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The longest running children show in the United States will celebrate its 40th anniversary next Tuesday. Launched on November 10, 1969, the show currently reaches more than 8 million viewers in 120 countries. So far, 4186 episodes have been aired in 39 seasons.
For the 40th anniversary show, First Lady Michelle Obama will make an appearance and talk about the importance of healthy food and excercise. You can watch the segment here.
Created by Joan Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, the show is tightly connected to Jim Henson who developed Sesame Street’s Muppet characters. Famous Puppeteer Henson died in 1990 and was the creator of the puppet characters in other shows such as The Muppets, Fraggle Rock and Star Wars – Return of the Jedi.
Sesame Street’s beginnings, which can be traced back to 1967 and an original show called “Children’s Television Workshop” were made possible through an $8 million grant by the Carnegie Institute.
The name Sesame Street was first published in 1969 and its creators reportedly had a tough time with it. In fact, “Sesame Street” is said to have been the least favored name on a list of options and the creative minds behind the show were not sure whether children would be able to pronounce it correctly. The show premiered on PBS on November 10, 1969.
The show included the original characters Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, Cookie Monster and Big Bird. Jim Henson performed the characters of Ernie, game-show host Guy Smiley as well as television news reporter Kermit.
Initially, Sesame Street reached 67.6% of U.S. televisions or 1.9 million households. The reach grew to 7 million children by the end of season one. After nine years, the show had 9 million viewers and, according to Wikipedia, 90% of children from low-income inner-city homes regularly viewed the show regularly. Today, it is ranked the fifteenth most popular children’s show on television.
