The co-creator of “Sesame Street” is dead. No other television series has done this

Lloyd Morrisett is dead. The creator, together with Joan Ganz Cooney – an American screenwriter and producer – founded the Sesame Workshop organization, responsible for the production of educational programs for children. The most popular part of the company’s activity was the children’s favorite “Sesame Street”.

Lloyd Morrisett is dead. The co-creator of “Sesame Street” was 93 years old

The death of the creator was announced by the Sesame Workshop organization via social media. Morrisett’s cause of death has not been released. The co-creator of “Sesame Street” was 93 years old.

“We mourn the passing of our respected and beloved founder. Lloyd leaves an untouched legacy that has been treasured by generations of children around the world. ‘Sesame Street’ is just the most visible of his brilliant work, which has had a lasting impact on the lives of its audience. He was wise, thoughtful and, above all, sensitive. Fascinated by the power of technology, he constantly thought about how to use it in an innovative way for effective education, “we read in the post.

As Morrisett’s friend Joan Ganz Cooney points out, “Without Lloyd Morrisett, there would be no ‘Sesame Street’. He was the first to come up with the idea of ​​using television to teach preschoolers basic skills like distinguishing between letters and numbers. He has been my trusted partner and loyal friend for over fifty years. We will miss him very much.”

The creator of “Sesame Street” has died. His show has received 118 Emmy Awards

Morrisett was an experimental psychologist specializing in education and communication. The artist has been fascinated by the process of learning and creativity in people since his studies. After studying at Yale, he began a teaching career at the University of California, but he was “not impressed” by academic life. In interviews, he emphasized that the work lacked secrecy and the activities were not accompanied by a feeling of excitement.

He came up with the idea of ​​creating “Sesame Street” thanks to his three-year-old daughter. Morrisett noticed that Sarah easily learned all the jingles she heard while watching television.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that Sara’s mastery of television tunes led to an experiment known as ‘Sesame Street’. If television could successfully teach words and music from commercials, couldn’t it also educate children from a different angle? preserving the elements that made advertising so successful,” writes Michael Davis in his book Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street.

Sesame Street debuted on November 10, 1969. The series has won as many as 118 Emmy Awards, which no other television series has achieved. An estimated 77 million Americans watched the show as children.

As John Gardner, a former president of the Carnegie Corporation in New York and an acquaintance of Morrisett, recounted: “Lloyd underestimates his role in the development of Sesame Street. He is modest, but people who saw the beginnings of the program know that he played a very significant role as a member of this small group.”