“Sesame Street” celebrates 40 fabulous years
November 10, 2009 6:19 pm television
Beloved children’s show “Sesame Street” celebrates 40 years on the airwaves
Let’s hear it for 40 fabulous years.
Forty years of letters, numbers and colors. Forty years of zany sketches and silly songs.
Forty years of memorable characters: Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Big Bird, Elmo, The Count, Bert and Ernie and Prairie Dawn.
Let’s hear it for “Sesame Street.”
The beloved children’s television show celebrates four decades today. First Lady Michelle Obama and her Muppet friends will teach kids about healthy eating and home vegetable gardening.
The anniversary is sure to stir up some pleasant memories for the millions who have seen “Sesame Street” over the years.
I personally have vivid memories of watching “Sesame Street” on Oregon Public Broadcasting.
As a small child, I watched wide-eyed as the Muppets parodied the Beatles’ “Let It Be,” Ernie sang to his rubber duckie and Cookie Monster proclaimed his love of sweets with “C is for Cookie.”
In college, I’d sometimes click on the television before class to bask in the warm, wonderful glow of “Sesame Street.” There was something calm and comforting about that show — something that made the stress of tests, essays and extracurricular activities fade away.
Even now, I can’t deny the show’s influence on me.
Could roving reporter Kermit the Frog — last seen interviewing aliens at Old McDonald’s Farm — have encouraged me to pursue journalism as a career?
As “Sesame Street” celebrates 40 years, I invite you to check out National Public Radio’s nice retrospective on the show and its evolution. Better yet, simply switch on the TV and watch.
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“Sesame Street” airs at 7 a.m. weekdays on KCET, Channel 16.
Pat :
Date: November 11, 2009 @ 5:10 pm
When I was a kid, I had several Sesame puppets, including Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, and Oscar the Grouch. My grandfather made me a little puppet theater complete with a red velvet curtain, and I’d put shows on for the family.
I never did have a Kermit puppet. Instead, I had this little monkey — Monk Monk, I called him — who took on the Kermit-like roles.
Dang. Maybe I should’ve gone into puppetry. I was pretty good.
RIP, Jim Henson.
Pat :
Date: November 11, 2009 @ 5:11 pm
Oh yeah — I also had Cookie Monster. I cut a hole in the back of his mouth, so he could really “swallow” cookies.
David Middlecamp :
Date: November 11, 2009 @ 5:16 pm
I’ve been looking on Mapquest and can’t find it. Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?