Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street

Front Cover
Penguin, 2008 - Performing Arts - 379 pages
The 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
Copyright

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About the author (2008)

Michael Davis was a senior editor and family television columnist for TV Guide from 1998 to 2007. A Neiman Fellow, he has also worked for The Baltimore Sun and Chicago Sun-Times.

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