After 45 years, 'Sesame Street' cuts 3 beloved human characters
Bid farewell to your childhood -- Sesame Street has cut three of its its beloved human cast members.
Actor Bob McGrath announced at the Florida Supercon earlier this month that he, Roscoe Orman and Emilio Delgado -- who play Bob, Gordon and Luis, respectively -- have been removed from the show as it undergoes "retooling" by Sesame Workshop.
“As of this season, I have completed my 45th season this year. And the show has gone under a major turn around, going from an hour to a half-hour,” McGrath said at the event, explaining that after the show moved to HBO, the show cut nearly all its original human actors.
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Delgado joined Sesame Street as Fix-It Shop owner Luis in 1971, and Orman replaced Matt Robinson as kind schoolteacher Gordon in 1974.
McGrath has been with Sesame Street since it premiered in 1969, lending his now-famous singing voice to numerous iconic songs.
Original cast member Sonia Manzano, who played Maria, left the show in 2015.
UPDATE: July 28, 2016, 3:03 p.m. EDT Sesame Workshop has released the following official statement on the actors' departures.
Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado (“Luis”) and Roscoe Orman (“Gordon”) 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. As we’ve stated previously, Sesame Workshop retains sole creative control over the show. HBO does not oversee the production.
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Chloe was the shopping editor at Mashable. She was also previously a culture reporter. You can follow her on Twitter at @chloebryan.
