Sesame Street History

SESAME STREET HISTORY
Jim Henson, artist and puppeteer, created the Sesame Street muppets for Children’s Televsion Workshop in the mid-sixties. Jim Henson’s Muppet creations were already well know to network TV viewers when television producer Joan Ganz Cooney asked Henson to create a family of muppet characters for Sesame Street. Cooney began her evaluation of children’s television under the auspices of the Carnegie Institute. Her disappointment in the lack of educational shows for children led to the formation of the Children’s Television Workshop and the production of Sesame Street. From the start, the use of puppets had been envisioned for Sesame Street. It was felt that muppets were the perfect means to entertain preschoolers while they learned. Hence, the birth of Ernie, Bert, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Cookie Monster, and Big Bird.

After several years of research and testing, Sesame Street premiered in 1969. The series was designed to help preschoolers build the skills needed to provide a smooth transition from home to school. The show focused on learning the alphabet, numbers and social skills. The strategy was to combine education with entertainment. The show was, and probably still is, one of the most thoroughly researched television programs ever produced. In fact, Sesame Street has been recognized with more than 50 Emmy Awards.
Sesame Street is currently produced by Sesame Workshop (formerly called Children’s Television Workshop), and the year 2000-2001 is its 31st season on PBS. The Jim Henson Company continues to create and perform the muppet characters on Sesame Street for Sesame Workshop, as well as a long list of other creative productions.

Jim Henson, was born in Greenville Mississippi in 1936. Throughout his childhood, Henson showed an interest in both art and television. In 1954, while a high school student, Henson began his television career with puppets on a Washington, DC Saturday morning program. During his freshman year in college, he had his own daily, five minute show called “Sam and Friends” on a local NBC affiliate. The show also featured an early version of Kermit the Frog, who later became a very famous muppet. More recently, Jim Henson was well known for Miss Piggy, The Muppet Show, several Muppet feature films, and two fantasy films (The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth). The Jim Henson company today is “a multimedia production company, one the the top character licensors in the industry, a leading publisher of children’s books and home to Jim Henson Television, Jim Henson Pictures, Jim Henson Interactive and Jim Henson’s Creature Shop.” Recently, the Jim Henson company was acquired by a company called EM.TV & Merchandising AG, based in Munich, Germany. Jim Henson died in 1990. His son, Brian Henson, is also an award winning director, producer and puppeteer. Brian Henson is also Chairman of The Jim Henson Company and is continuing his father’s legacy.

Other interesting Sesame Street trivia:
  • A Sesame Street 12 month subscription magazine is available for kids 2-5 years.
  • Kids in the U.S. continue to enjoy “Sesame Street Live”, a live action Sesame Street Show, with stops at over 150 cities each year.
  • Sesame Street merchandise can be found every category imaginable, including Sesame Street clothing (t-shirts, shoes, underwear, pajamas, swimwear, toddler play sets, caps & visors), Sesame Street software, Sesame Street videos and cassettes, Sesame Street household items (dinnerware sets, clocks, bedding, bathroom towels & accessories, clocks), Sesame Street school supplies (backpacks, lunchboxes, educational books), Sesame Street toys and games, Sesame Street party supplies, Sesame Street Collectibles, Sesame Street cookies, and much more!

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