Sesame Workshop
Encyclopedia
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is a World
wide American
non-profit organization
behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world (including PBS
in the United States). Sesame Workshop was instrumental in the establishment of education children's television in the 1960s, and continues to provide grants for educational children's programming four decades later. Joan Ganz Cooney
and Lloyd Morrisett
were the original founders, with the intention of producing a revolutionary television series based on cutting-edge research into childhood learning. The result was Sesame Street
, a landmark program which has been reproduced in countries around the world.
Although it was originally funded by the Carnegie Corporation and the United States Office of Education
, the majority of the Workshop's funding is now earned through licensing the use of their characters to a variety of corporations to use for books, toys, and other products marketed toward children. This ensures that the Workshop has reliable access to funding for its programming without depending on unpredictable grants.
and Lloyd Morrisett
in 1968 to produce Sesame Street
, the company, currently run by President and CEO Gary E. Knell, has since produced many other shows and a variety of multimedia content. The CTW name was officially changed to Sesame Workshop on New Years Day 2000 to reflect the company's reach into new media and capitalize on the worldwide recognition provided by the Sesame Street name (although Sesame Street continued to use the CTW name until April 2000).
, the grant-issuing foundation, to act and advise independent of what is now WNET
, Cooney began laying the groundwork for the Children's Television Workshop. Carnegie hired Linda Gotley to help Cooney write the proposal. Barbara Finberg and Lloyd Morrisett, program officers at Carnegie would regularly react as funders, every few days trying to find holes in the proposal. During these days, segments like "One of these things is not like the others" were established.
Despite the insistence of the US Office of Education that there was no money to fund the project, Howe persisted, and insisted the project be classified as a research project. Ford joined funding, as did the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was being established just as Sesame Street was. Between those organizations and Carnegie, US$8 million was raised to create a semi-autonomous organization. This organization was established to become completely separate, should they succeed.
At a press conference in March 1968, the Children's Television Workshop and Sesame Street were announced. Jack Gould
, television critic for The New York Times
, gave the project front page space. "If you had Jack Gould in your corner, you could not believe what it meant," said Cooney decades later.
With Cooney, an assistant, and a secretary, CTW began production on the show. Cooney tried to talk George DeSarde of WCBS-TV
to come to CTW as producer of the series. Within a few days of being graciously declined by DeSarde, Cooney received a letter from Mike Dann of CBS, who eagerly wanted to join as an executive producer. Dann and Fred Silverman
decided Cooney should try to get David Connell as a producer.
Connell had recently left Captain Kangaroo
, and started his own company in an attempt to get out of the kids' TV industry. After four meetings, Cooney talked Connell into signing on, after being assured creative freedom and no micromanagement on Cooney's part. Connell insisted on a few "non-negotiables". First, he wanted to include four hosts, both black and white, male and female, none of whom would ever "own the show", as Bob Keeshan
"owned" Captain Kangaroo, or Fred Rogers "owned" Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
. He also wanted "commercials" to promote letters of the alphabet, like this one for example '. Perhaps most importantly, Connell wanted a guarantee that education and entertainment would never be separate elements of the program.
While attracting Connell, Cooney received a call from Lou Hausman, who worked for the Commissioner of Education; he suggested Jon Stone
, also from Captain Kangaroo, a producer who had retired to Vermont
, though no more than 35 at the time. Stone came to New York to speak with Cooney, but declined the opportunity to be an executive in the production. Stone wanted to be a producer, reporting to Cooney; Cooney suggested such an organization structure would only create "madness". Stone and Connell had a history of disputes, which were smoothed out, after the two re-met. Sam Gibbon, CTW's third alumni, had also initially declined joining any children's programming. According to Cooney, the day after Martin Luther King, Jr.
was assassinated, Gibbon called her to say "if you still want me, I'm yours." He was primarily involved with integrating curriculum into the series.
Edith Sornow, who was not yet the film producer for Sesame Street, called Cooney, asking her to come to the Johnny Victor Theatre to see a reel of commercials by Jim Henson
. Cooney had heard of Henson before then, but never actually seen his work; the commercial had not aired in New York
, and she had never tuned into The Ed Sullivan Show
when his Muppets
appeared. After "almost falling on the floor laughing," she was open to getting him to sign on, but was doubtful he'd agree. Jon Stone, who'd worked with Henson on ABC television special Hey, Cinderella!
, discussed the idea with a reluctant Jim.
Gerald S. Lesser
of Harvard became the head of CTW's board of academic advisors, and later brought in the Educational Testing Service
.
Cooney remembered seeing a leather-coated Jim Henson come into one of the seminars at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
, and becoming worried by his appearance that he was one of the Weathermen
. Her concern was heightened due to the recent event of a building in Greenwich Village
having been blown up by Weathermen. Cooney whispered her fears to Connell, who reassured her. Once Cooney and Jim met, Cooney says they automatically clicked. Jim much preferred general family audiences, but Cooney was able to allay Jim's fears of being "ghettoized" into children television. Joe Raposo
, who worked with Henson and Stone before, was added soon after.
When the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
signed on to sponsor the program, the organization's chairperson was Frank Pace
. Pace warned strongly against the broad curriculum Sesame Street aimed to teach. "Pick only a few goals, and accomplish them. Don't try and do too much; show... only three or four or five goals," Pace told Cooney and Connell.
helped CTW start investing. The company bought into small cable systems in Akron, Ohio
, Hawaii
, and another location, worthwhile investments, according to Cooney. Not as worthwhile was 1977 Emmy Award
winning mini-series The Best of Families. While Noble and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting each chipped in money, the Workshop came up $1 million short. Too late to turn around, it was forced to fund the miniseries with Ford Foundation money meant for Sesame Street.
. Today the company also publishes Sesame Street Magazine in cooperation with Time Inc.
's Parenting magazine. At one time it also published The Electric Company
, Kid City, 3-2-1 Contact
(later Contact Kids), and Sesame Street Parents magazines.
In August 1997, Fox Family
started efforts to increase its quantity and quality of children's entertainment, "which could lead to an equity investment by Fox in the non-profit CTW in exchange for programs for its Family Channel." Nothing ever materialised.
In 1999, CTW partnered in a joint venture with Viacom
's Nickelodeon
to launch Noggin, a 24-hour cable channel aimed at 6-13 year olds; Viacom's MTV Networks
division (which also operates Nickelodeon) operated the channel with CTW and MTV Networks jointly owning Noggin. In 2002, low ratings in part prompted the now-renamed Sesame Workshop to pull out and sell its interest in Noggin to Viacom. As a result, most of the Sesame Workshop-produced series carried by the channel were dropped. Noggin soon after became a timeshare service (in the same vein as Nickelodeon is by carrying Nick at Nite
over the same channel space) starting the teen-oriented The N that fall, which became a separate channel from Noggin on December 31, 2007 with Noggin becoming a 24-hour channel for preschoolers; the Noggin channel was rebranded Nick Jr.
on September 28, 2009.
Although Sesame Workshop is occasionally confused with PBS, Sesame Workshop is an entirely separate and independent organization. Some Workshop programs are broadcast on PBS, and although PBS provides some funding for those programs, the money received covers only a fraction of production costs. Other financial support comes from individual donors, charitable foundations, corporations, government agencies, program sales and licensed products. Sesame Workshop grants licenses to various manufacturers who create toys, apparel and other products featuring Sesame Street characters, and Sesame Workshop receives a portion of the proceeds.
On March 12, 2009, Sesame Workshop announced that it had planned to cut 20% of its workforce due to the recession
.
On October 15, 2009, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. announced a distribution deal for the Sesame Street
library, including new and old titles. They plan to release 10 titles a year starting in 2010 with Elmo's World: Let's Play Music on February 2, 2010, Elmo's Rainbow and Other Springtime Stories on March 9, 2010, Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures on April 6, 2010, The Best of Elmo 2 on May 4, 2010, Firefly Fun and Buggy Buddies on June 1, 2010, Preschool is Cool!: ABCs with Elmo on July 6, 2010, P is for Princess on August 3, 2010, Preschool is Cool!: Counting with Elmo on September 14, 2010, Iron Monster and Other Sesame Heroes on October 5, 2010, and C is for Cookie Monster on October 19, 2010, but none were released from Warner Bros.
for the remainder of 2009.
Sesame Street Muppets have appeared in cameos in various feature films, including The Muppet Movie
(1979), The Great Muppet Caper
(1981), The Muppets Take Manhattan
(1984), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
(2009), and The Muppets
(2011). These productions, however, were not produced by Sesame Workshop.
(Pampers diapers), Fisher-Price
, Nakajima USA, Build-A-Bear Workshop
(Build-An-Elmo, Build-A-Cookie Monster, And Build-A-Big Bird), GUND
, Hasbro
(Sesame Street Monopoly
), Wooly Willy
, Betty Crocker
(Elmo Fruit Snacks), C&D Visionary (air freshners) and Children's Apparel Network
. Former licences include Applause
, Child Dimension, Gibson Greetings, Gorham Fine China, Ideal Toys, Milton Bradley Company
, Nintendo
, Palisades Toys
, Questor
, Radio Shack
, Tyco
, and the Western Publishing Company. Creative Wonders
(a partnership between ABC
and Electronic Arts
) produced Sesame Street software for the Macintosh, since at least 1995 and on the PC since 1996; Atari
produced Sesame Street games in 1983. Before going bankrupt, Palisades Toys
was to release a line of deluxe series action figures, for adults, as part of Sesame Workshop's push to expand into retro products for teens and adults. Only a Super Grover figure was distributed to conventioneers.
The Sesame Beginnings
line, launched in mid-2005, consists of apparel, health and body, home, and seasonal products. The products in this line are designed to accentuate the natural interactivity between infants and their parents. Most of the line is exclusive to a family of Canadian retailers that includes Loblaws
, Fortinos
, and Zehrs.
As a non-profit organization, a percentage of the money from any Sesame Workshop product goes to help fund Sesame Street or its international co-productions
.
Barrio Sésamo, Plaza Sésamo, Sesamstraße, Sesame English and Sesamstraat have all had merchandise of their local characters. Shalom Sesame videos and books have also been released.
In 2004, Copyright Promotions Licensing Group
(CPLG) became Sesame Workshop's licensing representative for The Benelux, adding to their United Kingdom representation.
was one of the fastest selling toys of the 1996 season. That product line was and still is one of the most successful products Mattel has ever launched. Both it and its most notable successor, TMX, have caused in-store fights, because Elmo starred in a Christmas special that year, in which he wished every day of the year was Christmas.
After Fisher-Price
recalled a large number of Sesame Street brand toys (among multiple licenses) in 2007, Sesame Workshop announced that they would independently inspect the products of all manufacturers. It went so far as to threaten withdrawing entirely from toy licensing, if it were not satisfied with the manufacturer's guarantees.
in North America. Over 18 million Sesame Street books and magazines were purchased in 2005. The books often mention that children do not have to watch the show to benefit from its publications.
, while Grover promoted a new course on children's informal learning, created by Harvard University
with Sesame Workshop. Elmo has appeared before the US Education Appropriations Subcommittee to urge more spending on music in schools.
Live touring show Sesame Street Live
presents costumed actors and dancers as characters from the series, in original plots. In recent years, VEE has had four touring casts, each performing a unique multi-million dollar budget show. Each season, the tours reach 160 different cities across North America, reaching 2 million people annually. Since the first production of Sesame Street Live on September 17, 1980, 48 million children and their parents have seen the show performed, across the world.
, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, United States. BEC also has a stage show at SeaWorld Orlando
Elmo and the Bookaneers. In 2009 Busch Entertainment's Busch Gardens Europe
, located in Williamsburg, Virginia
, opened "Sesame Street Forest of Fun" with plans to open "Sesame Street Safari of Fun" at its Busch Gardens Tampa Bay park in Tampa, Florida
for the 2010 operating season.
Monterrey
, Mexico
based Parque Plaza Sésamo uses Sesame Street characters as does Universal Studios Japan
in a three-dimensional movie based on the show.
World
World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, worldwide, i.e. anywhere on Earth....
wide American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world (including PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in the United States). Sesame Workshop was instrumental in the establishment of education children's television in the 1960s, and continues to provide grants for educational children's programming four decades later. Joan Ganz Cooney
Joan Ganz Cooney
Joan Ganz Cooney is an American television producer. She is one of the founders of the Children's Television Workshop , the organization famous for the creation of the children's television show Sesame Street. Cooney received her B.A...
and Lloyd Morrisett
Lloyd Morrisett
Lloyd Newton Morrisett, Jr. is an American experimental psychologist with a career in education, communications, and philanthropy...
were the original founders, with the intention of producing a revolutionary television series based on cutting-edge research into childhood learning. The result was 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...
, a landmark program which has been reproduced in countries around the world.
Although it was originally funded by the Carnegie Corporation and the United States Office of Education
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, also referred to as ED or the ED for Education Department, is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government...
, the majority of the Workshop's funding is now earned through licensing the use of their characters to a variety of corporations to use for books, toys, and other products marketed toward children. This ensures that the Workshop has reliable access to funding for its programming without depending on unpredictable grants.
History
Founded by Joan Ganz CooneyJoan Ganz Cooney
Joan Ganz Cooney is an American television producer. She is one of the founders of the Children's Television Workshop , the organization famous for the creation of the children's television show Sesame Street. Cooney received her B.A...
and Lloyd Morrisett
Lloyd Morrisett
Lloyd Newton Morrisett, Jr. is an American experimental psychologist with a career in education, communications, and philanthropy...
in 1968 to produce 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...
, the company, currently run by President and CEO Gary E. Knell, has since produced many other shows and a variety of multimedia content. The CTW name was officially changed to Sesame Workshop on New Years Day 2000 to reflect the company's reach into new media and capitalize on the worldwide recognition provided by the Sesame Street name (although Sesame Street continued to use the CTW name until April 2000).
Gathering talent for Sesame Street
Moving to Carnegie Corporation of New YorkCarnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
, the grant-issuing foundation, to act and advise independent of what is now WNET
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
, Cooney began laying the groundwork for the Children's Television Workshop. Carnegie hired Linda Gotley to help Cooney write the proposal. Barbara Finberg and Lloyd Morrisett, program officers at Carnegie would regularly react as funders, every few days trying to find holes in the proposal. During these days, segments like "One of these things is not like the others" were established.
Despite the insistence of the US Office of Education that there was no money to fund the project, Howe persisted, and insisted the project be classified as a research project. Ford joined funding, as did the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was being established just as Sesame Street was. Between those organizations and Carnegie, US$8 million was raised to create a semi-autonomous organization. This organization was established to become completely separate, should they succeed.
At a press conference in March 1968, the Children's Television Workshop and Sesame Street were announced. Jack Gould
Jack Gould
Jack Gould was an American journalist and critic, who wrote influential commentary about television....
, television critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, gave the project front page space. "If you had Jack Gould in your corner, you could not believe what it meant," said Cooney decades later.
With Cooney, an assistant, and a secretary, CTW began production on the show. Cooney tried to talk George DeSarde of WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
to come to CTW as producer of the series. Within a few days of being graciously declined by DeSarde, Cooney received a letter from Mike Dann of CBS, who eagerly wanted to join as an executive producer. Dann and Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
decided Cooney should try to get David Connell as a producer.
Connell had recently left Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
, and started his own company in an attempt to get out of the kids' TV industry. After four meetings, Cooney talked Connell into signing on, after being assured creative freedom and no micromanagement on Cooney's part. Connell insisted on a few "non-negotiables". First, he wanted to include four hosts, both black and white, male and female, none of whom would ever "own the show", as Bob Keeshan
Bob Keeshan
Robert James "Bob" Keeshan was an American television producer and actor. He is most notable as the title character of the children's television program Captain Kangaroo, which became an icon for millions of people during its 30-year run from 1955 to 1984.Keeshan also played the original...
"owned" Captain Kangaroo, or Fred Rogers "owned" Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, also known as Mister Rogers, is an American children's television series that was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series is aimed primarily at preschool ages, 2-5, but has been stated by Public Broadcasting Service as "appropriate for all ages"...
. He also wanted "commercials" to promote letters of the alphabet, like this one for example '. Perhaps most importantly, Connell wanted a guarantee that education and entertainment would never be separate elements of the program.
While attracting Connell, Cooney received a call from Lou Hausman, who worked for the Commissioner of Education; he suggested Jon Stone
Jon Stone
Jon Stone is best known for writing and producing Sesame Street, and is credited with helping develop characters such as Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch. He is regarded by many as one of the best children's television writers. He started working for children's programs in 1955...
, also from Captain Kangaroo, a producer who had retired to Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, though no more than 35 at the time. Stone came to New York to speak with Cooney, but declined the opportunity to be an executive in the production. Stone wanted to be a producer, reporting to Cooney; Cooney suggested such an organization structure would only create "madness". Stone and Connell had a history of disputes, which were smoothed out, after the two re-met. Sam Gibbon, CTW's third alumni, had also initially declined joining any children's programming. According to Cooney, the day after Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
was assassinated, Gibbon called her to say "if you still want me, I'm yours." He was primarily involved with integrating curriculum into the series.
Edith Sornow, who was not yet the film producer for Sesame Street, called Cooney, asking her to come to the Johnny Victor Theatre to see a reel of commercials by Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
. Cooney had heard of Henson before then, but never actually seen his work; the commercial had not aired in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and she had never tuned into The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
when his Muppets
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
appeared. After "almost falling on the floor laughing," she was open to getting him to sign on, but was doubtful he'd agree. Jon Stone, who'd worked with Henson on ABC television special Hey, Cinderella!
Hey, Cinderella!
Hey, Cinderella! is an adaptation of Cinderella, featuring Muppets. Kermit the Frog hosts the film. The music score was composed by Joe Raposo.The one-hour special was first shown on the CBC on March 16, 1969, and on ABC on April 10, 1970....
, discussed the idea with a reluctant Jim.
Gerald S. Lesser
Gerald S. Lesser
Gerald Samuel Lesser was an American psychologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University and was one of the chief advisers to the Children's Television Workshop in the development and content of the educational programming included in Sesame Street, with the goal of making the material...
of Harvard became the head of CTW's board of academic advisors, and later brought in the Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service
Educational Testing Service , founded in 1947, is the world's largest private nonprofit educational testing and assessment organization...
.
Establishing curriculum
The Department of Education and other funders had decided they wanted to study children's comprehension of topics before and after watching Sesame Street. Lesser set up four two-and-a-half-day seminars over the summer with producers, meeting to establish what was important to teach children. The session topics were: on perception, reasoning skills, pre-reading and pre-math, and "affective skills", the period's term for emotional skills.Cooney remembered seeing a leather-coated Jim Henson come into one of the seminars at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf-Astoria is a luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first, designed by architect Henry J. Hardenbergh, was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building. The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a...
, and becoming worried by his appearance that he was one of the Weathermen
Weatherman (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
. Her concern was heightened due to the recent event of a building in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
having been blown up by Weathermen. Cooney whispered her fears to Connell, who reassured her. Once Cooney and Jim met, Cooney says they automatically clicked. Jim much preferred general family audiences, but Cooney was able to allay Jim's fears of being "ghettoized" into children television. Joe Raposo
Joe Raposo
Joseph Guilherme Raposo, OIH was a Portuguese-American composer, songwriter, pianist, television writer and lyricist, best known for his work on the children's television series Sesame Street, for which he wrote the theme song, as well as classic songs such as "Bein' Green" and "C is for Cookie"...
, who worked with Henson and Stone before, was added soon after.
When the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
signed on to sponsor the program, the organization's chairperson was Frank Pace
Frank Pace
Frank Pace, Jr. was a the 3rd United States Secretary of the Army and business executive.-Biography:Pace was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and attended The Hill School, Pottstown, Pennsylvania...
. Pace warned strongly against the broad curriculum Sesame Street aimed to teach. "Pick only a few goals, and accomplish them. Don't try and do too much; show... only three or four or five goals," Pace told Cooney and Connell.
Early investments
Knowing that government funding would not last forever, the Ford FoundationFord Foundation
The Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
helped CTW start investing. The company bought into small cable systems in Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and another location, worthwhile investments, according to Cooney. Not as worthwhile was 1977 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
winning mini-series The Best of Families. While Noble and The Corporation for Public Broadcasting each chipped in money, the Workshop came up $1 million short. Too late to turn around, it was forced to fund the miniseries with Ford Foundation money meant for Sesame Street.
International growth
In 1970, Mike Dann finally came to the Children's Television Workshop from CBS, in the capacity of international sales. He called the CTW "one of the most important breakthroughs in the history of media".Later
In the 1980s, CTW created a series of video games under the name of Children's Computer Workshop, including Cookie Monster Munch and Alpha Beam with ErnieAlpha Beam with Ernie
Alpha Beam With Ernie is an edutainment video game released for the Atari 2600 by Atari in 1983. It was developed in conjunction with the Children's Computer Workshop...
. Today the company also publishes Sesame Street Magazine in cooperation with Time Inc.
Time Inc.
Time Inc. is a subsidiary of the media conglomerate Time Warner, the company formed by the 1990 merger of the original Time Inc. and Warner Communications. It publishes 130 magazines, most notably its namesake, Time...
's Parenting magazine. At one time it also published The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
, Kid City, 3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact
3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G...
(later Contact Kids), and Sesame Street Parents magazines.
In August 1997, Fox Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
started efforts to increase its quantity and quality of children's entertainment, "which could lead to an equity investment by Fox in the non-profit CTW in exchange for programs for its Family Channel." Nothing ever materialised.
In 1999, CTW partnered in a joint venture with Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
's Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (TV channel)
Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
to launch Noggin, a 24-hour cable channel aimed at 6-13 year olds; Viacom's MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
division (which also operates Nickelodeon) operated the channel with CTW and MTV Networks jointly owning Noggin. In 2002, low ratings in part prompted the now-renamed Sesame Workshop to pull out and sell its interest in Noggin to Viacom. As a result, most of the Sesame Workshop-produced series carried by the channel were dropped. Noggin soon after became a timeshare service (in the same vein as Nickelodeon is by carrying Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
over the same channel space) starting the teen-oriented The N that fall, which became a separate channel from Noggin on December 31, 2007 with Noggin becoming a 24-hour channel for preschoolers; the Noggin channel was rebranded Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. was a programming block on the Nickelodeon television channel, seen on Nickelodeon weekday mornings. It was aimed at a preschool-age audience ages 6 and under. On September 28, 2009, Nick Jr. became its own official channel, replacing Noggin...
on September 28, 2009.
Although Sesame Workshop is occasionally confused with PBS, Sesame Workshop is an entirely separate and independent organization. Some Workshop programs are broadcast on PBS, and although PBS provides some funding for those programs, the money received covers only a fraction of production costs. Other financial support comes from individual donors, charitable foundations, corporations, government agencies, program sales and licensed products. Sesame Workshop grants licenses to various manufacturers who create toys, apparel and other products featuring Sesame Street characters, and Sesame Workshop receives a portion of the proceeds.
On March 12, 2009, Sesame Workshop announced that it had planned to cut 20% of its workforce due to the recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
.
On October 15, 2009, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. announced a distribution deal for the 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...
library, including new and old titles. They plan to release 10 titles a year starting in 2010 with Elmo's World: Let's Play Music on February 2, 2010, Elmo's Rainbow and Other Springtime Stories on March 9, 2010, Bert and Ernie's Great Adventures on April 6, 2010, The Best of Elmo 2 on May 4, 2010, Firefly Fun and Buggy Buddies on June 1, 2010, Preschool is Cool!: ABCs with Elmo on July 6, 2010, P is for Princess on August 3, 2010, Preschool is Cool!: Counting with Elmo on September 14, 2010, Iron Monster and Other Sesame Heroes on October 5, 2010, and C is for Cookie Monster on October 19, 2010, but none were released from Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
for the remainder of 2009.
Notable persons at Sesame Workshop
- Gary E. Knell, President, CEO
- Jerald Harvey, Senior Adviser
- Joan Ganz CooneyJoan Ganz CooneyJoan Ganz Cooney is an American television producer. She is one of the founders of the Children's Television Workshop , the organization famous for the creation of the children's television show Sesame Street. Cooney received her B.A...
, Co Founder - Lloyd MorrisettLloyd MorrisettLloyd Newton Morrisett, Jr. is an American experimental psychologist with a career in education, communications, and philanthropy...
, Co Founder - Franklin Getchell, Executive Vice President
- Nina Elias-BambergerNina Elias-BambergerNina Elias-Bamberger , originally known as Nina Elias, was the Executive Producer of Dragon Tales and other children's shows on PBS Kids Channel....
, Chief Executive Officer - Majorie Kalins, Series Administrative Officer
- H. Melvin Ming, Chief Operating Officer
- Susan Kolar, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer
- Dr. Lewis Bernstein, Executive Vice President, Education, Research and Outreach
- Carol-Lynn ParenteCarol-Lynn ParenteCarol-Lynn Parente is executive producer of Sesame Street, having been promoted to the position in June 2005, and has spent 18 years with the Workshop , rising from Post Production Assistant. She has won multiple Emmy Awards for her work on the show...
, Executive Producer of Sesame Street - Terry Fitzpatrick, Executive Vice President, Distribution
- Daniel J. Victor, Executive Vice President, International
- Maura Regan, Vice President and General Manager, Global Consumer Products
- Sherrie WestinSherrie WestinSherrie Rollins Westin is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Sesame Workshop.-Career:The US Senate unanimously confirmed Rollins as the first Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.In 1992, Sherrie Rollins...
, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Office - Myung Kang-Haneke, Vice President, General Counsel
- Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, former director, board member - David C. ColeDavid C. ColeDavid C. Cole is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. He first became successful in the publishing, communications, software, online services, and consumer products industries. Then he organized several efforts for local agriculture....
, former director
Television series
- Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame 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...
(1969–present; from 1969–2001, the Muppet characters were owned by The Jim Henson CompanyThe Jim Henson CompanyThe Jim Henson Company, an American entertainment organization, traces its origins to the founding of Muppets, Inc. in 1958 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The Muppets helped the company gain worldwide acclaim in family entertainment for more than four decades...
) - The Electric CompanyThe Electric CompanyThe Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
(1971-1977; 2009-The Electric Company (2009 TV series)The Electric Company is an American children's educational series for young children aged 4–8 on PBS, derived from the 1971 series. The series premiered as a four-episode mini-marathon on PBS on January 19, 2009, then became a weekly series with an episode shown each Friday. On September 7, 2009,...
, including Spidey Super StoriesSpidey Super Stories"Spidey Super Stories" was a live-action, recurring skit on the PBS children's television series The Electric Company. Episodes featured the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, provided to the Children's Television Workshop free of charge, and was played by puppeteer Danny Seagren...
, 1974–1977) - Plaza SesamoPlaza SésamoPlaza Sésamo is an educational children's television series for preschoolers, which is the Spanish-language adaptation for Latin America of Sesame Street. Both programs are pioneers of the contemporary educational television standard, combining both education and entertainment.The program was first...
(1972–1974, 1983-1984, 1995-1996, 1998–2001, 2004–2006, 2008-) - Sesame ParkSesame ParkSesame Park was a Canadian version of Sesame Street. In its first format, it was referred to as Canadian Sesame Street and was a re-edited version of the American series; it adopted a new format and the Sesame Park title in 1996....
(1972–2002) (in conjunction with The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) - Sesamstrasse (1973–1984, 1986-)
- Vila SésamoVila SésamoVila Sésamo is the Brazilian version of the American children's show Sesame Street. As of 2009 it airs on TV Rá-Tim-Bum.- History :Vila Sésamo is the Brazilian version of the popular American educational children’s show, Sesame Street...
(1973–1977, 2007-) - Feeling Good (1974–1975)
- 3-2-1 Contact3-2-1 Contact3-2-1 Contact is an American science educational television show that aired on PBS from 1980 to 1988, and an adjoining children's magazine. The show, a production of the Children's Television Workshop, teaches scientific principles and their applications. Dr. Edward G...
(including Bloodhound GangThe Bloodhound Gang (TV series)The Bloodhound Gang is a popular segment from the PBS television program 3-2-1 Contact about three young people who solved crimes, largely with the help of their knowledge of science...
, 1980–1988) - Rechov Sumsum (1982–1987, 1998–1999, 2002–2006, 2007–2011)
- EncyclopediaEncyclopedia (TV series)Encyclopedia was a television series created by the HBO Network and the for-profit branch of the Children's Television Workshop , Distinguished Productions. The series premiered on the HBO network in 1988....
(1988) - Rua Sésamo (1989–1994)
- Leaving Las VegasLeaving Las VegasLeaving Las Vegas is a 1995 romantic drama film directed and written by Mike Figgis, based on a semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by John O'Brien. Nicolas Cage stars as a suicidal alcoholic who has ended his personal and professional life to drink himself to death in Las Vegas...
(1989-1994) - Square One (including MathnetMathnetMathnet is a segment on the children's television show Square One, of which five seasons were produced . This parody of Dragnet featured detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department who solved mysteries using their mathematical skills. There were two main characters: detectives Kate Monday and...
, 1987–1992) - Zak TalesZak TalesZak Tales is a children's television program created in 1990 by DiC Entertainment and Children's Television Workshop. Episodes of consisted of group of children meeting with "Zak" in clubhouse setting to hear stories with subtle moral messages.-Episodes:...
(1990–1991) (in conjunction with DIC EntertainmentDiC EntertainmentDIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
) - GhostwriterGhostwriter (TV series)Ghostwriter is an American television program created by Liz Nelson and produced by the Children's Television Workshop and BBC One. It began airing on PBS on October 4, 1992, and the final episode aired on February 13, 1995...
(1992–1995) (in conjunction with the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
) - CroCroCro is an American animated television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop and Film Roman. It debuted on September 18, 1993 as part of the Saturday morning line-up for fall 1993 on ABC. Cro did not do well with the viewers...
(1993–1994) (in conjunction with the National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
and Film RomanFilm RomanFilm Roman is an animation studio founded by Phil Roman, best known for producing the animation for The Simpsons, King of the Hill for 20th Century Fox, as well as the Garfield and Peanuts animated TV specials....
) - William's Wish WellingtonsWilliam's Wish WellingtonsWilliam's Wish Wellingtons is an animated BBC children's television series made by Hibbert Ralph Entertainment that was first aired from 25 October 1994 to 28 November 1997. It was narrated by Andrew Sachs of Fawlty Towers fame. It was also translated into Gaelic and aired as on BBC Two Scotland...
(1994–1997) (in conjunction with Children's BBC and Hibbert Ralph) - Big BagBig BagBig Bag was a live action television puppet program for preschoolers that was produced by The Jim Henson Company and aired from 1996 to 1998 on the Cartoon Network. There were also localized versions for Canal J in France and Yorkshire Television in the UK.-Plot:The principle Muppet character was...
(1996–1998) (in conjunction with Cartoon Network) - The New Ghostwriter MysteriesThe New Ghostwriter MysteriesThe New Ghostwriter Mysteries is a CBS television show that aired in 1997. It was loosely based on an earlier series on PBS called Ghostwriter...
(1997) - Elmo's WorldElmo's World"Elmo's World" is a segment of the children's television show Sesame Street featuring Elmo, a small, three and a half year old, bright red monster. It debuted on November 16, 1998. Since then, it has been regularly shown during the last fifteen minutes of every Sesame Street episode...
(1998-2009) (PBSPublic Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
) - Dragon TalesDragon TalesDragon Tales is an American animated pre-school children's television series chronicling the adventures of two siblings, Max and Emmy and their dragon friends Cassie, Ord, Zak, Wheezie, and Quetzal...
(1999–2005) (in conjunction with NelvanaNelvanaNelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
, and Columbia TriStar TelevisionColumbia TriStar TelevisionColumbia TriStar Television was the third name of the television studio Screen Gems, named after its then-current 1991 home video division....
) (1999–2002) Sony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures TelevisionSony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
(2002–2005 and reruns from 2006–2010) (PBS) - Sesame EnglishSesame EnglishSesame English is a television/video series developed as a collaboration between Sesame Workshop and Berlitz International. Launched in 1999, with Taiwan and China as the debut markets, the series differs from the typical international versions of Sesame Street in that it was devised as a...
(1999–2002) - Takalani SesameTakalani SesameTakalani Sesame is the South African version of the children's television program Sesame Street. Co-produced by Sesame Workshop and South African partners, Takalani Sesame is now in its 10th year...
(2000-2003, 2006-2009) - Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese CatSagwa, the Chinese Siamese CatSagwa is the name of a cat in the children's book Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat by author Amy Tan. Sagwa's popularity with children prompted an educational animated series of the same name on PBS Kids, with production held by French animation studio CineGroupe and Sesame Street creator Sesame...
(2001–2002) (in conjunction with CinéGroupeCinéGroupeCinéGroupe Corporation is a Canadian animation studio based in Montreal, Quebec. The company also has offices in nearby Toronto and in the U.S. city of Los Angeles...
) PBS - Sponk!Sponk!Sponk! is a children's television show, broadcast on the American networks Noggin and The N from 2001 to 2003. The premise of Sponk! was improvisational comedy, similar to the show Whose Line Is It Anyway? Two teams of performers depicted suggestions in a variety of games. Viewers suggested...
(2001–2002) (in conjunction with Noggin and Insight Production Company) - LarryBoy: The Cartoon AdventuresLarryBoyLarryBoy began as a super hero alter-ego of Larry the Cucumber in Big Idea's Christian children's series Veggie Tales, who later received a self-titled cartoon series. First appearing in "Dave and the Giant Pickle", LarryBoy is the vigilante-crime-fighter and defender of the fictional...
(2002) (in conjunction with Big Idea Productions) - Tiny PlanetsTiny Planets-Thumbnail:Tiny Planets is an educational website and television series geared towards children ranging in age from four to seven. The website was launched in May 2001 with the television debut on ABC in Australia in October of the same year....
(2002–2005) (in conjunction with Pepper's Ghost Productions) - Play with Me SesamePlay with Me SesamePlay with Me Sesame is a children's television series spun off from Sesame Street, featuring Sesame Street characters such as Bert, Ernie, Grover, and Prairie Dawn. In the United States, from April 1, 2002 until September 2, 2007, the show has aired on the Nickelodeon-owned preschooler television...
(2002–2007) - Out There (2003–2004) (in conjunction with CBBCCBBCCBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
, Noggin and Blink Films) - Hikayat SimsimHikayat SimsimHikayat Simsim is the Arabic name for the Jordanian co-production of Sesame Street.The main Muppet characters in the Jordanian version are Juljul and Tonton. Issa Sweidan plays the lovable grandfather figure Jiddo Simsim....
(2003–present) - Global Grover (2003–2007)
- 5, Rue Sésame5, Rue Sésame5, Rue Sésame is a French language children's television series based on the popular U.S. children's show Sesame Street, aired by France 5. This series is the second Sesame Workshop co-production for France, the first being 1, rue Sesame....
(2005–2007) - The Upside Down ShowThe Upside Down ShowThe Upside Down Show AKA Down Upside is a Logie Award winning live-action daytime children's show featuring Shane Dundas and David Collins that airs on Noggin, Nick Jr. Australia and ABC Australia. The duo gained fame as physical comedians, The Umbilical Brothers, playing brothers who lived...
(2006) - Pinky Dinky DooPinky Dinky DooPinky Dinky Doo is a children's animated series that currently airs dubbed in Spanish and English on Univision in the USA, ABC in Australia, CBeebies in Great Britain, and Treehouse in Canada, in the Kids' CBC programming block...
(2006–present) (in conjunction with Cartoon PizzaCartoon PizzaCartoon Pizza is an animation company located in New York City. It was co-founded by Jim Jinkins and David Campbell as the successor to Jinkins' former company, Jumbo Pictures, Inc. Cartoon Pizza's logo is a picture of a pizza with a face in front of a globe and under the logo is the company's...
) - Galli Galli Sim SimGalli Galli Sim SimGalli Galli Sim Sim is the Hindi language adaptation of the American children's television series Sesame Street , for India. It is co-produced by Sesame Workshop and Turner Broadcasting, through Miditech...
(2006–present) (in conjunction with Turner EntertainmentTurner EntertainmentTurner Entertainment Company, Inc. is an American media company founded by Ted Turner. Now owned by Time Warner, the company is largely responsible for overseeing its library for worldwide distribution Turner Entertainment Company, Inc. (commonly known as Turner Entertainment Co.) is an American...
) - Jalan SesamaJalan SesamaJalan Sesama is the Indonesian version of Sesame Street, debuting on Indonesian television in late-2007. The show is produced locally by Creative Indigo Productions, in association with Sesame Workshop, and is expected to broadcast at least through 2010, with a total of 156 episodes over three...
(2007–present) - BunnytownBunnytownBunnytown is a children's television series that airs on Playhouse Disney's block in the United States and Canada, as well as more than seventy other countries...
(2007-present) (in conjunction with Baker Coogan Productions, Spiffy Pictures, and Playhouse DisneyPlayhouse DisneyPlayhouse Disney was Disney Channel's television block for programs aimed at entertaining preschool aged children, often airing as its own channel outside the United States. It was introduced in 1997 after Disney Channel's move to basic cable from premium cable, with a target audience of children...
) - PanwapaPanwapaPanwapa is a television show from Sesame Workshop.The show premiered on the digital cable/on demand channel, PBS Kids Sprout in January 2008. Like most PBS children's programs, Panwapa has its own website, where viewers of the show can learn more about the characters and themes, as well as...
(2008) - Sesame TreeSesame TreeSesame Tree, a version of Sesame Street made entirely in Northern Ireland, is produced by Belfast based production company Sixteen South Television and Sesame Workshop. The first episode aired on BBC Two in Northern Ireland on 5 April 2008 with the first series subsequently airing nationwide on...
(2008–present) (in conjunction with BBC Northern IrelandBBC Northern IrelandBBC Northern Ireland is the main public service broadcaster in Northern Ireland.The organisation is one of the three national regions of the BBC, together with BBC Scotland and BBC Wales. Based at Broadcasting House, Belfast, it provides television, radio, online and interactive television content...
) - Bert and Ernie's Great AdventuresBert and Ernie's Great AdventuresBert and Ernie's Great Adventures is an animated series developed by Sesame Workshop in which clay-animated versions of Bert and Ernie use their imaginations to travel to strange places and into entertaining situations. The shorts are shown in the United States as inserts on Sesame Street...
(2008–present) (in conjunction with Misseri Studio) - Abby's Flying Fairy SchoolSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2009–present) - Easy AEasy AEasy A is a 2010 teen comedy film written by Bert V. Royal, directed by Will Gluck, and starring Emma Stone. The screenplay was partially inspired by the novel The Scarlet Letter. The film was shot at Screen Gems studios and in Ojai, California. Screen Gems distributed with a release on...
(2009 & 2011) - Kids StationKids StationKids Station is a Japanese children's television channel showing animation and other cartoon material. Kids Station also airs some anime aimed at adults during the night, such as Narutaru, Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi, Genshiken, Kujibiki Unbalance and "Rosario + Vampire". It is broadcast on...
(2011) (in conjunction with National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, Tagline Television, and Nickelodeon Network - Murray's Science ExperimentsSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2011) - Munchin: ImpossibleSesame StreetSesame 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...
(TBA 2012) - Elmo's BackyardSesame StreetSesame 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...
(TBA 2012)
Films, telefilms, specials and miniseries
- Out to Lunch (1974 telefilm)
- Christmas Eve on Sesame StreetChristmas Eve on Sesame StreetChristmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast on PBS on December 3, 1978.-Plot:The opening features the inhabitants of Sesame Street enjoying an ice skating party. Big Bird has trouble skating, but a child gives him a hand, and he ends up skating very well...
(1978) - Don't Eat the Pictures (1983)
- Easy-E (1983)
- Big Bird in ChinaBig Bird in ChinaBig Bird in China was a 1983 special produced by the Children's Television Workshop and CCTV. It was originally broadcast on May 29, 1983 on NBC. The special was based on the popular television series Sesame Street...
(1983) - Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985) (in conjunction with Warner Bros. Pictures and Henson Associates)
- Big Bird in JapanBig Bird in JapanBig Bird in Japan was a 1989 special by the Children's Television Workshop . The special was based on the popular television series Sesame Street...
(1989) (in conjunction with the NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
) - Elmo Saves ChristmasElmo Saves ChristmasElmo Saves Christmas is a children's home video that was released in 1996. In the story, Elmo learns that Christmas cannot occur every day. The Christmas special is the basis idea from the Christmas short story, 'Christmas Every Day' by William Dean Howells,...
(1996) - Sesame Street: Lead AwaySesame StreetSesame 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...
(1996) - Sesame Street: A is for AsthmaSesame StreetSesame 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...
(1997) - ElmopaloozaElmopaloozaElmopalooza is a Sesame Street special that aired on ABC on February 20, 1998.-About the show:The show is a musical, featuring performances from guests Jon Stewart, David Alan Grier, Rosie O' Donnell, Gloria Estefan, En Vogue, The Fugees, Kenny Loggins, Shawn Colvin, Jimmy Buffett, and The Mighty...
(1998) - The Adventures of Elmo in GrouchlandThe Adventures of Elmo in GrouchlandThe Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland is the second theatrical feature-length film starring the cast of the popular U.S. children's series Sesame Street...
(1999) (in conjunction with Columbia PicturesColumbia PicturesColumbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
and Jim Henson PicturesJim Henson PicturesJim Henson Pictures is an American movie studio, owned by The Jim Henson Company and opened by Lisa and Brian Henson, the daughter of the late Jim Henson.-List of films produced by JHP:* Buddy...
) - Sesame Street: Music Works WondersSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2001) - Sesame Street: Happy, Healthy & Ready for SchoolSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2004) - Sesame Street: Talk, Listen, ConnectSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2006) - Sesame Street: The Get Healthy Now ShowSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2007) - Sesame Street: Talk, Listen, Connect: HomecomingsSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2008) - Sesame Street: Talk, Listen, Connect: ChangesSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2008) - PanwapaSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2008) - Sesame Street: When Families GrieveSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2010) - Sesame Street: Math is Everywhere!Sesame StreetSesame 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...
(2010) - Monte CarloMonte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
(2011) - Sesame Street: Old SchoolSesame Street: Old SchoolSesame Street: Old School is the title of a series of DVD releases produced by Sesame Workshop, featuring the first episodes of the first ten years of the PBS series, Sesame Street, plus highlights from this era. The first volume "1969-1974," was released by Sony Wonder in Region 1 on October 24,...
(2011) - Elmo's Number Journey (2011)
- Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame 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...
(2015, in conjunction with Warner Bros. Pictures, PlaytonePlaytoneThe Playtone Company is an American film and television production company and record label established in 1996 by actor Tom Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman....
and Alcon EntertainmentAlcon EntertainmentAlcon Entertainment, LLC is an American film production company, founded in 1997 by film producers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Since its establishment, Alcon Entertainment has developed and financed films that are ultimately distributed by Warner Bros., following a ten-year motion picture...
)
Sesame Street Muppets have appeared in cameos in various feature films, including The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
(1979), The Great Muppet Caper
The Great Muppet Caper
The Great Muppet Caper is a 1981 mystery comedy film directed by Jim Henson. It is the second of a series of live-action musical feature films, starring Jim Henson's Muppets. This film was produced by Henson Associates, ITC Entertainment and Universal Pictures, and premiered on 26 July 1981. The...
(1981), The Muppets Take Manhattan
The Muppets Take Manhattan
The Muppets Take Manhattan is the third of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets, and also the final film before Henson's death. This film was produced by Henson Associates and TriStar Pictures, and was filmed on location in New York City during the summer of...
(1984), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is an American adventure comedy film directed by Shawn Levy, and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, and Steve Coogan. The film is a sequel to Night at the Museum...
(2009), and The Muppets
The Muppets (film)
The Muppets is a 2011 American musical and comedy film, and the first Muppets theatrical release in 12 years, as well as the first Disney-produced Muppets film since 1996's Muppet Treasure Island...
(2011). These productions, however, were not produced by Sesame Workshop.
Sesame Street ABC's Videos
- Sesame Street - Letter A: Big Bird Adventures (Video Tape 02)
- Sesame Street - Letter B: Zoe and the Runaway Ball (Video Tape 04)
- Sesame Street - Letter C: C is for Cookie (Video Tape 06)
- Sesame Street - Letter D: Diddly Diddly D! (Video Tape 08)
- Sesame Street - Letter E: Easels for Everyone (Video Tape 10)
Merchandising
Current licensees include Procter & GambleProcter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
(Pampers diapers), Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...
, Nakajima USA, Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop
Build-A-Bear Workshop is an American retailer headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice is assembled and customized during their visit to the store, and is the...
(Build-An-Elmo, Build-A-Cookie Monster, And Build-A-Big Bird), GUND
Gund
Gund is a manufacturer of plush stuffed animals. It was founded by Adolph Gund in 1898 and is the oldest manufacturer of plush toys in the U.S. On July 1, 2008 Gund was sold to Enesco, a gift company known for among other things the Cherished Teddies line....
, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
(Sesame Street Monopoly
Monopoly (game)
Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
), Wooly Willy
Wooly Willy
Wooly Willy is a toy in which metal filings are moved about with a magnetic wand to add features to a cartoon face. The toy was originally manufactured in Smethport, Pennsylvania and was launched on the toy market in 1955...
, Betty Crocker
Betty Crocker
Betty Crocker AKA: batter witch is a cultural icon, as well as brand name and trademark of American Fortune 500 corporation General Mills. The name was first developed by the Washburn Crosby Company in 1921 as a way to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. The name Betty was...
(Elmo Fruit Snacks), C&D Visionary (air freshners) and Children's Apparel Network
Children's Apparel Network
The Children's Apparel Network is an American company whose products include department and specialty store layette, newborn and infant apparel. In 2005, they licensed the Sesame Beginnings brand for some products. Children's Apparel Network is located in Manhattan at 112 West 34th Street, Floor...
. Former licences include Applause
Applause
Applause is primarily the expression of approval by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences are usually expected to applaud after a performance, such as a musical concert, speech, or play...
, Child Dimension, Gibson Greetings, Gorham Fine China, Ideal Toys, Milton Bradley Company
Milton Bradley Company
The Milton Bradley Company is an American game company established by Milton Bradley in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1860. In 1920, it absorbed the game production of McLoughlin Brothers, formerly the largest game manufacturer in the United States, and in 1987, it purchased Selchow and Righter,...
, Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
, Palisades Toys
Palisades Toys
Palisades Entertainment, LLC, better known as Palisades Toys, was a manufacturing and distributing toy & collectibles company geared toward the adult collector market...
, Questor
Questor
The term Questor may refer to:*Questor Thews, a character in the Magic Kingdom of Landover series of books by Terry Brooks.*An alternate spelling of Quaestor, an ancient Roman official...
, Radio Shack
Radio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
, Tyco
Tyco
Tyco may refer to:* Tyco International, a diversified industrial conglomerate* Tyco Electronics, a former segment of Tyco International* Tyco Toys, a division of Mattel...
, and the Western Publishing Company. Creative Wonders
Creative Wonders
Creative Wonders was an educational software corporation from 1994 to 1999. It created computer games based on children's characters like Madeline, Sesame Street, Arthur, The Baby-sitters Club and Schoolhouse Rock!.-History of the company:...
(a partnership between ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
) produced Sesame Street software for the Macintosh, since at least 1995 and on the PC since 1996; Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
produced Sesame Street games in 1983. Before going bankrupt, Palisades Toys
Palisades Toys
Palisades Entertainment, LLC, better known as Palisades Toys, was a manufacturing and distributing toy & collectibles company geared toward the adult collector market...
was to release a line of deluxe series action figures, for adults, as part of Sesame Workshop's push to expand into retro products for teens and adults. Only a Super Grover figure was distributed to conventioneers.
The Sesame Beginnings
Sesame Beginnings
Sesame Beginnings is a line of products and a video series, spun off the children's television series Sesame Street. The line is targeted towards infants and their parents, and products are designed to increase family interactivity.-Product line:...
line, launched in mid-2005, consists of apparel, health and body, home, and seasonal products. The products in this line are designed to accentuate the natural interactivity between infants and their parents. Most of the line is exclusive to a family of Canadian retailers that includes Loblaws
Loblaws
Loblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor...
, Fortinos
Fortinos
Fortinos is a Canadian supermarket chain operating 20 stores in Ontario . It is part of Loblaw Companies Limited.- History :In 1961, immigrant steelworker John Fortino opened his first Fortinos store in Hamilton, Ontario. In 1972, John took on seven partners and opened a second store on Hamilton...
, and Zehrs.
As a non-profit organization, a percentage of the money from any Sesame Workshop product goes to help fund Sesame Street or its international co-productions
International co-productions of Sesame Street
Shortly after the debut of the educational children's television program, Sesame Street, in the US in 1969, television producers, teachers, and officials of several countries approached the show's producers and the executives of Children's Television Workshop about the possibility of airing...
.
Barrio Sésamo, Plaza Sésamo, Sesamstraße, Sesame English and Sesamstraat have all had merchandise of their local characters. Shalom Sesame videos and books have also been released.
In 2004, Copyright Promotions Licensing Group
Copyright Promotions Licensing Group
Copyright Promotions Licensing Group is a brand licensing agency founded in 1974. Headquartered in London, CPLG also operates offices in Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Amsterdam, Lisbon and Munich and has recently expanded its global reach by opening new offices in Toronto and Japan.CPLG represents...
(CPLG) became Sesame Workshop's licensing representative for The Benelux, adding to their United Kingdom representation.
Toys
Tickle Me ElmoTickle Me Elmo
Tickle Me Elmo is a children's toy from Tyco Preschool, a division of Tyco Toys, based on the character Elmo from the children's television show, Sesame Street. When squeezed, Elmo would chortle. When squeezed three times in a row, Elmo would begin to shake and laugh hysterically.The toy was...
was one of the fastest selling toys of the 1996 season. That product line was and still is one of the most successful products Mattel has ever launched. Both it and its most notable successor, TMX, have caused in-store fights, because Elmo starred in a Christmas special that year, in which he wished every day of the year was Christmas.
After Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price is a company that produces toys for infants and children, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. Fisher-Price has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Mattel since 1993.-History:...
recalled a large number of Sesame Street brand toys (among multiple licenses) in 2007, Sesame Workshop announced that they would independently inspect the products of all manufacturers. It went so far as to threaten withdrawing entirely from toy licensing, if it were not satisfied with the manufacturer's guarantees.
Books
Its fiction books are published on five continents, primarily by Random HouseRandom House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in North America. Over 18 million Sesame Street books and magazines were purchased in 2005. The books often mention that children do not have to watch the show to benefit from its publications.
Public service campaigns
Characters are also used to endorse safety and educational causes. Big Bird has promoted safe seating practices and the wearing of seatbelts, for the Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
, while Grover promoted a new course on children's informal learning, created by Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with Sesame Workshop. Elmo has appeared before the US Education Appropriations Subcommittee to urge more spending on music in schools.
Live performances
In 1975, ice-skating show Sesame Street on Ice presented costumed actors and dancers as touring casts, each performing a unique-multi-million dollar budget ice show. Sesame Street on Ice ran from 1975-1980.Live touring show Sesame Street Live
Sesame Street Live
Sesame Street Live is the live touring show based on the children's television show Sesame Street.Produced by Minneapolis-based VEE Corporation, the show opened on September 17, 1980, with a production of Sesame Street Live "Missing Bird Mystery" playing at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota...
presents costumed actors and dancers as characters from the series, in original plots. In recent years, VEE has had four touring casts, each performing a unique multi-million dollar budget show. Each season, the tours reach 160 different cities across North America, reaching 2 million people annually. Since the first production of Sesame Street Live on September 17, 1980, 48 million children and their parents have seen the show performed, across the world.
Theme park
Busch Entertainment Corporation (BEC) is the license holder for Sesame Street in its U.S. amusement parks including a completely Sesame Street themed park, Sesame PlaceSesame Place
Sesame Place is an American theme park in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. It derives its theme from the Sesame Street television program and characters like Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Ernie, and Bert. It includes a variety of rides, shows, and water attractions suited to very young children...
, in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, United States. BEC also has a stage show at SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando is a theme park, and marine-life based zoological park, near Orlando, Florida. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a subsidiary of The Blackstone Group...
Elmo and the Bookaneers. In 2009 Busch Entertainment's Busch Gardens Europe
Busch Gardens Europe
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a 383 acre theme park located in James City County, Virginia about 3 miles southeast of Williamsburg, originally developed by Anheuser-Busch and currently owned by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of The Blackstone Group...
, located in Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, opened "Sesame Street Forest of Fun" with plans to open "Sesame Street Safari of Fun" at its Busch Gardens Tampa Bay park in Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
for the 2010 operating season.
Monterrey
Monterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
based Parque Plaza Sésamo uses Sesame Street characters as does Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan
, located in Osaka, is one of four Universal Studios theme parks, owned and operated by USJ Co., Ltd. . The park is similar to Universal Orlando Resort, since it contains many of the same rides. Most visitors are Japanese tourists or tourists from other Asian countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong,...
in a three-dimensional movie based on the show.
Further reading
- Murphy, Tim, "How We Got to ‘Sesame Street’", New York MagazineNew York (magazine)New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, Nov 1, 2009
External links
- Sesame Workshop
- Muppet Wiki: Sesame Workshop
- Children's Television Workshop collections and archives in the National Public Broadcasting Archives at the University of Maryland (College Park)
- Interview with Sesame Workshop CEO & President Gary Knell by Scott Traylor of 360KID with the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, Oct 2009