‘Sesame Street’ co-creator Lloyd Morrisett dies at 93

Lloyd Morrisett, co-creator of beloved children’s TV show Sesame Street, has died on Sesame workshop announced Monday. He was 93 years old.

He died of natural causes Sunday at his home in San Diego, his daughter Julie told The Hollywood Reporter.

Joan Ganz Cooney, its co-founder and close friend, said it well. “Without Lloyd Morrisett, there would be no Sesame Street. He was the one who came up with the idea of ​​using television to teach preschoolers basic skills, such as letters and numbers .

— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) January 23, 2023

In 1966, Morrisett teamed up with his friend Joan Ganz Cooney to develop a program that could help prepare children for early schooling. Three years later, Sesame Street debuted, teaching children to read and count with the help of Big Bird, the Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and the Muppets created by legendary puppeteer Jim Henson.

“Without Lloyd Morrisett, there would be no Sesame Street,” Cooney wrote in Tweeter accompanying the Sesame Workshop announcement. “He was the one who came up with the idea of ​​using television to teach preschoolers basic skills, like letters and numbers. He was a trusted partner and loyal friend to me for over fifty years, and he will be sorely missed.”

The show would also continue to teach children about tolerance, divorce, and racism. Its setting and distribution were designed to be a welcoming mirror for underprivileged children, reflecting the diversity of urban areas such as New York. Against the backdrop of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, it was one of the first television shows to show black and white children playing together.

“It was an urban environment, designed from the ground up to show diversity,” Morrisett said in a 2019 interview with American University Radio as the show celebrated its 50th anniversary. “And, of course, the Muppets were different colors, different shapes, different sizes. And that was put in place on purpose to show kids that they could be friends with people who didn’t look like them.”

Morrisett served as chairman of the board of Sesame Workshop, which oversees Sesame Street from 1968 to 2000, before being named honorary director for life.

“A wise, thoughtful and above all kind leader of the Atelier for decades, Lloyd was fascinated by the power of technology and constantly thought of new ways to use it to educate,” Atelier Sesame said in a statement. . statement on Twitter.

The show he helped create has become one of the longest-running shows in the world, attracting millions of viewers every week in more than 150 countries. During its more than five-decade run, Sesame Street has won 216 Emmys and 11 Grammys, and in 2019 it became the first television program to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.

Morrisett and Cooney accepted recognition, along with Big Bird, Elmo and Abby Cadabby.