"Sesame Street" debuted on November 10, 1969. Just think: The 3-year-old preschoolers who watched the show from the beginning are now 43. It took place on an inner-city street and crossed ethnic and generational lines. From the beginning, Sesame Street taught children that everyone's different and everyone brings a special ability to the world. At the beginning, the focus was on the four people on the street. Their supporting cast consisted of only two Muppets, Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Ernie, Bert and others appeared separately. The Muppets were intended to be only bit players, but their popularity soon made them the stars.
Incidentally, Bert and Ernie were named as homage to George Bailey’s friends in "It's a Wonderful Life." Bert was the cop and Ernie the cab driver. In the 1970's and 1980's, Grover and Cookie Monster arrived, followed by Telly and Elmo. Sesame Street introduced an "Elmo's World" segment, which contributed to Elmo's huge popularity, both on the show and as a toy. In 1989, Bill Cosby hosted Sesame Street's 20th anniversary TV special.
Sesame Street didn't shy from sharing life's bad situations with children. In 1982, the actor Will Lee died. He had portrayed Mr. Hooper, a central character on the show from the beginning. The writers faced the issue of death honestly. There was a special episode in which the adults told Big Bird why Mr. Hooper wouldn't be around from now on. They celebrated their good memories of him and showed children how to handle a difficult situation in real life
Sesame Street and co-productions throughout the world have appeared in more than 120 countries, and it is the most widely viewed children's television series in the world. More than four million South African children watch Takalani Sesame and have heard explanations of the HIV/AIDS crisis. Children who watched Sesame Street have even shown to have better literacy and numeric skills than those who did not watch. By 2008, Sesame Street had won more Emmy Awards than any other television show in history.
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