On Thanksgiving in 1983, families across America crowded around the television together, ready to take in a history making moment. It was an occasion that would bring tears, but also understanding. And the four-and-a-half-minute segment resonates just as strongly today as it did when it aired close to four decades ago.
Will Lee, who originated the role of Sesame Street’s gruff grocer Mr Hooper, had passed away from a heart attack at the age of 74. But rather than write the character out of the show or recast, producer Jon Stone decided that – just like all other segments of the children’s series – it would become a teachable moment.
“We decided Will would really like to have his death used in an educational way that might help kids cope with that,” he explains in archival footage in the upcoming documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street. “We carefully and thoroughly researched what children’s normal reactions to a death are and we tried to deal with it in the form of Big Bird’s reaction to Mr Hooper’s death. It’s hard to watch. It was a difficult show to do.”
This story is from the February 2022 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
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This story is from the February 2022 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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