Susan Tofte is Sesame Workshop’s Archivist.
“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” – Jackie Robinson
Of the hundreds of celebrities who have appeared on Sesame Street, Jackie Robinson is one of the most notable. Workshop co-founder Joan Ganz Cooney met with Robinson in 1969 when she was working to build awareness and outreach prior to the show’s November premiere. Reaching out to Robinson and his connections made sense. Read More
Joe Hennes works at Sesame Workshop and is the co-proprietor of Tough Pigs.
Over the course of Sesame Street’s 43-year history, characters come and go. Not everyone can be a Grover or Cookie Monster, lasting decades while still staying fresh and entertaining. For every Big Bird, there’s a Roosevelt Franklin. For every Bert and Ernie, there’s a Biff and Sully. Despite the fact that these characters aren’t around anymore, we still hold a lot of love for them and the joy they gave us over the years.
One of our favorite examples is the great Don Music, the absent-minded composer who fought through his frustration to pen such classics as “Mary Had a Bicycle” and “Drive, Drive, Drive your Car”. He showed us that creating art isn’t easy, and the final result isn’t always what you expected it to be. Read More
Fire Safety, disaster recover, serious illness, healthy eating habits, and divorce. All of these topics have been covered as part of Sesame Street’s long and diverse history of outreach initiatives. When Sesame Street first aired in 1969, there were significant obstacles to Sesame Street reaching children in poor communities – the very children the show most wanted to reach. Meeting this challenge became the Workshop’s first outreach program. Read More
