Sweepin' The Clouds Away
December 5, 2022 7:43 AM Subscribe
Actor, music teacher and longtime Sesame Street resident Bob McGrath has died peacefully on Sunday, at the age of 90.
He was member of the cast from the first episode of Sesame Street in 1969 until his last appearances in the 2019 50th Anniversary Special and the 2021 documentary "Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street"
In 2015, he retired as host of the Saskatchewan Kinsmen's Telemiracle charity fundraiser, a role he had played since 1977, that raised more than $111M during his tenure.
His favourite scenes his fifty year residence of Sesame Street were the sequence from "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" that spoofs "The Gift of the Magi" and the scene from the 1983 episode in which the adults explained Mr. Hooper's death to Big Bird.
He was member of the cast from the first episode of Sesame Street in 1969 until his last appearances in the 2019 50th Anniversary Special and the 2021 documentary "Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street"
In 2015, he retired as host of the Saskatchewan Kinsmen's Telemiracle charity fundraiser, a role he had played since 1977, that raised more than $111M during his tenure.
His favourite scenes his fifty year residence of Sesame Street were the sequence from "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" that spoofs "The Gift of the Magi" and the scene from the 1983 episode in which the adults explained Mr. Hooper's death to Big Bird.
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posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 7:46 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 7:46 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by dannyboybell at 7:54 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by dannyboybell at 7:54 AM on December 5, 2022
Wow, I wasn't ready to find out Bob was mortal. That is a tough one for a Monday morning while I'm getting my kids ready for school. There are deaths one dreads and therefore prepares for but the ones you don't expect are the ones that make you cry.
He always struck me as deeply kind, a good sport, a consummate ensemble player who was never looking to grab the spotlight and always willing to take a humiliation for the team if that was what the work required. I have no idea if any of that is how he actually was but I don't know how he could have spent so many years as a "face character" on Sesame Street if he wasn't.
Truly earned the feelings people are feeling about him today. Miss you, Bob.
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posted by potrzebie at 8:02 AM on December 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
He always struck me as deeply kind, a good sport, a consummate ensemble player who was never looking to grab the spotlight and always willing to take a humiliation for the team if that was what the work required. I have no idea if any of that is how he actually was but I don't know how he could have spent so many years as a "face character" on Sesame Street if he wasn't.
Truly earned the feelings people are feeling about him today. Miss you, Bob.
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posted by potrzebie at 8:02 AM on December 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
That voice. If you ask me what was the first thing that made me want to sing, it was that beautifully rich tenor voice of his and the way he shaped it around every word with such refinement. It was pure magic to me as a little kid.
posted by jocelmeow at 8:05 AM on December 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by jocelmeow at 8:05 AM on December 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
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posted by May Kasahara at 8:07 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by May Kasahara at 8:07 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by praemunire at 8:11 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by praemunire at 8:11 AM on December 5, 2022
One of the people in your neighborhood, whom you will miss terribly when they are gone.
posted by terrapin at 8:14 AM on December 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by terrapin at 8:14 AM on December 5, 2022 [3 favorites]
Thanks, and see you around, Bob. Say hi to Jim for us.
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:30 AM on December 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by Capt. Renault at 8:30 AM on December 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
Was enough of a fan that at one point I found myself in possession of his “Bob Sings” LP. Always got a kick out of a guy I was mostly familiar with singing children’s tunes rocking out to Sir Duke.
posted by The Gooch at 8:36 AM on December 5, 2022 [8 favorites]
posted by The Gooch at 8:36 AM on December 5, 2022 [8 favorites]
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posted by pianoblack at 8:59 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by pianoblack at 8:59 AM on December 5, 2022
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I loved Bob. He was so gentle and kind and he sang so beautifully. He and Mr. Hooper were my favorite humans on Sesame Street.
posted by ceejaytee at 9:01 AM on December 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
I loved Bob. He was so gentle and kind and he sang so beautifully. He and Mr. Hooper were my favorite humans on Sesame Street.
posted by ceejaytee at 9:01 AM on December 5, 2022 [7 favorites]
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posted by doctor_negative at 9:03 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by doctor_negative at 9:03 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by LobsterMitten at 9:19 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:19 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 9:23 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by Ten Cold Hot Dogs at 9:23 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:27 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:27 AM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
My first thought was, "I hope Big Bird's OK." That's how much Sesame Street was a reality for me as a gen-x child.
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posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:29 AM on December 5, 2022 [23 favorites]
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posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 9:29 AM on December 5, 2022 [23 favorites]
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posted by Silverstone at 9:44 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by Silverstone at 9:44 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:45 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by JoeXIII007 at 9:45 AM on December 5, 2022
I've been dreading this day. I've always thought of Bob as the person who taught me how to read. I hope he knew how deeply loved he was by so, so many of us. Goodbye, Bob.
posted by obloquy at 9:46 AM on December 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by obloquy at 9:46 AM on December 5, 2022 [5 favorites]
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is still in annual rotation at my house, so this is the song I associate with Bob.
posted by Gray Duck at 9:55 AM on December 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
posted by Gray Duck at 9:55 AM on December 5, 2022 [10 favorites]
So many childhood hours spent with Bob, and every one of them taught kindness and empathy and good humor. May his memory be a blessing to all who loved him
posted by donnagirl at 10:01 AM on December 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
posted by donnagirl at 10:01 AM on December 5, 2022 [6 favorites]
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posted by Faint of Butt at 10:01 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:01 AM on December 5, 2022
A few years ago, I took my son to the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC. He was maybe 6. We saw the giant balloons, and the floats, and the marching bands. And then the Sesame Street float went by. And Bob was on that float with some of the other cast members and all the muppets. And he smiled and waved right at me. And I started crying.
I had no idea how much he meant to me until that second.
I have no idea if my son was excited to see the Sesame Street float or not. I may even have forgotten he was there.
Bob wasn't my favorite Sesame Street cast member (Maria and Mr. Hooper) and he wasn't the one I named my first pet after (Linda) and if I was listing cast members I'm not sure I would have named him within the top 5 (Luis and Gordon and Susan were more exciting).
But damn, Bob. I had no idea until then how much you mattered to me. How much I grew up thinking you were someone who cared about me. Cynical me who always preferred the wisecrackers.
So thank you.
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posted by Mchelly at 10:05 AM on December 5, 2022 [41 favorites]
I had no idea how much he meant to me until that second.
I have no idea if my son was excited to see the Sesame Street float or not. I may even have forgotten he was there.
Bob wasn't my favorite Sesame Street cast member (Maria and Mr. Hooper) and he wasn't the one I named my first pet after (Linda) and if I was listing cast members I'm not sure I would have named him within the top 5 (Luis and Gordon and Susan were more exciting).
But damn, Bob. I had no idea until then how much you mattered to me. How much I grew up thinking you were someone who cared about me. Cynical me who always preferred the wisecrackers.
So thank you.
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posted by Mchelly at 10:05 AM on December 5, 2022 [41 favorites]
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posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 10:12 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by NoThisIsPatrick at 10:12 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by Halloween Jack at 11:21 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:21 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:29 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:29 AM on December 5, 2022
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posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:38 AM on December 5, 2022
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 11:38 AM on December 5, 2022
Sesame Street started nearly exactly timed to go with my life. I was watching it from the beginning and continued basically up to junior high (it was in the block of programming that also had 321 Contact and Zoom).
90 years old. My father is 84. All this passage of time thing is getting way too real for me.
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posted by hippybear at 12:15 PM on December 5, 2022 [11 favorites]
90 years old. My father is 84. All this passage of time thing is getting way too real for me.
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posted by hippybear at 12:15 PM on December 5, 2022 [11 favorites]
Mchelly: How much I grew up thinking you were someone who cared about me.
This is exactly it, isn't it? This feeling as a very small person that Bob and Maria, and folks like Mr. Rogers, knew you and saw you.
I was not a small person who actually lacked adults who knew me, people I could go to for help inside or outside of my family (whether help for myself or for someone else) - and yet this feeling still meant, and means, so much to me. It's hard to put into words what role I imagine that played for those small people who did not have this in their day-to-day other than through Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
You were a part of so many families, Bob.
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posted by neutralhydrogen at 12:33 PM on December 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
This is exactly it, isn't it? This feeling as a very small person that Bob and Maria, and folks like Mr. Rogers, knew you and saw you.
I was not a small person who actually lacked adults who knew me, people I could go to for help inside or outside of my family (whether help for myself or for someone else) - and yet this feeling still meant, and means, so much to me. It's hard to put into words what role I imagine that played for those small people who did not have this in their day-to-day other than through Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.
You were a part of so many families, Bob.
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posted by neutralhydrogen at 12:33 PM on December 5, 2022 [17 favorites]
Legend.
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:21 PM on December 5, 2022
posted by Liquidwolf at 1:21 PM on December 5, 2022
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posted by amelliferae at 1:21 PM on December 5, 2022
posted by amelliferae at 1:21 PM on December 5, 2022
I still have a VHS tape of Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, and this is one of my favorite Christmas songs. Thank you, Bob.
posted by theora55 at 1:31 PM on December 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 1:31 PM on December 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
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posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 2:14 PM on December 5, 2022
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 2:14 PM on December 5, 2022
Oh, and here he is on "To Tell The Truth" in 1966.
posted by Melismata at 2:35 PM on December 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 2:35 PM on December 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
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I met Bob. I knew Bob. Bob was indeed a person in my neighborhood. Bob owned a summer cottage in Mansett (part of Southwest Harbor), Maine. It was little. It was quaint It was about a block and a half from the Catholic church I used to attend. I drove my bike by his house hundreds of times during the 80s and 90s.
During high school, I had a rekindled interest in how we learned and I spent an inordinate amount of time watching old episodes of Sesame Street. To the point where I would talk about learning with my coworkers at one of my summer jobs washing dishes.
One Saturday, a little after mid-day, one of the servers comes back and says Bob is eating there. And my buddy and I launch into a host of Sessme Street skits and songs. Cutting to the chase, Bob comes back singing "Oh the dishwasher is a person in your neighborhood" and we just shutdown and listened for a few moments, then chatted, got his autograph on a check slip and parted way.
The guy was amazing - just... a really classy l, well mannered - exactly who you saw on screen. Even being on TV, he did not seek the limelight. He shopped in the local grocery store, lived a very normal life. He was a kind and quiet man. I will be sad knowing that he has passed, but more whole as a person having witnessed both his on-screen persona as well as having talked with him for a pretty good chunk of an afternoon. Thank you Bob. Rest in peace.
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:54 PM on December 5, 2022 [31 favorites]
I met Bob. I knew Bob. Bob was indeed a person in my neighborhood. Bob owned a summer cottage in Mansett (part of Southwest Harbor), Maine. It was little. It was quaint It was about a block and a half from the Catholic church I used to attend. I drove my bike by his house hundreds of times during the 80s and 90s.
During high school, I had a rekindled interest in how we learned and I spent an inordinate amount of time watching old episodes of Sesame Street. To the point where I would talk about learning with my coworkers at one of my summer jobs washing dishes.
One Saturday, a little after mid-day, one of the servers comes back and says Bob is eating there. And my buddy and I launch into a host of Sessme Street skits and songs. Cutting to the chase, Bob comes back singing "Oh the dishwasher is a person in your neighborhood" and we just shutdown and listened for a few moments, then chatted, got his autograph on a check slip and parted way.
The guy was amazing - just... a really classy l, well mannered - exactly who you saw on screen. Even being on TV, he did not seek the limelight. He shopped in the local grocery store, lived a very normal life. He was a kind and quiet man. I will be sad knowing that he has passed, but more whole as a person having witnessed both his on-screen persona as well as having talked with him for a pretty good chunk of an afternoon. Thank you Bob. Rest in peace.
posted by Nanukthedog at 2:54 PM on December 5, 2022 [31 favorites]
I quite like his version of Good Morning Starshine from Sesame Street's first season.
posted by Catblack at 3:51 PM on December 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Catblack at 3:51 PM on December 5, 2022 [4 favorites]
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Oh, and here he is on "To Tell The Truth" in 1966.
There's an interesting story behind that. Years before he was on Sesame Street, Bob McGrath was a singer on the Mitch Miller Show who specialized in singing in Irish ballads like "Danny Boy." As a result of his stint on Mitch Miller, McGrath became super popular in Japan, because young Japanese people were using Mitch Miller's "follow the bouncing ball" format to teach themselves English. In addition, the type of Irish tenor singing that McGrath did, which was completely old-fashioned in the United States, was completely fresh and exotic in Japan at the time. In addition, the Irish tenor vocal style McGrath knew by heart was extremely well-suited to singing Japanese ballads, which for a brief time made him a teen idol to Japanese girls, complete with fan clubs and a Japanese tour.
posted by jonp72 at 3:58 PM on December 5, 2022 [15 favorites]
Oh, and here he is on "To Tell The Truth" in 1966.
There's an interesting story behind that. Years before he was on Sesame Street, Bob McGrath was a singer on the Mitch Miller Show who specialized in singing in Irish ballads like "Danny Boy." As a result of his stint on Mitch Miller, McGrath became super popular in Japan, because young Japanese people were using Mitch Miller's "follow the bouncing ball" format to teach themselves English. In addition, the type of Irish tenor singing that McGrath did, which was completely old-fashioned in the United States, was completely fresh and exotic in Japan at the time. In addition, the Irish tenor vocal style McGrath knew by heart was extremely well-suited to singing Japanese ballads, which for a brief time made him a teen idol to Japanese girls, complete with fan clubs and a Japanese tour.
posted by jonp72 at 3:58 PM on December 5, 2022 [15 favorites]
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posted by kneecapped at 5:58 PM on December 5, 2022
posted by kneecapped at 5:58 PM on December 5, 2022
I was thinking of Bob just a few days ago. I guess I shouldn't have done that.
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posted by bryon at 6:01 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by bryon at 6:01 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
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My parents took me to see him in person when I was a little kid.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:06 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
My parents took me to see him in person when I was a little kid.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:06 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by saeva indignatio at 6:09 PM on December 5, 2022
posted by saeva indignatio at 6:09 PM on December 5, 2022
Feels kind of like losing an uncle you haven't seen in a while.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:03 PM on December 5, 2022 [9 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 7:03 PM on December 5, 2022 [9 favorites]
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posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 7:47 PM on December 5, 2022
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 7:47 PM on December 5, 2022
Even from the old CRT televisions of my childhood, Bob McGrath radiated kindness. I wish his family peace.
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posted by droplet at 9:36 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by droplet at 9:36 PM on December 5, 2022 [1 favorite]
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posted by lordrunningclam at 4:48 AM on December 6, 2022
posted by lordrunningclam at 4:48 AM on December 6, 2022
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[I genuinely love memorial threads of adored people on Metafilter. Seeing humanizing stories, seeing a flurry of youtube links, being reminded that we're not alone.]
posted by DigDoug at 5:36 AM on December 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
[I genuinely love memorial threads of adored people on Metafilter. Seeing humanizing stories, seeing a flurry of youtube links, being reminded that we're not alone.]
posted by DigDoug at 5:36 AM on December 6, 2022 [7 favorites]
Was just reminded, via the various Muppet FB pages, that Oscar the Grouch always called Bob "Bright Eyes." So, so apt for both. I love Sesame Street.
posted by Melismata at 6:47 AM on December 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Melismata at 6:47 AM on December 6, 2022 [4 favorites]
We've been watching some of the 70's episodes, and my four-year-old keeps asking to see Don't You Know You're Special (she calls it "Bob and the Kids"). What an enduring, kind presence.
posted by borborygmi at 9:11 AM on December 6, 2022
posted by borborygmi at 9:11 AM on December 6, 2022
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I'm listening to Keep Christmas With You and crying. We watched that every year and every year, I cried. I have no idea why it would make a preschooler cry, but it did. I bought the Christmas Eve on Sesame Street DVD over the summer. I actually have a VHS version we taped off the TV, but well, VCR tech is not so reliable anymore.
Here's a new version of Keep Christmas With You that has some of the more recent cast.
posted by kathrynm at 6:08 PM on December 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm listening to Keep Christmas With You and crying. We watched that every year and every year, I cried. I have no idea why it would make a preschooler cry, but it did. I bought the Christmas Eve on Sesame Street DVD over the summer. I actually have a VHS version we taped off the TV, but well, VCR tech is not so reliable anymore.
Here's a new version of Keep Christmas With You that has some of the more recent cast.
posted by kathrynm at 6:08 PM on December 6, 2022 [1 favorite]
Bob and the Frog Pee Incident
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:34 PM on December 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:34 PM on December 6, 2022 [2 favorites]
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posted by donttouchmymustache at 9:02 PM on December 10, 2022
posted by donttouchmymustache at 9:02 PM on December 10, 2022
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