This story is brought to you by the letter A . . . for axed
Beloved veteran actors who play Bob, Luis and Gordon say goodbye to Sesame Street
Is there a retirement home on Sesame Street for cast-off cast members?
The beloved children’s show is in the midst of a major retooling, heading to HBO from PBS — where it first premiered in 1969 — and slimming down to a half-hour format from its current hour-long episodes.
As part of the revamp, the show is also axing three beloved veteran actors: Bob McGrath, who has played Bob the music teacher on the show since it premiered; Roscoe Orman, who plays Gordon the science teacher; and Emilio Delgado, who plays Luis, affectionately known as Mr. Fix-it. Delgado joined the show in 1971 with his wife, Sonia Manzano, who played Maria until she retired in 2015. Orman joined the show in 1974.
McGrath announced at the Florida Supercon on July 2 that he’d been “graciously let go” from the beloved show, the Muppet Cast podcast reported in its July 27 episode.
“I have completed my 45th season this year. The show has gone under a major turnaround, now going from an hour to a half-hour,” McGrath, 84, said at a question-and-answer session recorded by the podcast.
“HBO has gotten involved also, and so they let all of the original cast members go, with the exception of Alan Muraoka (who plays Alan, the owner of Hooper’s store), who is still on the show and who is probably 20 years younger than the rest of us, and Chris Knowings (who plays Chris), who is also young, and they are terrific, wonderful people,” McGrath added.
In a statement on Twitter, Sesame Workshop said Thursday the actors “remain a beloved part of the Sesame family and continue to represent us at public events. To us, and for millions of people worldwide, they are a treasured part of Sesame Street.
“Since the show began, we are constantly evolving our content and curriculum and hence, our characters, to meet the educational needs of children. As a result of this, our cast has changed over the years, though you can still expect to see many of them in upcoming productions,” the statement added. Sesame Workshop, a non-profit organization, also said HBO was not involved in the decision to retire the actors.