"When you're in jail, a good friend will be trying to bail you out. A best friend will be in the cell next to you saying, 'Damn, that was fun'."
— Groucho Marx
Goodbye Mr. Hooper
This was long after I stopped watching, but sad nonetheless.
For the record, the death being discussed in this scene was for real--the actor playing Mr. Hooper, had, in fact, died. Sesame Street's writers chose to take the opportunity to discuss death, rather than simply to replace the actor and pretend that nothing had happened. As I recollect, word of this scene somehow got out beforehand (I can't remember whether the information became public by design, but I think that was probably the case), and many of us who had young children at the time and were fortunate enough to be home at that hour made it a point to watch it with our kids.
As a point of accuracy, this episode was publicized by the sesame street writers before hand in newspapers, and aired on a holiday in order to give parents the opportunity to discusss it with their kids.
5 comments:
I wonder if they would treat death as honestly NOW as they did then...
Good question.
For the record, the death being discussed in this scene was for real--the actor playing Mr. Hooper, had, in fact, died. Sesame Street's writers chose to take the opportunity to discuss death, rather than simply to replace the actor and pretend that nothing had happened. As I recollect, word of this scene somehow got out beforehand (I can't remember whether the information became public by design, but I think that was probably the case), and many of us who had young children at the time and were fortunate enough to be home at that hour made it a point to watch it with our kids.
and many of us who had young children at the time and were fortunate enough to be home at that hour made it a point to watch it with our kids.
Sounds like a great teaching tool.
As a point of accuracy, this episode was publicized by the sesame street writers before hand in newspapers, and aired on a holiday in order to give parents the opportunity to discusss it with their kids.
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