Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame StreetThe story of one of the most important and beloved shows on television-how it got started, nearly failed, and was saved by Elmo When the first episode aired on November 10, 1969, Sesame Streetrevolutionized the way education was presented to children on television. It has since become the longest-running children's show in history, and today reaches 8 million preschoolers on 350 PBS stations and airs in 120 countries. Street Gangis the compelling and often comical story of the creation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culture landmark, told with the cooperation of one of the show's cofounders, Joan Ganz Cooney. Sesame Streetwas born as the result of a discussion at a dinner party at Cooney's home about the poor quality of children's programming and hit the air as a big bang of creative fusion from Jim Henson and company, quickly rocketing to success. Street Gangtraces the evolution of the show from its inspiration in the civil rights movement through its many ups and downs-from Nixon's trying to cut off its funding to the rise of Elmo-via the remarkable personalities who have contributed to it. Davis reveals how Sesame Streethas taught millions of children not only their letters and numbers, but also cooperation and fair play, tolerance and self-respect, conflict resolution, and the importance of listening. This is the unforgettable story of five decades of social and cultural change and the miraculous creative efforts, passion, and commitment of the writers, producers, directors, animators, and puppeteers who created one of the most influential programs in the history of television. |
Contents
Section 1 | 1 |
Section 2 | 11 |
Section 3 | 17 |
Section 4 | 30 |
Section 5 | 61 |
Section 6 | 74 |
Section 7 | 86 |
Section 8 | 95 |
Section 17 | 124 |
Section 18 | 124 |
Section 19 | 124 |
Section 20 | 130 |
Section 21 | 146 |
Section 22 | 166 |
Section 23 | 192 |
Section 24 | 196 |
Section 9 | 105 |
Section 10 | 117 |
Section 11 | 124 |
Section 12 | 124 |
Section 13 | 124 |
Section 14 | 124 |
Section 15 | 124 |
Section 16 | 124 |
Section 25 | 220 |
Section 26 | 254 |
Section 27 | 271 |
Section 28 | 295 |
Section 29 | 340 |
Section 30 | 351 |
Section 31 | 353 |
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Common terms and phrases
actor asked audience audition began Bert Big Bird broadcast called Calloway Captain Kangaroo Carnegie Caroll Spinney Cerf character child children's show Children's Television Workshop Clash commercial Cooney recalled Cooney's Dave Connell debut director Disney dollars Dulcy Singer Elmo episode Ernie executive producer father film Frank Oz Gibbon going idea interview Jane Henson Jim Henson Joan Cooney Joan Ganz Cooney Joe Raposo Jon Stone Keeshan Kermit kids knew Kukla later live Lloyd Morrisett look Manzano McGrath million morning Moss mother never night Oral History Oscar performance played preschool president puppet Sam and Friends Sam Gibbon script Sesame Street show's sing Singer someone song studio talk theater things thought Tillstrom told took viewers wanted watching week Whedon writer York


