This childhood was brought to you by. . .
Two women were highly influential in my upbringing (and maybe yours), and until recently I didn’t know their names.
Joan Ganz Cooney was the creator of Sesame Street.
Sesame Street turns 40 this year. The Complete History of Sesame Street was published recently. It details how the show was conceived as part of a grand social initiative. High and low culture mingled—educators, the ad industry, game show producers and New York intellectuals developed a TV series aimed at the urban underclass.
The book tracks down every Sesame Street personality. Remember Mr. Hooper the storeowner? When Will Lee, the actor who played the character, died, the producers decided to address the concept of death directly. There was that episode in which Gordon explains to Big Bird that Mr. Hooper is not coming back. The book also covers the sad story of Northern Calloway, who played the storekeeper David; he became manic-depressive and died in a psychiatric hospital.
In the 90s, the show’s ratings dropped because Sesame Street was seen as a reminder of urban decay. The audience preferred clean suburban schoolyards and. . .Barney.
I always get on the wrong train, and a couple of times I wound up in Harlem. It looked like Sesame Street. If I hadn’t been late for meetings, I would’ve sat on a stoop for hours. Come to think of it, this must be where I got my fondness for steps. I like meeting people on steps—the New York Public Library, the Met, the Museum of Natural History. In college I read entire books while sitting on the steps of the UP Main Library.
Mildred Wirt Benson was the original “Carolyn Keene”, ghostwriter of the Nancy Drew books.
Nancy Drew was the first character I ever met who could go wherever she wanted and stay out late without getting a scolding. Not to mention that we always knew what she was wearing (She threw on a fetching yellow cardigan, etc) and she was perfectly-coordinated. The thing that boggled me: If Nancy was always 18 and there were 52 mysteries (at the time), then she solved one case per week. When did she have time to go to school? Or to the salon to maintain that flip.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
January 1st, 2009 at 13:37
I didn’t know that Mildred Wirt Benson is the culprit behind my fascination for crime / mystery novels. I would frequent our grade school library to borrow Nancy Drew books. Now, I read Patricia Cornwell’s (her characters grow old) :)
Oh, I still remember the Ernie-Bert scandal…
January 1st, 2009 at 17:25
Waaah, the story of my childhood…. Which the world is trying to rewrite into something cooler now that I’m on the way to becoming a doctor… I have a feeling that if Ms Jessica were a mirror to break into a thousand pieces, I’ve got a piece of her embedded in me somewhere. A heart if I had one.
January 1st, 2009 at 17:26
P.S. I was wondering why Sesame Street suddenly disappeared though I watched it on Betamax tapes as a kid cuz there was still no cable back then
January 1st, 2009 at 22:52
I love Nancy Drew! I’ve read different versions of Nancy Drew – hardbound, Nancy Drew Notebooks, and Nancy Drew Files. I don’t own any hardbound but I have the latter two. I still like re-reading them. :)
Btw, happy new year Jessica. :)
January 2nd, 2009 at 00:08
Looking at your Nancy Drew books makes me regret not preserving my Hardy Boys collection. I’m tempted to buy a couple of vintage titles from Amazon to recover part of my childhood.
I remember reading a couple of Nancy Drews, one of which was “Whispering Statue.”
I memorized “11 Mornings” from Sesame Street when I was a kid.
I can still sing it the full song now!
January 2nd, 2009 at 07:30
Northern Calloway died of cancer at Phelps Memorial Hospital in New Jersey. Unfortunately his family first rushed him to the nearest hospital, which turned out to be a psychiatric hospital, giving rise to the rumor that he died of other causes.
Barney and Teletubbies, what crap! It’s a good thing that Sesame Street survives to this day, my son grew up watching it too.
January 2nd, 2009 at 09:38
I was more of a Nancy Drew reader than a Hardy Boys fan back in the early 80’s. I subsisted on Sesame Street and Electric Co. even if our TV set was black and white. I just kept watching them everyday. They were all part of my childhood. I miss being young again as I write this.
January 2nd, 2009 at 14:00
Would you believe I also had a Nancy Drew phase back at my childhood…
Guess who first got me hooked to ND? Myrene Academia, Sandwich bassist…we were classmates back at Grade 3.
Nice bit about Sesame Street…still love the original with the funky countdowns, Oscar’s ode to trash and the walang-kamatayang C is for Cookie. Sad to hear about David’s fate…did they get someone to fill in his shoes just like what they did with Gordon? I remember seeing 2 Gordons – one with the typical (for the 70’s) Afro and the other lookin’ like Isaac Hayes (RIP brother)
January 3rd, 2009 at 03:23
learned the words roadster and sleuth from the nancy drew series
January 3rd, 2009 at 17:39
Hi Jessica! Happy New Year! Where can I get the Sesame Street book, any clue? Thanks! (btw, for those who miss the Sesame cast, an updated version of Sesame Street is being shown on TV5, weekdays, 2-4pm ata)
ps: I’m currently reading the Flip book. I’ve read almost all the contents of the 8 issues when they came out in the market, pero okay pa rin basahin uli ang mga sinulat mo, ni Roby (of SEAPA) and my TEN (The Evening News) co-presenter Lourd. Thank you for coming up with the compilation book.
January 4th, 2009 at 21:20
Sad to here about David. I remember it used to be him and Maria as a couple. Then at some point it became Luis and Maria. I think it’s still them. The other couple was Bob and Linda (the deaf woman). I also remember the Gordon who had an afro (the one before the actor who was bald and had a beard).
January 5th, 2009 at 02:38
there ought to be more reruns of sesame street, electric company and batibot.