! 1198 00:55:00,425 --> 00:55:02,219 - And no one else could play Big Bird, I don't think, 1199 00:55:02,302 --> 00:55:04,096 certainly not the way Caroll plays it. 1200 00:55:04,179 --> 00:55:05,806 He is Big Bird. 1201 00:55:07,724 --> 00:55:10,143 - This is Mr. Caroll Spinney. 1202 00:55:10,227 --> 00:55:11,603 Do you have any trouble 1203 00:55:11,687 --> 00:55:14,314 separating your personality from Big Bird? 1204 00:55:15,524 --> 00:55:17,025 - I-- One of the things 1205 00:55:17,109 --> 00:55:18,777 we've played up or I've played up with the bird 1206 00:55:18,861 --> 00:55:21,154 is that he's very insecure because I think actually 1207 00:55:21,238 --> 00:55:22,865 a lot of children will have this problem. 1208 00:55:22,948 --> 00:55:26,243 I know I never will lose it, I'm afraid, 1209 00:55:26,326 --> 00:55:30,706 and so I use my insecurities to understand the bird, 1210 00:55:30,789 --> 00:55:32,499 but Oscar has no such insecurities at all. 1211 00:55:32,583 --> 00:55:34,251 [laughter] 1212 00:55:34,334 --> 00:55:38,505 - The further you stay away from my can, the better. 1213 00:55:38,589 --> 00:55:40,174 Keep moving there. 1214 00:55:40,257 --> 00:55:43,218 - Over here, Oscar? - Yeah. Just keep walking, 1215 00:55:43,302 --> 00:55:44,636 Bright Eyes. 1216 00:55:44,720 --> 00:55:47,472 - I also play Oscar the Grouch. 1217 00:55:47,556 --> 00:55:49,266 - Do I get paid? 1218 00:55:49,349 --> 00:55:53,562 - Well, no. I get the money. - You bastard. 1219 00:55:53,645 --> 00:55:57,816 [laughter] 1220 00:55:57,900 --> 00:56:03,739 - With Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, 1221 00:56:03,822 --> 00:56:07,326 I think Carroll Spinney saved a lot of money in therapy 1222 00:56:07,409 --> 00:56:11,747 by being able to play those two disparate characters. 1223 00:56:11,830 --> 00:56:13,957 - You know I hate you? - I do. 1224 00:56:14,041 --> 00:56:15,584 You've told me that before. 1225 00:56:15,667 --> 00:56:17,669 - Well, I have to tell somebody. 1226 00:56:17,753 --> 00:56:19,671 - He says things as Oscar 1227 00:56:19,755 --> 00:56:22,174 that he would never say as himself. 1228 00:56:22,257 --> 00:56:26,929 - Oh, yes. Any changes I'd like to see on the show? 1229 00:56:27,012 --> 00:56:29,056 Yeah, well, we don't really have very much sex. 1230 00:56:29,139 --> 00:56:32,059 [laughter] 1231 00:56:32,142 --> 00:56:33,894 - Stand by. Okay. 1232 00:56:33,977 --> 00:56:35,938 - Caroll, give him a little dialogue. 1233 00:56:36,021 --> 00:56:38,690 - Yes, here's a little dialogue. 1234 00:56:38,774 --> 00:56:40,984 Your mother wears Army boots. 1235 00:56:41,068 --> 00:56:42,653 [laughter] 1236 00:56:42,736 --> 00:56:45,030 [indistinct chatter] 1237 00:56:45,113 --> 00:56:47,783 - Dad felt very strongly that kids need to see 1238 00:56:47,866 --> 00:56:49,326 that not everybody is nice, 1239 00:56:49,409 --> 00:56:51,203 and not everybody is easy, and this is how you deal 1240 00:56:51,286 --> 00:56:53,539 with the grouch who's in your neighborhood. 1241 00:56:53,622 --> 00:56:55,082 - Hey, Bob. What is this? 1242 00:56:55,165 --> 00:56:56,875 - I think Oscar is really going to do it this time. 1243 00:56:56,959 --> 00:56:58,252 - Oscar is really going to do-- 1244 00:56:58,335 --> 00:57:00,254 - Yep, you guys have guessed right. 1245 00:57:00,337 --> 00:57:01,505 I'm moving away forever. 1246 00:57:01,588 --> 00:57:04,883 - Oscar is the dark side of everybody. 1247 00:57:04,967 --> 00:57:06,969 - No ifs, ands or buts, fellas. 1248 00:57:07,052 --> 00:57:09,304 Nothing you can say will change my mind. 1249 00:57:09,388 --> 00:57:11,306 - He's what children are constantly told 1250 00:57:11,390 --> 00:57:13,308 they must not do. Don't say that. 1251 00:57:13,392 --> 00:57:15,561 It's bad. Don't do that. Don't talk back. 1252 00:57:15,644 --> 00:57:17,980 - Too much noise and playing and kids 1253 00:57:18,063 --> 00:57:19,231 and too much laughing... - Come on, man. 1254 00:57:19,314 --> 00:57:20,440 - Come on now. - And too much everything 1255 00:57:20,524 --> 00:57:21,692 that bothers me. 1256 00:57:21,775 --> 00:57:24,403 - Oscar the Grouch was created 1257 00:57:24,486 --> 00:57:26,280 very much to show that 1258 00:57:26,363 --> 00:57:28,991 even somebody with a completely different point of view 1259 00:57:29,074 --> 00:57:32,536 than yours could be your friend. 1260 00:57:32,619 --> 00:57:36,206 - Why do you like rain, Oscar? - Oh, the rain is beautiful. 1261 00:57:36,290 --> 00:57:38,000 I'll tell you. 1262 00:57:38,083 --> 00:57:43,213 The rain is so nice. It's all wet and soggy. 1263 00:57:43,297 --> 00:57:46,383 [upbeat music playing] 1264 00:57:46,466 --> 00:57:50,971 ♪ Rain falls, puddles on the street ♪ 1265 00:57:51,054 --> 00:57:53,974 ♪ No one can go out and play ♪ 1266 00:57:54,057 --> 00:57:55,475 [laughs] 1267 00:57:55,559 --> 00:57:59,438 ♪ Rain falls, people soak from head to feet ♪ 1268 00:57:59,521 --> 00:58:02,274 ♪ Gee, I like a rainy day ♪ 1269 00:58:02,357 --> 00:58:04,109 [laughs] 1270 00:58:04,193 --> 00:58:06,320 ♪ Trucks roll by splashing mud on everyone ♪ 1271 00:58:06,403 --> 00:58:10,073 - Joe Raposo was hired to do the music for "Sesame." 1272 00:58:10,157 --> 00:58:12,451 He did all the arranging, 1273 00:58:12,534 --> 00:58:15,746 and he had so much heart and so much knowledge. 1274 00:58:17,456 --> 00:58:19,666 - ♪ Sing ♪ 1275 00:58:19,750 --> 00:58:22,211 - ♪ Sing ♪ - ♪ Sing a song ♪ 1276 00:58:22,294 --> 00:58:25,881 - ♪ Sing a song ♪ - ♪ Sing out loud ♪ 1277 00:58:25,964 --> 00:58:28,342 - ♪ Sing out loud ♪ - That's good. 1278 00:58:28,425 --> 00:58:29,426 ♪ Sing out strong ♪ 1279 00:58:29,510 --> 00:58:31,428 - Joe Raposo I call the music man. 1280 00:58:31,512 --> 00:58:34,932 He was the music man, you know, in every respect. 1281 00:58:35,015 --> 00:58:38,393 [singing in Spanish] 1282 00:58:38,477 --> 00:58:42,022 This guy was like a Muppet himself, you know? 1283 00:58:42,105 --> 00:58:44,107 His personality was just so big that 1284 00:58:44,191 --> 00:58:45,442 when he walked into a room, 1285 00:58:45,526 --> 00:58:48,695 you couldn't not notice Joe Raposo. 1286 00:58:48,779 --> 00:58:51,198 ♪ ♪ 1287 00:58:51,281 --> 00:58:52,991 - Don't ask me what makes me write these things. 1288 00:58:53,075 --> 00:58:54,409 I don't-- 1289 00:58:54,493 --> 00:58:56,537 ♪ Around, around ♪ 1290 00:58:56,620 --> 00:59:02,376 ♪ Around, around over, under, through ♪ 1291 00:59:02,459 --> 00:59:06,004 - [breathing heavily] ♪ Around, around, around ♪ 1292 00:59:06,088 --> 00:59:09,591 ♪ Over and under and through ♪ 1293 00:59:09,675 --> 00:59:11,009 Oh, boy. 1294 00:59:11,093 --> 00:59:13,554 ♪ Over, see, and under ♪ 1295 00:59:13,637 --> 00:59:15,764 ♪ And through and through and through ♪ 1296 00:59:15,848 --> 00:59:17,349 And through! 1297 00:59:17,432 --> 00:59:19,893 I did it. [sighs] 1298 00:59:19,977 --> 00:59:24,439 - And of course, you know, his talent was just so amazing 1299 00:59:24,523 --> 00:59:28,944 that he could come up with all of these songs. 1300 00:59:29,027 --> 00:59:32,406 - ♪ I'm an aardvark, and I'm proud ♪ 1301 00:59:32,489 --> 00:59:35,492 ♪ I'm an aardvark, and I'm happy ♪ 1302 00:59:35,576 --> 00:59:38,871 ♪ Two is my favorite number ♪ 1303 00:59:38,954 --> 00:59:42,040 ♪ Two is neat ♪ 1304 00:59:42,124 --> 00:59:45,586 ♪ Two is being together ♪ 1305 00:59:45,669 --> 00:59:48,463 ♪ Two is sweet ♪ 1306 00:59:48,547 --> 00:59:51,008 ♪ If I could only paddle like a doggy on a paddle ♪ 1307 00:59:51,091 --> 00:59:53,677 ♪ I would paddle my way to you ♪ 1308 00:59:53,760 --> 00:59:55,095 ♪ No river too wide ♪ 1309 00:59:55,179 --> 00:59:57,472 - It was like somebody was working on the show, 1310 00:59:57,556 --> 00:59:59,892 and they had an idea for something, say, 1311 00:59:59,975 --> 01:00:01,768 "We need a song about something here," 1312 01:00:01,852 --> 01:00:04,438 and he'd go off and, like, five minutes later come back 1313 01:00:04,521 --> 01:00:06,857 and show them the music for a new song. 1314 01:00:08,442 --> 01:00:10,277 - Hmm. 1315 01:00:10,360 --> 01:00:13,906 - It was 1970 in the middle of the first taping season 1316 01:00:13,989 --> 01:00:15,616 that Jon Stone came to me, 1317 01:00:15,699 --> 01:00:17,242 and he said, "You know, we got this character, 1318 01:00:17,326 --> 01:00:20,579 this Kermit the Frog," and Jon said to me, 1319 01:00:20,662 --> 01:00:24,249 "What does Kermit think about when he's alone? 1320 01:00:24,333 --> 01:00:27,461 Does he ever have a quiet moment? 1321 01:00:27,544 --> 01:00:29,421 What would you think about doing a song 1322 01:00:29,505 --> 01:00:31,423 that's quiet for him?" 1323 01:00:31,507 --> 01:00:34,384 [soft piano music] 1324 01:00:34,468 --> 01:00:36,678 ♪ ♪ 1325 01:00:36,762 --> 01:00:39,264 I was at my desk, 1326 01:00:39,348 --> 01:00:41,183 and I was thinking about the frog 1327 01:00:41,266 --> 01:00:43,227 and about the swamp and the log. 1328 01:00:46,230 --> 01:00:48,315 And what his life was like alone, 1329 01:00:48,398 --> 01:00:50,526 and what did he actually think of himself? 1330 01:00:50,609 --> 01:00:55,489 And, I mean, like a shot, I mean, without thinking twice, 1331 01:00:55,572 --> 01:00:58,909 I put my hands down on a B-flat chord. 1332 01:00:58,992 --> 01:01:01,537 This whole song just unfolded by itself. 1333 01:01:01,620 --> 01:01:06,583 ♪ ♪ 1334 01:01:06,667 --> 01:01:10,254 - ♪ It's not that easy being green ♪ 1335 01:01:11,463 --> 01:01:15,801 ♪ Having to spend each day the color of the leaves ♪ 1336 01:01:18,053 --> 01:01:20,389 ♪ When I think it could be nicer ♪ 1337 01:01:20,472 --> 01:01:22,891 ♪ Being red or yellow or gold ♪ 1338 01:01:22,975 --> 01:01:26,270 ♪ Or something much more colorful like that ♪ 1339 01:01:29,898 --> 01:01:32,943 - ♪ It's not easy being green ♪ 1340 01:01:33,026 --> 01:01:36,655 ♪ It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things ♪ 1341 01:01:37,739 --> 01:01:39,992 ♪ And people tend to pass you over ♪ 1342 01:01:40,075 --> 01:01:41,618 - ♪ Because you're not ♪ 1343 01:01:41,702 --> 01:01:44,705 ♪ Standing out like flashy sparkles in the water ♪ 1344 01:01:44,788 --> 01:01:47,624 ♪ Or stars in the sky ♪ 1345 01:01:47,708 --> 01:01:50,210 - "It's Not Easy Being Green" with Kermit the Frog. 1346 01:01:50,294 --> 01:01:53,547 - ♪ But green is the color of spring ♪ 1347 01:01:53,630 --> 01:01:56,967 - So many things in this one song. 1348 01:01:57,050 --> 01:02:00,721 I mean, this was a profound song. 1349 01:02:00,804 --> 01:02:05,475 - ♪ And green could be big like an ocean ♪ 1350 01:02:05,559 --> 01:02:08,604 ♪ Or important like a mountain ♪ 1351 01:02:08,687 --> 01:02:10,647 ♪ Or tall like a tree ♪ 1352 01:02:10,731 --> 01:02:12,524 - And I remember thinking, 1353 01:02:12,608 --> 01:02:14,985 "Are they singing about what I think they're singing about?" 1354 01:02:15,068 --> 01:02:17,404 Of course, they were singing about race, 1355 01:02:17,487 --> 01:02:20,157 but they were also singing about being down in the dumps 1356 01:02:20,240 --> 01:02:22,576 because you're a little green frog. 1357 01:02:22,659 --> 01:02:25,954 Some kids just thought it was about a little green puppet 1358 01:02:26,038 --> 01:02:30,209 and other kids thought about, "Maybe it was something else." 1359 01:02:31,793 --> 01:02:33,253 - My father's belief 1360 01:02:33,337 --> 01:02:35,589 that children should never be spoken down 1361 01:02:35,672 --> 01:02:38,383 to specifically in the world of music 1362 01:02:38,467 --> 01:02:40,844 made the music as sophisticated as he could. 1363 01:02:40,928 --> 01:02:43,764 [upbeat music] 1364 01:02:43,847 --> 01:02:46,767 - P. 1365 01:02:46,850 --> 01:02:48,227 Q. 1366 01:02:48,310 --> 01:02:50,812 - The American musical scene 1367 01:02:50,896 --> 01:02:54,358 is a fantastic smorgasbord of fabulous styles. 1368 01:02:54,441 --> 01:02:57,236 - ♪ You can count on me ♪ 1369 01:02:57,319 --> 01:02:59,321 ♪ Count on me ♪ 1370 01:02:59,404 --> 01:03:02,032 - If you're familiar with them, 1371 01:03:02,115 --> 01:03:04,785 you take, "Hey, kids. Here's an olive." 1372 01:03:04,868 --> 01:03:08,372 - ♪ Oh, whenever I see your grouchy face ♪ 1373 01:03:08,455 --> 01:03:13,210 ♪ It makes me want to smile because I like you ♪ 1374 01:03:13,293 --> 01:03:14,503 ♪ Just a little bit ♪ 1375 01:03:14,586 --> 01:03:16,380 - "Hey, kids. Here's a piece of pastrami. 1376 01:03:16,463 --> 01:03:17,673 "Hey, kids. Here's some black-eyed peas. 1377 01:03:17,756 --> 01:03:19,508 Hey, kids." 1378 01:03:19,591 --> 01:03:23,804 - ♪ Now, Nasty Dan was a nasty man the whole day long ♪ 1379 01:03:23,887 --> 01:03:25,889 - Good for him. - ♪ He'd go where he could ♪ 1380 01:03:25,973 --> 01:03:28,684 ♪ And he would try real good to make things go wrong ♪ 1381 01:03:28,767 --> 01:03:30,018 - Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. 1382 01:03:30,102 --> 01:03:32,354 - ♪ He'd jump for joy when a little boy ♪ 1383 01:03:32,437 --> 01:03:33,689 ♪ Would trip and fall ♪ 1384 01:03:33,772 --> 01:03:35,107 - Really mean, huh? 1385 01:03:35,190 --> 01:03:37,901 - ♪ And the only words that he ever said ♪ 1386 01:03:37,985 --> 01:03:39,611 ♪ Were, "I don't like you at all" ♪ 1387 01:03:39,695 --> 01:03:42,281 - Yeah! Right on. 1388 01:03:42,364 --> 01:03:44,032 - And every once in a while, 1389 01:03:44,116 --> 01:03:45,492 "How about a little filet mignon?" 1390 01:03:45,576 --> 01:03:51,123 ♪ ♪ 1391 01:03:51,206 --> 01:03:53,750 Are you kidding? Wow! 1392 01:03:53,834 --> 01:04:00,883 ♪ ♪ 1393 01:04:07,472 --> 01:04:09,808 - So my father and a few other people were tasked 1394 01:04:09,892 --> 01:04:11,810 with creating all of the music for the show, 1395 01:04:11,894 --> 01:04:17,191 so you're talking about 100 or more episodes each season. 1396 01:04:17,274 --> 01:04:19,234 That's a lot of music to produce. 1397 01:04:22,070 --> 01:04:24,156 They would make it every week for the show. 1398 01:04:24,239 --> 01:04:25,490 - Stand by. 1399 01:04:25,574 --> 01:04:27,993 This is a direct cue. Quiet, please! 1400 01:04:28,076 --> 01:04:30,370 - The production sessions, they would go into 3:00 1401 01:04:30,454 --> 01:04:33,248 in the morning, 4:00 in the morning. 1402 01:04:33,332 --> 01:04:36,126 And I would sleep there. 1403 01:04:36,210 --> 01:04:37,586 My father would be stuck in the session. 1404 01:04:37,669 --> 01:04:39,880 My mother would have gone home, 1405 01:04:39,963 --> 01:04:41,173 and he would say, "Oh, I'll bring the kids home 1406 01:04:41,256 --> 01:04:42,925 when we're done." 1407 01:04:43,008 --> 01:04:44,843 He never went home. 1408 01:04:44,927 --> 01:04:48,055 [solemn music] 1409 01:04:48,138 --> 01:04:50,182 - My father didn't even have an apartment 1410 01:04:50,265 --> 01:04:52,684 in New York City or anything. 1411 01:04:52,768 --> 01:04:54,811 And he would go to work and come back four days later, 1412 01:04:54,895 --> 01:04:56,522 that sort of thing, 1413 01:04:56,605 --> 01:04:59,983 and I just thought, "Well, that's what fathers do." 1414 01:05:00,067 --> 01:05:01,652 [bright music] 1415 01:05:01,735 --> 01:05:08,408 - ♪ Oh, me know it true that me so blue ♪ 1416 01:05:08,492 --> 01:05:14,540 ♪ When you far away and you not stay in view ♪ 1417 01:05:14,623 --> 01:05:19,378 - There were no hours to the day. 1418 01:05:19,461 --> 01:05:22,172 We worked from morning deep into the night. 1419 01:05:22,256 --> 01:05:25,175 No one ever kept track of when we were going to have lunch, 1420 01:05:25,259 --> 01:05:26,301 when we were going to have dinner. 1421 01:05:26,385 --> 01:05:28,554 It was getting the show up. 1422 01:05:28,637 --> 01:05:32,975 - ♪ Me got to be blue, me got to be blue ♪ 1423 01:05:33,058 --> 01:05:34,852 - How do you manage a life like that? 1424 01:05:34,935 --> 01:05:37,187 - ♪ What else can me do? ♪ 1425 01:05:37,271 --> 01:05:41,984 - It seems unreasonable to me, but that was what they did. 1426 01:05:42,067 --> 01:05:46,405 And Jon Stone rode herd over that group better 1427 01:05:46,488 --> 01:05:48,699 than anybody could have possibly. 1428 01:05:48,782 --> 01:05:52,077 ♪ ♪ 1429 01:05:52,160 --> 01:05:54,580 - ♪ Now you know it not you ♪ 1430 01:05:54,663 --> 01:05:56,957 - Now he would say that he had three children. 1431 01:05:57,040 --> 01:05:59,877 He had Polly. He had Kate, and he had "Sesame Street," 1432 01:05:59,960 --> 01:06:05,966 and that he felt really passionate about all of us, 1433 01:06:06,049 --> 01:06:07,885 but as his daughters, 1434 01:06:07,968 --> 01:06:09,761 you know, we could grow up and be anything, 1435 01:06:09,845 --> 01:06:12,890 and he would support us and celebrate us, 1436 01:06:12,973 --> 01:06:16,310 but "Sesame Street" had to maintain an integrity, 1437 01:06:16,393 --> 01:06:19,271 and I think he felt the weight of holding onto that 1438 01:06:19,354 --> 01:06:21,815 and being responsible for it. 1439 01:06:21,899 --> 01:06:25,444 - ♪ Just got to be blue ♪ 1440 01:06:27,279 --> 01:06:29,406 ♪ Once more, with feeling! ♪ 1441 01:06:31,408 --> 01:06:33,452 - All right. Okay. 1442 01:06:33,535 --> 01:06:36,622 Three and two, you want to come to the front. 1443 01:06:36,705 --> 01:06:39,750 - What we mostly saw was the funny side of our dad, 1444 01:06:39,833 --> 01:06:41,793 the entertainer. 1445 01:06:41,877 --> 01:06:47,049 But Dad had a dark side, dealt with depression, 1446 01:06:47,132 --> 01:06:50,677 and he felt hurt when things didn't go his way. 1447 01:06:50,761 --> 01:06:52,346 - Stand by! - Take two. 1448 01:06:52,429 --> 01:06:53,972 - Say, "Big Bird!" 1449 01:06:54,056 --> 01:06:56,475 Somebody wants to take your-- 1450 01:06:56,558 --> 01:06:59,645 - Not that camera. - Where do you want cameras? 1451 01:06:59,728 --> 01:07:01,438 - Frankie, you're not on a five. 1452 01:07:04,149 --> 01:07:07,319 Okay, I need to do it? Chopped. 1453 01:07:07,402 --> 01:07:10,781 - I don't know if he wanted love, 1454 01:07:10,864 --> 01:07:17,037 but he was a very sensitive, difficult man. 1455 01:07:17,120 --> 01:07:20,290 - You know, I never had deep conversations with Jon 1456 01:07:20,374 --> 01:07:22,960 about his feelings about things. 1457 01:07:23,043 --> 01:07:27,881 He held his feelings close to his chest, 1458 01:07:27,965 --> 01:07:30,342 but for some reason, 1459 01:07:30,425 --> 01:07:34,388 publicly he was never given the credit that he deserved. 1460 01:07:36,056 --> 01:07:39,351 - He certainly wanted credit for the things 1461 01:07:39,434 --> 01:07:41,895 he had accomplished on the show, 1462 01:07:41,979 --> 01:07:44,690 but it was very hard to get the press 1463 01:07:44,773 --> 01:07:47,109 trained on anyone but me, 1464 01:07:47,192 --> 01:07:51,822 so it was awkward at times. 1465 01:07:51,905 --> 01:07:53,866 ♪ ♪ 1466 01:07:53,949 --> 01:07:55,701 - ♪ When someone socks me in the eye ♪ 1467 01:07:55,784 --> 01:07:56,952 ♪ And they don't even tell me why ♪ 1468 01:07:57,035 --> 01:07:58,328 ♪ That makes me mad ♪ 1469 01:07:58,412 --> 01:08:00,747 - ♪ Yeah, we're angry, very, very angry ♪ 1470 01:08:00,831 --> 01:08:03,375 - Jon did not have much taste for bureaucracy. 1471 01:08:03,458 --> 01:08:04,960 He was an iconoclast in a way. 1472 01:08:05,043 --> 01:08:08,422 I mean, if there was anything nonsensical about the way 1473 01:08:08,505 --> 01:08:11,175 the workshop was being run, 1474 01:08:11,258 --> 01:08:15,095 he would try to express it on the show or off. 1475 01:08:15,179 --> 01:08:18,515 A funny little story that tells you a lot about him, 1476 01:08:18,599 --> 01:08:19,933 when "Sesame" started, 1477 01:08:20,017 --> 01:08:21,643 we had one of those little signs 1478 01:08:21,727 --> 01:08:25,189 where you put little white letters into grooves, 1479 01:08:25,272 --> 01:08:28,817 and it said Children's Television Workshop. 1480 01:08:28,901 --> 01:08:30,485 Every morning when Jon came in, 1481 01:08:30,569 --> 01:08:32,613 he would change that 1482 01:08:32,696 --> 01:08:34,698 to Children's Television Porkshow. 1483 01:08:34,781 --> 01:08:36,241 [laughs] 1484 01:08:36,325 --> 01:08:39,369 Just by changing the P and the W. 1485 01:08:39,453 --> 01:08:41,788 He was just irreverent. 1486 01:08:41,872 --> 01:08:45,209 - Technical term. We like to call it "waiting around." 1487 01:08:49,046 --> 01:08:54,051 - My dad was very close with Jon Stone and Joe Raposo. 1488 01:08:54,134 --> 01:08:58,305 I think he loved the energy of them and the boldness 1489 01:08:58,388 --> 01:09:01,475 of what they were trying to do, and he got caught up in that, 1490 01:09:01,558 --> 01:09:05,020 and it was very inspiring for him. 1491 01:09:05,103 --> 01:09:08,357 - Take one, rolling. - One, two, three, four! 1492 01:09:08,440 --> 01:09:10,484 [upbeat music] 1493 01:09:10,567 --> 01:09:13,320 - Fat. - Fat. 1494 01:09:13,403 --> 01:09:14,571 - Fat. 1495 01:09:14,655 --> 01:09:15,948 - Fat. - Cat. 1496 01:09:16,031 --> 01:09:17,533 - Cat. - Cat. 1497 01:09:17,616 --> 01:09:20,077 - I remember Jim Henson, Frank Oz 1498 01:09:20,160 --> 01:09:22,663 doing a puppet bit, everybody hysterical. 1499 01:09:22,746 --> 01:09:25,082 Jim Henson saying, "What are we teaching?" 1500 01:09:25,165 --> 01:09:28,418 Jon Stone saying, "Happiness." 1501 01:09:28,502 --> 01:09:32,256 "That's the ticket. That's the joy." 1502 01:09:32,339 --> 01:09:34,424 - ♪ A fat cat sat on a hat ♪ 1503 01:09:34,508 --> 01:09:36,176 ♪ So I ran on a mat, pat-a-pat ♪ 1504 01:09:36,260 --> 01:09:37,553 ♪ Had a chat with a gnat ♪ 1505 01:09:37,636 --> 01:09:39,054 ♪ That he pat in a vat that was flat ♪ 1506 01:09:39,137 --> 01:09:40,973 Oh, yeah! 1507 01:09:41,056 --> 01:09:44,935 Oh, fat, cat, sat, hat, and that's that! 1508 01:09:45,018 --> 01:09:46,603 - Scat! 1509 01:09:47,938 --> 01:09:50,023 - One thing that I will credit Joan Ganz Cooney with 1510 01:09:50,107 --> 01:09:53,694 was that she let these guys do what they could do. 1511 01:09:53,777 --> 01:09:56,113 They had ideas and concepts and behaviors 1512 01:09:56,196 --> 01:09:59,783 that were just off-the-wall, 1513 01:09:59,867 --> 01:10:01,118 and they were allowed to do it, 1514 01:10:01,201 --> 01:10:03,287 and that's what people loved. 1515 01:10:03,370 --> 01:10:07,791 They felt the lunacy on the screen, the contained madness. 1516 01:10:07,875 --> 01:10:12,504 - Train rhyme with rain! Me win cookie. 1517 01:10:13,797 --> 01:10:16,175 - So these wildly creative people 1518 01:10:16,258 --> 01:10:18,427 were allowed to just try stuff. 1519 01:10:18,510 --> 01:10:20,929 ♪ ♪ 1520 01:10:21,013 --> 01:10:24,683 - It was chaos, but it was the chaos of people 1521 01:10:24,766 --> 01:10:28,145 dedicated to a real ideal. 1522 01:10:28,228 --> 01:10:29,855 Believing something could be done 1523 01:10:29,938 --> 01:10:32,816 and having the will to do it, 1524 01:10:32,900 --> 01:10:36,820 and it was the most exciting period of our lives. 1525 01:10:36,904 --> 01:10:43,702 ♪ ♪ 1526 01:10:47,372 --> 01:10:50,000 - Those first years of "Sesame Street," 1527 01:10:50,083 --> 01:10:54,338 it was just shocking how much they did. 1528 01:10:55,714 --> 01:10:57,257 - ♪ I'm the King of Eight ♪ 1529 01:10:57,341 --> 01:10:58,759 ♪ And I'm here to state ♪ 1530 01:10:58,842 --> 01:11:00,177 ♪ That everything here has to total eight ♪ 1531 01:11:00,260 --> 01:11:01,970 ♪ ♪ 1532 01:11:02,054 --> 01:11:06,600 - ♪ One wedding cake! Oop ♪ 1533 01:11:12,689 --> 01:11:14,358 - I think it's overstimulating. 1534 01:11:14,441 --> 01:11:16,693 I think it's kind of staggering to a young child's brain 1535 01:11:16,777 --> 01:11:19,571 to have that much excitement and noise, 1536 01:11:19,655 --> 01:11:23,450 sound and all kinds of figures bombarded at them really. 1537 01:11:23,534 --> 01:11:26,995 - I want cookie. I want cookie! Give me cookie. 1538 01:11:27,079 --> 01:11:29,790 Oh, oh, the cookie! Oh, thank you. Oh! 1539 01:11:33,377 --> 01:11:39,925 - Noony, noony, noo, noo, noony, noony, noo. Mm-mmm. 1540 01:11:40,008 --> 01:11:42,427 - P. P! 1541 01:11:42,511 --> 01:11:45,013 Huh? Oh... 1542 01:11:45,097 --> 01:11:47,766 Argh. Ah. 1543 01:11:48,517 --> 01:11:50,227 - Pencil! 1544 01:11:50,310 --> 01:11:53,063 - I had very little experience as a writer, 1545 01:11:53,146 --> 01:11:55,816 and I had no job. 1546 01:11:55,899 --> 01:11:57,192 - Aw. 1547 01:11:57,276 --> 01:12:01,071 - I was basically just writing jokes, 1548 01:12:01,154 --> 01:12:05,576 and I was watching TV, and I saw "Sesame Street." 1549 01:12:05,659 --> 01:12:07,119 - And, matter of fact, there it is! 1550 01:12:07,202 --> 01:12:09,371 They've got Mr. Humpty Dumpty back together again. 1551 01:12:09,454 --> 01:12:11,164 For all the egg lovers of the country, I want you 1552 01:12:11,248 --> 01:12:15,502 to know it's very nice to have you back. 1553 01:12:15,586 --> 01:12:18,338 Uh. Uh, horses? [sirens wail] 1554 01:12:18,422 --> 01:12:20,382 - I was--wow, that's great. 1555 01:12:20,465 --> 01:12:22,009 - [snickering] 1556 01:12:22,092 --> 01:12:23,302 - It was funny. 1557 01:12:23,385 --> 01:12:25,637 - Ooh. Yeah. 1558 01:12:25,721 --> 01:12:27,723 - And it was the only other show 1559 01:12:27,806 --> 01:12:30,517 besides "The Tonight Show" in New York 1560 01:12:30,601 --> 01:12:34,897 that really had comedy writers working for them, 1561 01:12:34,980 --> 01:12:36,690 and I didn't think I had a chance in hell 1562 01:12:36,773 --> 01:12:38,692 at getting a job at "The Johnny Carson Show." 1563 01:12:38,775 --> 01:12:40,861 - You can forget that immediately. 1564 01:12:40,944 --> 01:12:44,072 - And I needed a job. 1565 01:12:44,156 --> 01:12:47,409 But "Sesame Street" has a curriculum, 1566 01:12:47,492 --> 01:12:52,247 so everything that was written taught something. 1567 01:12:53,457 --> 01:12:56,752 And the idea that it was more than just telling jokes 1568 01:12:56,835 --> 01:12:59,963 appealed to me. It had to be entertaining, 1569 01:13:00,047 --> 01:13:01,715 and it was going to teach at the same time, 1570 01:13:01,798 --> 01:13:04,468 and that's hard to do. 1571 01:13:04,551 --> 01:13:05,928 - And I think, you know, 1572 01:13:06,011 --> 01:13:07,721 she may have a personal sensitivity to it 1573 01:13:07,804 --> 01:13:10,307 because that's the first time I've heard that particular one. 1574 01:13:10,390 --> 01:13:15,062 - The writers didn't always understand educational terms. 1575 01:13:16,813 --> 01:13:21,777 So we came up with this big tome, the Writers' Notebook. 1576 01:13:21,860 --> 01:13:26,907 It has all the rules of the show tabbed 1577 01:13:26,990 --> 01:13:29,284 that the writers could thumb through 1578 01:13:29,368 --> 01:13:31,078 to help them understand 1579 01:13:31,161 --> 01:13:36,792 how to translate educational terms into production terms. 1580 01:13:36,875 --> 01:13:39,169 And it was helpful to the educators 1581 01:13:39,253 --> 01:13:42,422 because they could communicate with the writers 1582 01:13:42,506 --> 01:13:45,717 in a nonthreatening way. 1583 01:13:45,801 --> 01:13:48,136 So instead of saying, you know, 1584 01:13:48,220 --> 01:13:51,849 "cognitive development learning letters," 1585 01:13:51,932 --> 01:13:54,935 what you said is, "After watching the segment, 1586 01:13:55,018 --> 01:13:57,938 the child should be able to identify..." 1587 01:13:58,021 --> 01:13:59,648 - Frog. - "The letter Y," 1588 01:13:59,731 --> 01:14:01,567 for example. 1589 01:14:01,650 --> 01:14:05,612 - What's the first letter in the word "yellow"? 1590 01:14:05,696 --> 01:14:07,030 - Y. 1591 01:14:07,114 --> 01:14:08,907 - Because I can't remember. 1592 01:14:08,991 --> 01:14:12,035 - When the curriculum and the entertainment worked together, 1593 01:14:12,119 --> 01:14:15,497 you know, it was like magic! 1594 01:14:15,581 --> 01:14:17,499 - Action! - Come, my lovelies! 1595 01:14:17,583 --> 01:14:19,042 Breathe deeply. 1596 01:14:19,126 --> 01:14:22,296 Enjoy the fresh air, ah, ah, ah. 1597 01:14:22,379 --> 01:14:24,590 - When I came up with the Count, 1598 01:14:24,673 --> 01:14:26,633 I was talking with Sharon. 1599 01:14:26,717 --> 01:14:29,845 I said, "I have this idea for Count von Count," 1600 01:14:29,928 --> 01:14:32,055 and she said, "Well, enumeration, 1601 01:14:32,139 --> 01:14:34,474 that's what you're teaching." 1602 01:14:34,558 --> 01:14:35,684 Well, what is enumeration? 1603 01:14:35,767 --> 01:14:37,644 - Did you say seven? - Yes. 1604 01:14:37,728 --> 01:14:39,980 - I think there's only six, Count. 1605 01:14:40,063 --> 01:14:43,483 - That's funny. I had seven when I left the castle. 1606 01:14:43,567 --> 01:14:45,485 I will count them. 1607 01:14:45,569 --> 01:14:49,323 One, one beautiful bat. Two terrific bats. Three ... 1608 01:14:49,406 --> 01:14:51,950 - When you count, one, two, three, four, five, 1609 01:14:52,034 --> 01:14:55,954 you're just counting, but if you count fingers, 1610 01:14:56,038 --> 01:14:57,623 it's one, two, three, four, five. 1611 01:14:57,706 --> 01:15:00,125 When you get to the fifth, you know you have five fingers. 1612 01:15:00,209 --> 01:15:02,628 - Five fingers. 1613 01:15:02,711 --> 01:15:05,672 - That's enumeration, all right? 1614 01:15:05,756 --> 01:15:09,218 [phone ringing] 1615 01:15:09,301 --> 01:15:15,390 One ring! Two, two rings. Three, three rings! 1616 01:15:15,474 --> 01:15:17,267 [laughs] 1617 01:15:17,351 --> 01:15:20,729 Is that mine? Oh, it must be mine. 1618 01:15:20,812 --> 01:15:25,234 - I think what amazes me most looking back at "Sesame" 1619 01:15:25,317 --> 01:15:29,571 is that there was an underlying humor in everything. 1620 01:15:29,655 --> 01:15:32,199 - Ah, listen, Jack. If you want to work in a world-famous 1621 01:15:32,282 --> 01:15:34,159 nursery rhyme, you got to do it right. 1622 01:15:34,243 --> 01:15:36,411 - I mean, we were all comedy freaks, 1623 01:15:36,495 --> 01:15:38,622 and all of us loved parody, satire. 1624 01:15:38,705 --> 01:15:41,375 - Now jump over means you jump up into the air, 1625 01:15:41,458 --> 01:15:43,001 and you leap, and you sail gracefully 1626 01:15:43,085 --> 01:15:44,837 over the candlestick, 1627 01:15:44,920 --> 01:15:47,130 and you land on the other side. 1628 01:15:48,632 --> 01:15:52,553 - And we would try to appeal to adults as well as to kids. 1629 01:15:52,636 --> 01:15:53,804 - He did it! He did it, folks. 1630 01:15:53,887 --> 01:15:56,265 Jack jumped over the candlestick. 1631 01:15:56,348 --> 01:15:59,601 - Ooh, yeah. Jack also broke every bone in his body, frog. 1632 01:15:59,685 --> 01:16:01,103 - Oh, I'm sorry about that. 1633 01:16:01,186 --> 01:16:02,563 - Yeah, I'm going to sue Mother Goose for that. 1634 01:16:02,646 --> 01:16:04,523 That's some heavy action. 1635 01:16:04,606 --> 01:16:06,650 - Boy, these nursery rhymes get weirder all the time. 1636 01:16:06,733 --> 01:16:07,985 Weird. 1637 01:16:08,068 --> 01:16:09,903 - We found out that if adults 1638 01:16:09,987 --> 01:16:12,781 watched the show with kids, 1639 01:16:12,865 --> 01:16:14,575 that the kids really learned more. 1640 01:16:14,658 --> 01:16:17,619 - Now three plus one equals four! 1641 01:16:17,703 --> 01:16:20,747 - Three plus one equals four? 1642 01:16:20,831 --> 01:16:22,499 - Yes, always. 1643 01:16:22,583 --> 01:16:24,710 - The conversation that the adult had with the child 1644 01:16:24,793 --> 01:16:27,337 while the show was on the air and after the show 1645 01:16:27,421 --> 01:16:30,424 was on the air really enhanced the learning, 1646 01:16:30,507 --> 01:16:34,428 so there was a real conscious effort to attract adults. 1647 01:16:34,511 --> 01:16:36,221 - I am the Count! 1648 01:16:36,305 --> 01:16:39,183 They call me the Count because I love to count things! 1649 01:16:39,266 --> 01:16:41,143 - Wonderful! Well, I am Guy Smiley. 1650 01:16:41,226 --> 01:16:42,644 They call me Guy Smiley 1651 01:16:42,728 --> 01:16:45,439 because I changed my name from Bernie Liederkranz. 1652 01:16:45,522 --> 01:16:47,774 [cheers and applause] - Yes, thank you. 1653 01:16:47,858 --> 01:16:50,319 Yes, I did. I did. 1654 01:16:50,402 --> 01:16:52,988 - So things like "Monsterpiece Theater," 1655 01:16:53,071 --> 01:16:56,575 the parody element wasn't for the kids. 1656 01:16:56,658 --> 01:16:59,578 They didn't have to know "Masterpiece Theater." 1657 01:16:59,661 --> 01:17:01,705 "Monsterpiece Theater" is a funny thing anyway. 1658 01:17:01,788 --> 01:17:06,335 - Good evening, and welcome to "Monsterpiece Theater." 1659 01:17:06,418 --> 01:17:11,757 Me Alistair Cookie. Tonight, me proud to present 1660 01:17:11,840 --> 01:17:15,052 "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." 1661 01:17:15,135 --> 01:17:21,099 - Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo. 1662 01:17:21,183 --> 01:17:22,559 Cuckoo? 1663 01:17:22,643 --> 01:17:24,811 - We wrote something that we knew we would like. 1664 01:17:24,895 --> 01:17:27,648 I think that was the key, and the show 1665 01:17:27,731 --> 01:17:30,526 would not have worked if that weren't the case. 1666 01:17:30,609 --> 01:17:33,987 - One of Chris' incredible talents is his ability 1667 01:17:34,071 --> 01:17:35,822 to write a song 1668 01:17:35,906 --> 01:17:39,993 that sounds like the original but isn't the original. 1669 01:17:40,077 --> 01:17:41,453 - I think I remember how to do it. 1670 01:17:41,537 --> 01:17:43,747 I might start in the wrong key, but. 1671 01:17:43,830 --> 01:17:50,462 ♪ ♪ 1672 01:17:50,546 --> 01:17:53,674 ♪ When I find I can't remember ♪ 1673 01:17:53,757 --> 01:17:58,095 ♪ What comes after A and before C ♪ 1674 01:17:58,178 --> 01:18:01,807 ♪ My mother always whispers "Letter B" ♪ 1675 01:18:04,268 --> 01:18:07,521 ♪ She told me B starts "big" and "bird" ♪ 1676 01:18:07,604 --> 01:18:10,649 ♪ And "ball" and "bat" and "battery" ♪ 1677 01:18:10,732 --> 01:18:15,028 ♪ Yes, buh-buh-buh-buh-buh means letter B ♪ 1678 01:18:17,030 --> 01:18:20,534 - ♪ Letter B, letter B ♪ 1679 01:18:20,617 --> 01:18:25,330 ♪ Letter B, letter B ♪ 1680 01:18:25,414 --> 01:18:32,129 ♪ My mother whispers B words, letter B ♪ 1681 01:18:32,212 --> 01:18:35,215 [cheers and applause] 1682 01:18:35,299 --> 01:18:42,139 ♪ ♪ 1683 01:18:50,898 --> 01:18:52,566 - That was a $5 million lawsuit. 1684 01:18:52,649 --> 01:18:55,736 - [laughs] 1685 01:18:55,819 --> 01:19:00,115 - ♪ My mother whispers B words, letter B ♪ 1686 01:19:00,199 --> 01:19:03,493 - It was all of us having the time of our lives 1687 01:19:03,577 --> 01:19:06,872 writing silly things but always with this message 1688 01:19:06,955 --> 01:19:09,708 that television could be socially valuable. 1689 01:19:09,791 --> 01:19:11,668 - Yeah. 1690 01:19:11,752 --> 01:19:15,047 [soft music] 1691 01:19:15,130 --> 01:19:17,966 ♪ ♪ 1692 01:19:18,050 --> 01:19:21,803 - Big Bird, that's me. [chuckles] 1693 01:19:21,887 --> 01:19:28,894 ♪ ♪ 1694 01:19:34,107 --> 01:19:38,570 - Well, I just drew pictures of all of my grown-up friends 1695 01:19:38,654 --> 01:19:39,696 on "Sesame Street." 1696 01:19:39,780 --> 01:19:42,199 - Look at me! - That's you, Luis. 1697 01:19:42,282 --> 01:19:43,784 [chatter] - Yeah. 1698 01:19:43,867 --> 01:19:45,661 - I know that's got to be me. - There's Susan. 1699 01:19:45,744 --> 01:19:47,496 - Yeah, that's ... You're always smiling, Susan. 1700 01:19:47,579 --> 01:19:49,122 - How's that? - That looks great. 1701 01:19:49,206 --> 01:19:51,458 - Does that look like you? - That's good. 1702 01:19:51,542 --> 01:19:56,922 - And this is Mr. Hooper, who was played by Will Lee. 1703 01:19:57,005 --> 01:20:00,092 He was our grandfather figure, such a kindly man. 1704 01:20:00,175 --> 01:20:02,094 He was always so sweet. 1705 01:20:02,177 --> 01:20:04,137 ♪ ♪ 1706 01:20:04,221 --> 01:20:06,598 And he died in 1982. 1707 01:20:06,682 --> 01:20:09,601 ♪ ♪ 1708 01:20:09,685 --> 01:20:13,230 - Take two! - We had lost a friend. 1709 01:20:13,313 --> 01:20:15,983 He was part of our family. 1710 01:20:16,066 --> 01:20:21,280 - It was a huge, huge loss. - Can I see Mr. Hooper? 1711 01:20:21,363 --> 01:20:23,949 - You want to see the store? Okay, come on in. 1712 01:20:26,201 --> 01:20:30,163 - Yeah. I still miss him. Yeah. 1713 01:20:31,540 --> 01:20:33,959 - So we had a decision to make. 1714 01:20:34,042 --> 01:20:36,587 - We had to describe his absence 1715 01:20:36,670 --> 01:20:39,298 from the show or explain it, 1716 01:20:39,381 --> 01:20:41,592 and believe me, everybody said, 1717 01:20:41,675 --> 01:20:45,137 "Let's just say he retired and went to Florida." 1718 01:20:45,220 --> 01:20:46,680 - But people said, "Well, maybe it's... 1719 01:20:46,763 --> 01:20:49,433 That would be a missed opportunity." 1720 01:20:49,516 --> 01:20:52,519 - If we've been trying to be truthful all along, 1721 01:20:52,603 --> 01:20:55,939 why should we shortchange kids now? 1722 01:20:57,858 --> 01:21:00,903 - Jon, you know, when they speak our language... 1723 01:21:00,986 --> 01:21:04,698 - We talked for a while about how to deal with his death, 1724 01:21:04,781 --> 01:21:07,451 and we decided, "Well, we'd really like to have his death 1725 01:21:07,534 --> 01:21:10,662 "used in a educational way 1726 01:21:10,746 --> 01:21:13,582 that might help children deal with that." 1727 01:21:13,665 --> 01:21:15,167 - And so the question was asked 1728 01:21:15,250 --> 01:21:17,503 of our research department, 1729 01:21:17,586 --> 01:21:19,671 "What do three- to five-year-olds need to know 1730 01:21:19,755 --> 01:21:21,131 about death?" 1731 01:21:21,215 --> 01:21:24,510 So it came down to some very, very simple things. 1732 01:21:24,593 --> 01:21:27,137 They need to know that when somebody dies, 1733 01:21:27,221 --> 01:21:28,972 they don't come back. 1734 01:21:30,849 --> 01:21:34,520 And that whatever you're feeling is okay. 1735 01:21:34,603 --> 01:21:36,230 You can be angry. You can be sad. 1736 01:21:36,313 --> 01:21:38,065 You know, it can be all of them. 1737 01:21:38,148 --> 01:21:41,026 Whatever you feel is fine. 1738 01:21:41,109 --> 01:21:45,072 - TV is make-believe, but life is real. 1739 01:21:45,155 --> 01:21:48,867 In real life, Will Lee died, 1740 01:21:48,951 --> 01:21:51,411 and tomorrow on "Sesame Street," 1741 01:21:51,495 --> 01:21:53,664 Mr. Hooper will die too. 1742 01:21:55,541 --> 01:21:57,251 - When I wrote the scene, 1743 01:21:57,334 --> 01:22:00,587 I didn't want it to be that it just happened. 1744 01:22:02,798 --> 01:22:06,009 It seemed that that would be too jarring. 1745 01:22:07,553 --> 01:22:10,556 I thought it was better if Big Bird 1746 01:22:10,639 --> 01:22:12,975 just hasn't processed it. 1747 01:22:13,058 --> 01:22:14,893 You know, they might have told him that he died, 1748 01:22:14,977 --> 01:22:17,521 but he didn't know what "died" meant, 1749 01:22:17,604 --> 01:22:19,648 and now he's just going to first find out. 1750 01:22:19,731 --> 01:22:22,442 - And last but not least 1751 01:22:22,526 --> 01:22:25,237 ta-da! - Oh, look at that one. 1752 01:22:25,320 --> 01:22:26,280 - Big Bird, that's so beautiful. 1753 01:22:26,363 --> 01:22:27,906 - That's nice. 1754 01:22:27,990 --> 01:22:29,533 - It really looks like him. - Yeah, you captured him. 1755 01:22:29,616 --> 01:22:31,577 - Wow, that's beautiful, Big Bird. 1756 01:22:31,660 --> 01:22:33,078 - Oh, thank you. 1757 01:22:33,161 --> 01:22:35,038 Well, I can't wait until he sees it! 1758 01:22:35,122 --> 01:22:37,207 Hmm. 1759 01:22:37,291 --> 01:22:42,254 Say, where is he? I want to give it to him. 1760 01:22:42,337 --> 01:22:44,298 I know. He's in the store. 1761 01:22:44,381 --> 01:22:48,468 - Big Bird, he's--he's not in there. 1762 01:22:48,552 --> 01:22:51,597 - Oh, then where is he? 1763 01:22:51,680 --> 01:22:54,558 - We carefully and thoroughly researched 1764 01:22:54,641 --> 01:22:57,728 what children's normal reactions to a death are, 1765 01:22:57,811 --> 01:22:59,938 and we tried to deal with those in the form 1766 01:23:00,022 --> 01:23:02,316 of Big Bird's reaction to Mr. Hooper's death. 1767 01:23:02,399 --> 01:23:06,904 - Big Bird, don't you remember we told you? 1768 01:23:06,987 --> 01:23:10,824 Mr. Hooper died. He's dead. 1769 01:23:10,908 --> 01:23:12,993 - Oh, yeah. I remember. 1770 01:23:13,076 --> 01:23:16,413 Well, I'll give it to him when he comes back. 1771 01:23:16,496 --> 01:23:20,501 - Big Bird, Mr. Hooper is not coming back. 1772 01:23:20,584 --> 01:23:24,963 - It's hard to watch. It was a difficult show to do. 1773 01:23:25,047 --> 01:23:28,091 ♪ ♪ 1774 01:23:28,175 --> 01:23:33,847 - Big Bird, when people die, they don't come back. 1775 01:23:33,931 --> 01:23:37,309 - Ever? - No, never. 1776 01:23:39,686 --> 01:23:41,605 - Hmm. 1777 01:23:42,481 --> 01:23:45,108 - It was about the fictional person 1778 01:23:45,192 --> 01:23:46,902 and the real person. 1779 01:23:46,985 --> 01:23:48,487 They were going to be talking about Mr. Hooper, 1780 01:23:48,570 --> 01:23:50,155 but as human beings, 1781 01:23:50,239 --> 01:23:53,825 they were going to be talking about their friend Will. 1782 01:23:53,909 --> 01:23:57,955 - But I don't like it. It makes me sad. 1783 01:23:58,038 --> 01:23:59,790 - We all feel sad, Big Bird. 1784 01:24:01,458 --> 01:24:05,921 - He's never coming back? - Never. 1785 01:24:06,004 --> 01:24:08,257 - No. - Well, I don't understand! 1786 01:24:08,340 --> 01:24:10,801 Why does it have to be this way? 1787 01:24:10,884 --> 01:24:12,803 Give me one good reason. 1788 01:24:14,263 --> 01:24:17,349 - Big Bird, 1789 01:24:17,432 --> 01:24:21,520 it has to be this way because. 1790 01:24:22,938 --> 01:24:24,273 - Just because? 1791 01:24:24,356 --> 01:24:26,692 - Just because. 1792 01:24:28,277 --> 01:24:30,153 - Oh. 1793 01:24:33,866 --> 01:24:38,537 You know, I'm going to miss you, Mr. Looper. 1794 01:24:38,620 --> 01:24:42,499 - That's Hooper, Big Bird, Hooper. 1795 01:24:42,583 --> 01:24:45,419 - Those are real tears, you know. 1796 01:24:45,502 --> 01:24:47,963 There was no acting. 1797 01:24:48,046 --> 01:24:49,715 - Right. 1798 01:24:49,798 --> 01:24:56,555 ♪ ♪ 1799 01:25:01,602 --> 01:25:04,438 - In five, four, three, two, one! 1800 01:25:04,521 --> 01:25:06,857 - I wonder if I got any mail yet today. 1801 01:25:08,358 --> 01:25:10,360 Oh, there's something. 1802 01:25:13,488 --> 01:25:15,866 Where the hell did it go? 1803 01:25:15,949 --> 01:25:18,160 - One of the great things about being part of "Sesame" 1804 01:25:18,243 --> 01:25:21,163 was seeing what happened when a take went wrong. 1805 01:25:21,246 --> 01:25:25,209 - I have paint on my nose? - Yes, right! [laughing] 1806 01:25:25,292 --> 01:25:26,752 - There, is that better? - No! 1807 01:25:26,835 --> 01:25:29,755 [laughter] 1808 01:25:29,838 --> 01:25:32,049 You're permanently scarred for life. 1809 01:25:32,132 --> 01:25:34,343 - The puppeteers would just keep going, 1810 01:25:34,426 --> 01:25:35,844 and they would do all the things 1811 01:25:35,928 --> 01:25:38,680 that we could never possibly do on television. 1812 01:25:38,764 --> 01:25:40,807 - Oh, say, frog. - What? 1813 01:25:40,891 --> 01:25:43,227 - Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be... 1814 01:25:43,310 --> 01:25:46,104 [choking noises] 1815 01:25:46,188 --> 01:25:47,564 - Gladys? 1816 01:25:47,648 --> 01:25:49,650 Oh, thank goodness she died. 1817 01:25:49,733 --> 01:25:51,860 [laughter] 1818 01:25:51,944 --> 01:25:54,446 [indistinct chatter] 1819 01:25:54,530 --> 01:25:56,782 - Jim Henson, Frank Oz, 1820 01:25:56,865 --> 01:25:58,116 they were really professional. 1821 01:25:58,200 --> 01:25:59,618 You know, if they were serious, 1822 01:25:59,701 --> 01:26:02,663 and Jim maybe had to go somewhere to get out, 1823 01:26:02,746 --> 01:26:04,790 then it was serious, you know? 1824 01:26:04,873 --> 01:26:06,416 [doorbell rings] 1825 01:26:08,293 --> 01:26:10,170 - But if they were on kidding around... 1826 01:26:10,254 --> 01:26:13,215 - Oh, hello there! Greetings, froggy, baby ... 1827 01:26:13,298 --> 01:26:15,384 - You had a good day. They were hysterical. 1828 01:26:15,467 --> 01:26:16,844 - Go away, Grover. 1829 01:26:16,927 --> 01:26:18,512 Whatever it is, we do not want any. 1830 01:26:18,595 --> 01:26:21,598 - Whoa! [indistinct speech] 1831 01:26:21,682 --> 01:26:23,600 Open, please. - What? 1832 01:26:23,684 --> 01:26:26,687 - Please, did you open? Open the damn door! 1833 01:26:26,770 --> 01:26:29,481 [laughter] 1834 01:26:30,482 --> 01:26:32,734 - You... I 1835 01:26:32,818 --> 01:26:34,570 - You know, it's too bad you couldn't come to the park 1836 01:26:34,653 --> 01:26:37,239 and play with me today, Bert. 1837 01:26:37,322 --> 01:26:39,992 - Mmm. Yeah, me too, Ernie, 1838 01:26:40,075 --> 01:26:43,120 but I had a lot of stuff to do around here, you know. 1839 01:26:43,203 --> 01:26:44,621 - Hey, Bert. - Mmm? 1840 01:26:44,705 --> 01:26:45,998 - You said, "Me too." 1841 01:26:46,081 --> 01:26:48,709 That didn't follow what I said, Bert. 1842 01:26:48,792 --> 01:26:50,586 [laughter] - I'm sorry. 1843 01:26:50,669 --> 01:26:52,337 - I thought maybe somebody could... 1844 01:26:52,421 --> 01:26:54,464 a friend could save it. 1845 01:26:54,548 --> 01:26:58,093 - Jim and I, we are unrelenting in our cruelty 1846 01:26:58,177 --> 01:27:00,971 towards each other because you can't see our faces, 1847 01:27:01,054 --> 01:27:05,726 but if one of us screws up, instead of pinching in to help, 1848 01:27:05,809 --> 01:27:08,145 the other just kind of smiles at him. 1849 01:27:08,228 --> 01:27:09,605 [laughter] 1850 01:27:11,607 --> 01:27:14,568 - Night, Ernie. - Me too, Bert. 1851 01:27:14,651 --> 01:27:18,197 - Oh, that's cute. Oh, that's funny. 1852 01:27:18,280 --> 01:27:20,949 Lost 17 seconds of our life just then. 1853 01:27:21,033 --> 01:27:24,453 - We were all so silly together. 1854 01:27:24,536 --> 01:27:27,206 - We added tats. That's Tuesday. 1855 01:27:27,289 --> 01:27:32,044 - And the most wonderful thing was to hear Jim Henson laugh, 1856 01:27:32,127 --> 01:27:36,632 let alone make him laugh. That was, like, fantastic. 1857 01:27:36,715 --> 01:27:38,091 - Wait a minute, that's last Tuesday. 1858 01:27:38,175 --> 01:27:39,593 - No, tats. I said we had tats. I said tats. 1859 01:27:39,676 --> 01:27:40,928 - I thought that was weird. 1860 01:27:41,011 --> 01:27:43,388 - We added tats last ... Oh, Your Majesty. 1861 01:27:43,472 --> 01:27:44,890 It's been so hard. 1862 01:27:44,973 --> 01:27:47,434 - How many lines do you have? 1863 01:27:47,518 --> 01:27:48,769 - Let me see. Um... 1864 01:27:48,852 --> 01:27:50,521 Well, the first one ... 1865 01:27:50,604 --> 01:27:52,648 - Let me see. Well... - Three. 1866 01:27:52,731 --> 01:27:55,776 - Three. Well, try to get the first one better! 1867 01:27:55,859 --> 01:28:00,155 - Yes, Your Majesty. [laughter] 1868 01:28:00,239 --> 01:28:02,199 - Jim was such a genius in terms of, you know, 1869 01:28:02,282 --> 01:28:06,703 how to create the imagery with the puppets 1870 01:28:06,787 --> 01:28:10,082 and make it all kind of work, you know, in a magical way. 1871 01:28:10,165 --> 01:28:14,002 I mean, it was like these were real people. 1872 01:28:14,086 --> 01:28:15,963 - Hey, listen, we thought we would talk to you 1873 01:28:16,046 --> 01:28:21,093 a little bit about the concept of being next to. You see? 1874 01:28:21,176 --> 01:28:24,847 Now then, right there you see Charla is next to Frannie. 1875 01:28:24,930 --> 01:28:26,765 - The kids accepted them as being real. 1876 01:28:26,849 --> 01:28:28,684 - What is that over here? 1877 01:28:28,767 --> 01:28:30,394 - Arrow. - A what? 1878 01:28:30,477 --> 01:28:32,020 - Arrow. 1879 01:28:32,104 --> 01:28:33,438 - An arrow? 1880 01:28:33,522 --> 01:28:35,440 - Those one-on-one bits with the Muppets. 1881 01:28:35,524 --> 01:28:36,692 - Let's hear you sing the alphabet. 1882 01:28:36,775 --> 01:28:40,404 - A, B, C, D, E, F, Cookie Monster. 1883 01:28:40,487 --> 01:28:44,199 - It wasn't rehearsed, and it wasn't professional children 1884 01:28:44,283 --> 01:28:49,413 with professional smiles. It was a pretty low-key, 1885 01:28:49,496 --> 01:28:50,789 fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-- 1886 01:28:50,873 --> 01:28:51,915 I mean, that was part of the charm of it 1887 01:28:51,999 --> 01:28:53,750 was that everybody was real. 1888 01:28:53,834 --> 01:28:55,711 - You're not singing the alphabet. 1889 01:28:55,794 --> 01:29:02,551 A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, 1890 01:29:02,634 --> 01:29:07,890 O, P, Q, R, S... - Cookie Monster! 1891 01:29:07,973 --> 01:29:09,600 - I go this way. 1892 01:29:11,018 --> 01:29:13,187 - That way! - That way? 1893 01:29:13,270 --> 01:29:14,688 - Yes. 1894 01:29:14,771 --> 01:29:16,356 - But the arrow was pointing the other way! 1895 01:29:16,440 --> 01:29:18,984 - No, that way. - Okay, it's pointing that way. 1896 01:29:19,067 --> 01:29:21,570 I'll go that way. 1897 01:29:21,653 --> 01:29:24,281 - This way. - That way. 1898 01:29:24,364 --> 01:29:26,700 - Frank Oz is sitting there with Grover, 1899 01:29:26,783 --> 01:29:29,077 and you have a little child, 1900 01:29:29,161 --> 01:29:31,788 and the child is interacting with Grover. 1901 01:29:33,332 --> 01:29:35,667 - Oh, hello, Polly. 1902 01:29:35,751 --> 01:29:37,753 - Frank Oz doesn't exist for that child. 1903 01:29:37,836 --> 01:29:39,963 - It's nice to see you. - It's Grover. 1904 01:29:41,298 --> 01:29:42,549 - Polly? - What? 1905 01:29:42,633 --> 01:29:44,593 - Can you count up to five? - Yes. 1906 01:29:44,676 --> 01:29:46,678 - Can you tell me how? 1907 01:29:48,722 --> 01:29:50,599 One hand, just hold up one hand. 1908 01:29:50,682 --> 01:29:53,477 Now count how many fingers there are on that hand. 1909 01:29:53,560 --> 01:29:58,315 - One, two, three, four, five. - Boy, are you lucky! 1910 01:29:58,398 --> 01:29:59,942 Five fingers. 1911 01:30:00,025 --> 01:30:02,236 - My famous moment with Grover. 1912 01:30:02,319 --> 01:30:05,155 You know, this superstar on television. 1913 01:30:05,239 --> 01:30:08,992 It was a wonderful way to grow up where, you know, 1914 01:30:09,076 --> 01:30:13,664 I had all these friends that were blue and fuzzy. 1915 01:30:13,747 --> 01:30:17,417 - Polly, I am so proud of you. 1916 01:30:20,212 --> 01:30:21,839 Aw! 1917 01:30:23,131 --> 01:30:24,716 - They were close together, you see? 1918 01:30:24,800 --> 01:30:26,760 So they are next to each other. 1919 01:30:26,844 --> 01:30:30,556 Now, Kermit the Frog is next to Carlo. 1920 01:30:32,099 --> 01:30:34,852 - I know that. - Oh. Thank you. 1921 01:30:34,935 --> 01:30:36,520 That's lovely. - [giggling] 1922 01:30:36,603 --> 01:30:39,982 - It's that way. - [panting] 1923 01:30:40,065 --> 01:30:43,694 [sighs] - [laughing] 1924 01:30:45,863 --> 01:30:48,407 What happened, arrow? 1925 01:30:48,490 --> 01:30:51,326 - ♪ W, X, Y and Z ♪ 1926 01:30:51,410 --> 01:30:53,453 - ♪ Now I know ♪ - ♪ Now I've sung ♪ 1927 01:30:53,537 --> 01:30:54,997 - ♪ My ABCs, won't you ♪ 1928 01:30:55,080 --> 01:30:57,124 - Next time, Cookie Monster is-- 1929 01:30:57,207 --> 01:30:59,376 - Next time Cookie Monster can do it with you. 1930 01:30:59,459 --> 01:31:01,628 I'm leaving. 1931 01:31:01,712 --> 01:31:05,090 - I love you. - I love you too. 1932 01:31:05,174 --> 01:31:06,550 - Thanks. 1933 01:31:10,179 --> 01:31:13,390 - I remember once where a lawyer said to me, 1934 01:31:13,473 --> 01:31:15,475 "I often negotiate with Henson," 1935 01:31:15,559 --> 01:31:17,436 and I said, "Give him anything he wants." 1936 01:31:17,519 --> 01:31:19,688 [laughs] 1937 01:31:19,771 --> 01:31:21,481 And the lawyer said, 1938 01:31:21,565 --> 01:31:26,236 "Oh, that's the worst attitude I ever saw from any client." 1939 01:31:27,905 --> 01:31:31,033 I said, "He is precious to me." 1940 01:31:31,116 --> 01:31:32,492 - Tell me, Joan, did you ever think 1941 01:31:32,576 --> 01:31:35,287 when you started this show 20 years ago 1942 01:31:35,370 --> 01:31:37,289 that we would be sitting here now talking about it? 1943 01:31:37,372 --> 01:31:39,166 - Jim, I didn't think you'd be here. 1944 01:31:39,249 --> 01:31:40,667 - Oh, really? 1945 01:31:40,751 --> 01:31:42,252 - I would have thought you would have flown the coop. 1946 01:31:42,336 --> 01:31:44,004 - Oh, I see. 1947 01:31:44,087 --> 01:31:46,131 - What's interesting about it from the viewpoint-- 1948 01:31:46,215 --> 01:31:47,758 Well, from both of our viewpoints 1949 01:31:47,841 --> 01:31:50,385 is it's sort a form of immortality 1950 01:31:50,469 --> 01:31:53,597 because if you think about it, Ernie will live forever. 1951 01:31:53,680 --> 01:31:55,766 We've now built this huge library 1952 01:31:55,849 --> 01:31:59,102 of fabulous "Muppet" pieces 1953 01:31:59,186 --> 01:32:01,855 as well as other kinds of things so that-- 1954 01:32:01,939 --> 01:32:03,649 - Does this mean I can really stop doing Ernie? 1955 01:32:03,732 --> 01:32:08,320 - No, it doesn't, but it means that 200 years from now, 1956 01:32:08,403 --> 01:32:09,738 people will look-- 1957 01:32:09,821 --> 01:32:11,615 be looking at Bert and Ernie and Kermit the Frog. 1958 01:32:11,698 --> 01:32:13,116 It's interesting. 1959 01:32:13,200 --> 01:32:14,993 - Yeah. Frank-- I was talking with Frank Oz. 1960 01:32:15,077 --> 01:32:17,829 You know, he and I imagined when we're in our 80s 1961 01:32:17,913 --> 01:32:19,414 doing Ernie and Bert, 1962 01:32:19,498 --> 01:32:22,000 you know, in rocking chairs and still doing it. 1963 01:32:22,084 --> 01:32:24,461 - Oh, I hope so. - I can imagine that. 1964 01:32:24,545 --> 01:32:26,505 - I may not there with you. 1965 01:32:26,588 --> 01:32:28,799 [both laughing] 1966 01:32:32,177 --> 01:32:35,305 - For millions of people, a little of the magic is gone. 1967 01:32:35,389 --> 01:32:37,432 Jim Henson, the man who created The Muppets, 1968 01:32:37,516 --> 01:32:40,561 the man who made complex characters out of cloth, 1969 01:32:40,644 --> 01:32:43,230 has died at the age of only 53. 1970 01:32:45,774 --> 01:32:49,027 - My name is Jon Stone. I'm a writer and director. 1971 01:32:50,612 --> 01:32:54,575 I don't remember exactly how Jim and I met. 1972 01:32:54,658 --> 01:33:00,664 I know it was 1963 or '64, but from the moment we met, 1973 01:33:00,747 --> 01:33:03,500 we were never very far apart. 1974 01:33:03,584 --> 01:33:06,420 That happened to a lot of people. 1975 01:33:06,503 --> 01:33:07,754 More and more of us 1976 01:33:07,838 --> 01:33:11,592 joined Jim's extended family over the years. 1977 01:33:11,675 --> 01:33:16,096 All the designers and builders and writers and puppeteers, 1978 01:33:16,180 --> 01:33:20,225 one by one, all of us heard the unhearable, 1979 01:33:20,309 --> 01:33:23,145 and my phone rang all that day and that night 1980 01:33:23,228 --> 01:33:28,066 and all the next day. The calls were from you. 1981 01:33:28,150 --> 01:33:31,862 Each of you hurting so much and knowing 1982 01:33:31,945 --> 01:33:35,115 that I must be hurting that much too. 1983 01:33:35,199 --> 01:33:38,619 So you called just to see if I was all right. 1984 01:33:38,702 --> 01:33:44,499 It is no accident that you loving, talented, 1985 01:33:44,583 --> 01:33:49,880 caring people wound up in Jim Henson's family. 1986 01:33:49,963 --> 01:33:55,677 I loved Jim very much, and I love you very much too. 1987 01:33:55,761 --> 01:33:58,597 [piano music] 1988 01:33:58,680 --> 01:34:05,771 ♪ ♪ 1989 01:34:07,231 --> 01:34:13,237 - ♪ It's not that easy being green ♪ 1990 01:34:13,320 --> 01:34:19,034 ♪ Having to spend the day the color of the leaves ♪ 1991 01:34:19,117 --> 01:34:22,162 ♪ When I think it could be nicer ♪ 1992 01:34:22,246 --> 01:34:24,540 ♪ Being red or yellow or gold ♪ 1993 01:34:24,623 --> 01:34:28,460 ♪ Or something much more colorful like that ♪ 1994 01:34:29,586 --> 01:34:31,880 - That song was a point of departure for the series 1995 01:34:31,964 --> 01:34:34,550 and for me. 1996 01:34:34,633 --> 01:34:36,301 - ♪ Being green ♪ 1997 01:34:36,385 --> 01:34:38,345 - The song addresses that one thing that's 1998 01:34:38,428 --> 01:34:41,014 at the kernel of our being. 1999 01:34:41,098 --> 01:34:43,141 We're not sure what we are or what we can be. 2000 01:34:43,225 --> 01:34:44,560 We know there's potential, 2001 01:34:44,643 --> 01:34:46,937 and the realization to accept ourselves. 2002 01:34:47,020 --> 01:34:48,355 - ♪ I am green ♪ 2003 01:34:48,438 --> 01:34:50,274 ♪ And it'll do fine ♪ 2004 01:34:50,357 --> 01:34:52,317 ♪ It's beautiful ♪ 2005 01:34:52,401 --> 01:34:56,280 ♪ And I think it's what I want to be ♪ 2006 01:34:58,615 --> 01:35:00,242 - To know that we can become something 2007 01:35:00,325 --> 01:35:03,203 that we perhaps never dreamed we could be... 2008 01:35:07,165 --> 01:35:09,126 That's what "Sesame Street" is about. 2009 01:35:15,591 --> 01:35:19,178 [indistinct chatter] 2010 01:35:19,261 --> 01:35:20,679 - Stand by. - Okay. 2011 01:35:20,762 --> 01:35:22,264 - Switching over. 2012 01:35:22,347 --> 01:35:24,433 - P. 2013 01:35:24,516 --> 01:35:26,810 [gibberish] 2014 01:35:30,022 --> 01:35:33,275 - R. - No, no, no, no, no. 2015 01:35:37,654 --> 01:35:40,824 - P. - No! [growls] 2016 01:35:50,626 --> 01:35:54,296 But if you say the name first and then the sound shot. 2017 01:35:54,379 --> 01:35:55,714 - Wait, we're teaching something here? 2018 01:35:55,797 --> 01:35:57,007 - Yeah! 2019 01:35:59,468 --> 01:36:02,596 - The happiest time of his life 2020 01:36:02,679 --> 01:36:05,641 were those early years in "Sesame Street" 2021 01:36:05,724 --> 01:36:10,437 when Dad suddenly had this family around him. 2022 01:36:21,406 --> 01:36:23,867 That was all he could ever have wished for. 2023 01:36:27,120 --> 01:36:28,956 You know, he battled depression 2024 01:36:29,039 --> 01:36:31,208 for a good part of his life, 2025 01:36:31,291 --> 01:36:35,462 but on set with the Muppets he was so happy. 2026 01:36:35,546 --> 01:36:37,172 - All right. Quiet please. Here we go. 2027 01:36:43,846 --> 01:36:46,014 [laughter] 2028 01:36:49,935 --> 01:36:51,353 - Cookie Monster? 2029 01:36:51,436 --> 01:36:53,063 - Hmm, what? - That's just so disgusting. 2030 01:36:54,857 --> 01:36:56,149 - Sorry, Jon. 2031 01:36:56,233 --> 01:36:57,860 - Don't worry, Jon, keep rolling. 2032 01:36:57,943 --> 01:36:59,695 - So sorry, Jon. - Sorry, Jon. 2033 01:36:59,778 --> 01:37:03,657 - I bet Jon would like to do those shots one more time! 2034 01:37:03,740 --> 01:37:05,742 - Of course-- - Please don't hurt me. 2035 01:37:05,826 --> 01:37:09,872 Don't yell at me, Jonny. Please! Fade to black! 2036 01:37:11,957 --> 01:37:15,127 [indistinct chatter, laughter] 2037 01:37:16,837 --> 01:37:19,840 - "Sesame Street" truly was the love of his life, 2038 01:37:19,923 --> 01:37:25,220 and that's the thing that he stuck with longer than anybody, 2039 01:37:25,304 --> 01:37:27,389 right up until the end. 2040 01:37:27,472 --> 01:37:29,391 - There must be something to life besides big balloons 2041 01:37:29,474 --> 01:37:31,560 and little balloons. I like little sized balloons. 2042 01:37:31,643 --> 01:37:34,646 - Years ago I tried to persuade Joan Cooney 2043 01:37:34,730 --> 01:37:38,400 to do a special entitled "Backstage at Sesame Street" 2044 01:37:38,483 --> 01:37:43,113 because I wanted to capture the family aura 2045 01:37:43,197 --> 01:37:46,241 that we had in the studio and still have, 2046 01:37:46,325 --> 01:37:51,038 but we never did the show. Maybe we're doing it now. 2047 01:37:51,121 --> 01:37:52,497 [chuckles] 2048 01:38:01,465 --> 01:38:05,636 - It was a family, is a family, 2049 01:38:05,719 --> 01:38:09,348 and really all of us loved each other, 2050 01:38:09,431 --> 01:38:11,391 and it shows in the work. 2051 01:38:13,268 --> 01:38:15,479 - The most amazing part of "Sesame Street" 2052 01:38:15,562 --> 01:38:18,148 was how everybody was in the right place 2053 01:38:18,232 --> 01:38:20,317 at the right time, 2054 01:38:20,400 --> 01:38:22,486 and that's the thing that made the show. 2055 01:38:26,198 --> 01:38:29,952 - Thinking about in the very beginning of the show 2056 01:38:30,035 --> 01:38:33,497 and all of the people that worked on it. 2057 01:38:33,580 --> 01:38:35,999 It's hard for me to talk about it. 2058 01:38:36,083 --> 01:38:38,001 It's very emotional. 2059 01:38:41,421 --> 01:38:43,924 It can't be reproduced. 2060 01:38:45,843 --> 01:38:49,221 - It's still to this day is very difficult for me 2061 01:38:49,304 --> 01:38:51,348 to wrap my mind around 2062 01:38:51,431 --> 01:38:54,810 how big this thing is, how big it became. 2063 01:38:54,893 --> 01:38:58,605 - I don't know that there is a show 2064 01:38:58,689 --> 01:39:01,775 that is as universally loved from childhood 2065 01:39:01,859 --> 01:39:05,112 through adulthood as "Sesame Street" is. 2066 01:39:05,195 --> 01:39:08,532 - "Sesame Street" wanted to give kids tools 2067 01:39:08,615 --> 01:39:12,411 to create the world they wanted to live in. 2068 01:39:12,494 --> 01:39:14,746 - You know, in the beginning, 2069 01:39:14,830 --> 01:39:18,500 we thought we were helping education, 2070 01:39:18,584 --> 01:39:21,712 maybe changing children's television, 2071 01:39:21,795 --> 01:39:25,966 but I don't think any of us sat there thinking, 2072 01:39:26,049 --> 01:39:29,469 "Oh, my God. We're changing the world." 2073 01:39:29,553 --> 01:39:31,513 - There was just a magic moment in time 2074 01:39:31,597 --> 01:39:33,765 where we all worked on an idea 2075 01:39:33,849 --> 01:39:35,726 that we understood was bigger than ourselves. 2076 01:39:37,269 --> 01:39:41,356 - It was an amazing experience. 2077 01:39:41,440 --> 01:39:43,150 - This is why it's still loved. 2078 01:39:43,233 --> 01:39:45,152 The people who do it love it. 2079 01:39:46,778 --> 01:39:48,530 They're genuine, and they believed in 2080 01:39:48,614 --> 01:39:50,282 what they're doing, 2081 01:39:50,365 --> 01:39:52,117 and from the very beginning, 2082 01:39:52,201 --> 01:39:54,703 the joy that those guys put into the show, 2083 01:39:54,786 --> 01:39:57,080 the joy that they all felt... 2084 01:39:58,916 --> 01:40:01,502 It shows on every frame of the show 2085 01:40:01,585 --> 01:40:03,754 throughout its history. 2086 01:40:03,837 --> 01:40:05,672 - Wind. 2087 01:40:05,756 --> 01:40:11,470 ♪ ♪ 2088 01:40:11,553 --> 01:40:14,264 - Ah! 2089 01:40:14,348 --> 01:40:18,060 - "Sesame Street" is immortal. 2090 01:40:18,143 --> 01:40:20,062 - Shake your head. Shake your head. 2091 01:40:20,145 --> 01:40:21,605 Shake your head. 2092 01:40:21,688 --> 01:40:23,357 - Oh, boy, is this fun! - Shake your head. 2093 01:40:23,440 --> 01:40:25,776 Shake your head. Shake your head. 2094 01:40:27,694 --> 01:40:30,405 - Is it--aren't you glad you're playing, everybody? 2095 01:40:30,489 --> 01:40:33,158 ["Sesame Street" theme song ends] 2096 01:40:33,242 --> 01:40:40,249 ♪ ♪ 2097 01:40:55,389 --> 01:40:57,808 - ♪ Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance ♪ 2098 01:40:57,891 --> 01:40:59,351 All right! 2099 01:40:59,434 --> 01:41:01,144 ♪ Dance, dance, dance ♪ 2100 01:41:01,228 --> 01:41:03,272 ♪ Everybody dance ♪ 2101 01:41:03,355 --> 01:41:05,232 ♪ Everybody dance ♪ 2102 01:41:05,315 --> 01:41:07,442 ♪ You can dance with me ♪ 2103 01:41:07,526 --> 01:41:09,528 ♪ You can dance with me ♪ 2104 01:41:09,611 --> 01:41:11,280 ♪ Dance, dance, dance ♪ 2105 01:41:11,363 --> 01:41:12,739 ♪ Dance, dance, dance ♪ 2106 01:41:12,823 --> 01:41:14,032 All right! 2107 01:41:14,116 --> 01:41:15,242 ♪ Dance, dance, dance ♪ 2108 01:41:15,325 --> 01:41:16,827 All right! ♪ Everybody dance ♪ 2109 01:41:16,910 --> 01:41:18,453 ♪ You can dance ♪ 2110 01:41:18,537 --> 01:41:20,330 - ♪ The mama pajama rolled out of bed ♪ 2111 01:41:20,414 --> 01:41:22,791 ♪ She ran to the police station ♪ 2112 01:41:22,875 --> 01:41:24,710 ♪ When the papa found out he began to shout ♪ 2113 01:41:24,793 --> 01:41:27,379 ♪ And he started the investigation ♪ 2114 01:41:27,462 --> 01:41:29,131 ♪ It's against the law ♪ 2115 01:41:29,214 --> 01:41:31,550 ♪ It was against the law ♪ 2116 01:41:31,633 --> 01:41:33,594 ♪ What the mama saw ♪ 2117 01:41:33,677 --> 01:41:35,304 ♪ It was against the law ♪ 2118 01:41:35,387 --> 01:41:36,972 - ♪ It's against the law ♪ 2119 01:41:37,055 --> 01:41:38,515 - ♪ The mama looked down and spit on the ground ♪ 2120 01:41:38,599 --> 01:41:41,393 ♪ Every time my name gets mentioned ♪ 2121 01:41:41,476 --> 01:41:44,021 ♪ The papa said, "Oy, if I get that boy ♪ 2122 01:41:44,104 --> 01:41:46,231 ♪ I'm gonna stick him in the house of detention" ♪ 2123 01:41:46,315 --> 01:41:48,525 ♪ Well I'm on my way ♪ 2124 01:41:48,609 --> 01:41:50,402 ♪ I don't know where I'm going ♪ 2125 01:41:50,485 --> 01:41:52,112 ♪ But I'm on my way ♪ 2126 01:41:52,196 --> 01:41:53,530 ♪ I'm taking my time ♪ 2127 01:41:53,614 --> 01:41:54,948 ♪ But I don't know where ♪ 2128 01:41:55,032 --> 01:41:59,119 ♪ Goodbye to Rosie, the queen of Corona ♪ 2129 01:41:59,203 --> 01:42:00,579 ♪ Seeing me and Julio ♪ 2130 01:42:00,662 --> 01:42:03,248 ♪ Down by the schoolyard ♪ 2131 01:42:03,332 --> 01:42:04,499 ♪ Seeing me and Julio ♪ 2132 01:42:04,583 --> 01:42:06,126 ♪ Down by the schoolyard ♪ 2133 01:42:06,210 --> 01:42:07,711 - ♪ Dance, dance, dance ♪ 2134 01:42:07,794 --> 01:42:09,421 ♪ Everybody dance ♪ 2135 01:42:09,505 --> 01:42:14,301 ♪ Everybody ♪ 2136 01:42:14,384 --> 01:42:16,011 - Whoo! 2137 01:42:16,094 --> 01:42:19,306 [cheers and applause] 2138 01:42:19,389 --> 01:42:23,977 [upbeat jazz music] 2139 01:42:24,061 --> 01:42:26,605 - ♪ Excuse me, Mr. Hoots I hate to bug a busy bird ♪ 2140 01:42:26,688 --> 01:42:27,940 ♪ But I want to learn the sax ♪ 2141 01:42:28,023 --> 01:42:29,525 ♪ And I need a helpful word ♪ 2142 01:42:29,608 --> 01:42:31,401 ♪ I always get a silly squeak ♪ 2143 01:42:31,485 --> 01:42:33,320 ♪ When I play the blues ♪ 2144 01:42:34,947 --> 01:42:36,156 - ♪ Ernie, keep your cool ♪ 2145 01:42:36,240 --> 01:42:37,783 ♪ I'll teach you how to blow the sax ♪ 2146 01:42:37,866 --> 01:42:39,243 ♪ I think I dig your problem ♪ 2147 01:42:39,326 --> 01:42:40,619 ♪ It's rubber, and it quacks ♪ 2148 01:42:40,702 --> 01:42:42,329 ♪ You'll never find the skill you seek ♪ 2149 01:42:42,412 --> 01:42:44,289 ♪ Till you pay your dues ♪ 2150 01:42:45,832 --> 01:42:48,794 ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2151 01:42:48,877 --> 01:42:51,547 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2152 01:42:51,630 --> 01:42:53,006 ♪ Put down the duckie yeah ♪ 2153 01:42:53,090 --> 01:42:55,259 ♪ You've got to leave the duck alone ♪ 2154 01:42:57,052 --> 01:42:59,847 all: ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2155 01:42:59,930 --> 01:43:02,599 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2156 01:43:02,683 --> 01:43:06,895 ♪ Put down the duckie if you wanna play the saxophone ♪ 2157 01:43:06,979 --> 01:43:09,231 - Whoo! 2158 01:43:09,314 --> 01:43:11,942 - You didn't hear a word I said. 2159 01:43:12,025 --> 01:43:14,903 ♪ You got to get it through your head ♪ 2160 01:43:14,987 --> 01:43:17,531 ♪ Don't be a stubborn cluck ♪ 2161 01:43:17,614 --> 01:43:19,241 ♪ Ernie, lay aside the duck ♪ 2162 01:43:19,324 --> 01:43:20,492 ♪ I've learned a thing or two ♪ 2163 01:43:20,576 --> 01:43:22,202 ♪ From years of playing in a band ♪ 2164 01:43:22,286 --> 01:43:24,621 ♪ It's hard to play a saxophone with something in your hand ♪ 2165 01:43:24,705 --> 01:43:26,081 ♪ To be a fine musician ♪ 2166 01:43:26,164 --> 01:43:29,960 ♪ You're going to have to face the facts ♪ 2167 01:43:30,043 --> 01:43:33,213 all: ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2168 01:43:33,297 --> 01:43:35,966 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2169 01:43:36,049 --> 01:43:37,217 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2170 01:43:37,301 --> 01:43:40,804 ♪ You've got to leave the duck alone ♪ 2171 01:43:40,888 --> 01:43:44,266 ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2172 01:43:44,349 --> 01:43:46,935 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2173 01:43:47,019 --> 01:43:50,147 ♪ Put the duckie if you want to play the saxophone ♪ 2174 01:43:50,230 --> 01:43:51,815 - Yeah! 2175 01:43:51,899 --> 01:43:53,108 - ♪ Though you're blessed with flying fingers ♪ 2176 01:43:53,192 --> 01:43:54,860 ♪ When you want to wail, you're stuck ♪ 2177 01:43:54,943 --> 01:43:56,153 ♪ What good are flying fingers ♪ 2178 01:43:56,236 --> 01:43:57,946 ♪ If they're wrapped around a duck ♪ 2179 01:43:58,030 --> 01:44:01,366 ♪ Change the toy's position if you wanna ace the sax ♪ 2180 01:44:01,450 --> 01:44:02,993 ♪ Yeah! ♪ 2181 01:44:03,076 --> 01:44:05,537 all: ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2182 01:44:05,621 --> 01:44:08,332 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2183 01:44:08,415 --> 01:44:09,625 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2184 01:44:09,708 --> 01:44:11,710 ♪ You've got to leave the duck alone ♪ 2185 01:44:11,793 --> 01:44:13,045 ♪ Don't mess with me ♪ 2186 01:44:13,128 --> 01:44:16,340 ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2187 01:44:16,423 --> 01:44:17,633 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2188 01:44:17,716 --> 01:44:20,093 ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2189 01:44:20,177 --> 01:44:22,513 ♪If you want to play the saxophone ♪ 2190 01:44:25,766 --> 01:44:28,310 - ♪ Don't have to put it on a train ♪ 2191 01:44:28,393 --> 01:44:31,188 ♪ Don't have to wash it down the drain ♪ 2192 01:44:31,271 --> 01:44:33,982 ♪ Don't have to lock it in a drawer ♪ 2193 01:44:34,066 --> 01:44:36,818 ♪ Don't have to shove it out the door ♪ 2194 01:44:36,902 --> 01:44:39,571 ♪ Don't have to stuff it in your pocket ♪ 2195 01:44:39,655 --> 01:44:42,115 ♪ Or send it flying in a rocket ♪ 2196 01:44:42,199 --> 01:44:44,910 ♪ Don't have to get it out of town ♪ 2197 01:44:44,993 --> 01:44:47,162 ♪ Ernie put the quacker down ♪ 2198 01:44:47,246 --> 01:44:48,830 - Oh, gee, Hoots, you know 2199 01:44:48,914 --> 01:44:50,707 I really love my duckie. I can't bear to part with him. 2200 01:44:50,791 --> 01:44:53,210 - Oh, you don't have to lose your duck. 2201 01:44:53,293 --> 01:44:55,921 all: ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2202 01:44:56,004 --> 01:44:58,799 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2203 01:44:58,882 --> 01:45:00,092 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2204 01:45:00,175 --> 01:45:01,844 ♪ You've got leave the duck alone ♪ 2205 01:45:03,929 --> 01:45:06,849 ♪ You've got to put down the duckie ♪ 2206 01:45:06,932 --> 01:45:09,726 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2207 01:45:09,810 --> 01:45:11,019 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2208 01:45:11,103 --> 01:45:13,689 ♪ If you want to play the saxophone ♪ 2209 01:45:14,815 --> 01:45:16,775 - Gee, Hoots, you know I really love my duckie. 2210 01:45:16,859 --> 01:45:18,569 I can't part with him. 2211 01:45:18,652 --> 01:45:20,195 - Well, you don't have to lose your duck. 2212 01:45:20,279 --> 01:45:22,030 You can pick it up when you're finished. 2213 01:45:22,114 --> 01:45:23,198 - I can? - Yeah! 2214 01:45:23,282 --> 01:45:24,992 - Oh, wow! 2215 01:45:25,075 --> 01:45:31,915 ♪ ♪ 2216 01:45:35,711 --> 01:45:37,921 ♪ You've got put down the duckie ♪ 2217 01:45:38,005 --> 01:45:40,048 - ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ - ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2218 01:45:40,132 --> 01:45:42,467 - ♪ Put that down ♪ - ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2219 01:45:42,551 --> 01:45:44,803 ♪ Yeah, you've got to leave the duck alone ♪ 2220 01:45:46,847 --> 01:45:48,140 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2221 01:45:48,223 --> 01:45:49,558 - ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2222 01:45:49,641 --> 01:45:51,018 - ♪ Put down that duckie ♪ 2223 01:45:51,101 --> 01:45:52,352 - ♪ Put down ♪ 2224 01:45:52,436 --> 01:45:53,687 - ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2225 01:45:53,770 --> 01:45:55,522 ♪ If you want to play the saxophone ♪ 2226 01:45:55,606 --> 01:45:57,441 ♪ One more time ♪ 2227 01:45:57,524 --> 01:46:00,569 all: ♪ You've got put down the duckie ♪ 2228 01:46:00,652 --> 01:46:03,447 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2229 01:46:03,530 --> 01:46:04,740 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2230 01:46:04,823 --> 01:46:08,660 ♪ You've got to leave the duck alone ♪ 2231 01:46:08,744 --> 01:46:11,622 ♪ You've got put down the duckie ♪ 2232 01:46:11,705 --> 01:46:14,374 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2233 01:46:14,458 --> 01:46:15,709 ♪ Put down the duckie ♪ 2234 01:46:15,792 --> 01:46:19,755 ♪ If you want to play the saxophone ♪ 2235 01:46:19,838 --> 01:46:22,466 - Whoo. Can I pick up my duckie? 2236 01:46:22,549 --> 01:46:25,135 - By all means! - Oh, thank you. 2237 01:46:25,219 --> 01:46:27,513 Oh, duckie, I missed you so much. 2238 01:46:27,596 --> 01:46:29,264 Yes, me too. 2239 01:46:29,348 --> 01:46:31,058 - Take care, Ernie, my man! 2240 01:46:33,519 --> 01:46:35,646 - Well, I want you to know how truly unpleasant 2241 01:46:35,729 --> 01:46:37,481 it has been having to talk to you. 2242 01:46:37,564 --> 01:46:40,317 So I'm going to leave now so ta-ta. 2243 01:46:40,400 --> 01:46:42,694 Oh, that sounded as though I might have cared too. 2244 01:46:42,778 --> 01:46:45,030 How about scram, get out of here, 2245 01:46:45,113 --> 01:46:47,491 and I can't stand you? [laughs] 2246 01:46:47,574 --> 01:46:49,576 Ow, why don't you watch that?