Miles Orman played Miles Robinson on Sesame Street

Sesame Street

Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...

from 1985 to 1992. He is the son of Roscoe Orman

Roscoe Orman

Roscoe Hunter Orman is an American actor who plays Gordon Robinson on the television program Sesame Street. Orman joined the show in 1973, taking over as the third actor to play Gordon on the show...

, who plays Miles Robinson's adopted father Gordon.

Roscoe originally suggested that Gordon and Susan have a child when he first joined the show in 1974. At the time, the producers felt that it was too complicated to cast a baby to play the part. Ten years later, when Roscoe's son Miles was a year old, he revisited the idea. Roscoe remembers, "Caroll Spinney

Caroll Spinney

Caroll Edwin Spinney, sometimes credited as Carroll Spinney or Ed Spinney , is an American puppeteer most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on the children's television show Sesame Street.-Life and career:...

 offhandedly said one day, 'That son of yours is so cute -- he's such a great kid -- we should bring him on the show and let him be your son.' I said that I had suggested something like that years ago but it was shot down. And he said, 'Well, you know, you could even adopt him.' That really started my wheels turning and I mentioned it to [Executive Producer] Dulcy Singer

Dulcy Singer

Dulcy Singer served as an American television producer for Christmas Eve on Sesame Street in 1978 and as executive producer for Sesame Street from 1982-1995.She received her B.A...

."

The producers were intrigued by the adoption angle, and cast Miles in the role. "The idea is that he'll grow up on the show -- for as long as he wants to," Roscoe said in 1986. "He's very outgoing and friendly. He likes people and that's helpful; he's not a wallflower."

Orman grew up in Englewood, New Jersey

Englewood, New Jersey

Englewood is a city located in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 27,147.Englewood was incorporated as a city by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of...

 and attended Bergen Catholic High School

Bergen Catholic High School

Bergen Catholic High School is an all-male Roman Catholic high school in Oradell, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade...

 in Oradell

Oradell, New Jersey

Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. At the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 7,978. The borough's territory includes a dam on the Hackensack River that forms the Oradell Reservoir...

, a Catholic all-male college preparatory school. He played varsity basketball for the Crusaders from 1999-2003. Orman attended Marist College

Marist College

Marist College is a private liberal arts college on the east bank of the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The site was established in 1905 by Marist Brothers, and the college was chartered in 1929...

 and played for four seasons on their basketball team.

Sources

• "Meet Gordon: Roscoe Orman," by Rebecca Herman. Sesame Street (magazine) Parents' Guide, issue 160, December 1986.