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On This Day: ‘Sesame Street’ Debuts on PBS TV in 1969

On This Day: ‘Sesame Street’ Debuts on PBS TV in 1969

By:

Samantha Whidden

Happy anniversary, Sesame Street! On this day 54 years ago, the adorable children’s show made its debut on PBS TV. 

In celebration of the special day, Elmo, Big Bird, Abby Cadabby and Rosita made a special appearance on Today to reflect on the special friends who have stopped by Sesame Street and all the fun things they are doing now. 

“We’ve been having a lot of fun!” Elmo declared. “We are learning about dinosaurs and Mr. Dan Levy came by and talked to us about that. That was really cool! And we’re exploring nature.”

Elmo also said that he and his friends are learning about how to handle scary situations. Big Bird then shared he had just been hanging out with his buddies. “Cal Pen stopped by,” Big Bird explained. “And Brandy Carlisle. Yeah, we got to sing with them.” 

After Abby chatted about her adorable sleep routine, Rosita spoke about learning sign language. “Our friend is teaching us some American Sign Language,” Rosita explained. She then taught everyone how to say “Thank you” and her favorite word, “Friend.” 

Sesame Street has 53 seasons and a total of 4666 episodes. The show was created by Joan Ganz, Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett, and Jim Henson. The 54th anniversary of the show comes nearly a year after Morrisett passed away. He was 93 years old at the time of his death. 

Former ‘Sesame Street’ Star Sonia Manzano Recently Reflected on the Longtime Series 

According to BG Independent Media, Sonia Manzano recently opened up about her time on Sesame Street. She had been on the show from 1971 to 2015. 

Speaking about the children’s TV show, Manzano stated, “It was so groundbreaking that teachers had to change their curriculum because kids started school knowing all this information.”

The former Sesame Street star also said she could relate to the children who watched the series when she was in school. “I remember as a kid being thirsty for knowledge before I started kindergarten,” she explained. Manzano, who was a child of parents born in Puerto Rico, then continued by stating she loved TV as a child but admitted she didn’t see anyone who looked like her. 

“Blacks and Hispanics were invisible,” Manzano shared. “I was raised in a neighborhood in the South Bronx, and I watched a lot of television growing up, and I always loved television, but not seeing anybody who looked like me, or lived in a neighborhood like I did.”

That was why she decided to audition for Sesame Street so that she could inspire children with a similar background as her. She went on to add that Frank Oz, in his famous Grover voice, helped relax her while she was starring at puppeteers watching her audition. “Quit looking at that man down,” Oz declared in his Grover’s voice. Manzano declared, “Well, that cured me.”