Sesame Street was conceived in 1966 during discussions between television producer Joan Ganz Cooney and Carnegie Corporation vice president Lloyd Morrisett. Their goal was to create a children's television show that would harness the power of television to teach children core ideas that would help them as they moved towards their school years.
Those talks led to the launch of the Children’s Television Workshop (CTW) and in 1968, a combined $8 million grant from the federal government, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the Carnegie Corporation and the Ford Foundation led to the launch of a show that was called "Preschool Educational Television Show" until close to the airdate because no one could decide on a name.
Puppeteers Frank Oz (L) holding Bert and Jim Henson (L) holding Ernie entertain children during rehearsals for an episode of Sesame Street (courtesy CTW, 1970)
When the show premiered on public television stations on November 10th, 1969, it was called Sesame Street and it was set on block of brownstones in large part because producers believed that urban children would be more open to learning from a show that looked a bit like the neighborhood where they lived.
The budget for each episode in season one was $28,000 and much of the cast was chosen late in the process by filming auditions and then showing them to children to gauge their reactions to the individual actors.
Actor and singer Bob McGrath with 'Anything Muppet' dentist and 'Anything Muppet' postman (held by puppeteer Frank Oz, obscured) during the taping of an episode of Sesame Street at Reeves TeleTape Studio in March, 1970 (courtesy CTW, 1970)
Another notable thing about the first season was that unlike other children’s shows at the time, producers spent a reported 10 to 15% of the initial show budget on research and on building a curriculum with clear and measurable outcomes. The goal was to help children develop their cognitive skills, which the research suggested would allow the series to have its biggest impact.
In a move that was unheard of now or then, NBC aired a 30-minute primetime special entitled This Way To Sesame Street five days before the first episode premiered on PBS, funded with a $50,000 grant from Xerox.
Puppeteers (L-R) Daniel Seagren holding Roosevelt Franklin, Jim Henson holding Grandmother Happy, and Frank Oz with Betty Lou tape an episode of Sesame Street at Reeves TeleTape Studio in March, 1970. (courtesy CTW, 1970)
While less than 70 percent of the television households in America were able to watch Sesame Street in the first season, it debuted to almost universal acclaim, and won a Peabody Award, three Emmys, and the Prix Jeunesse award in 1970. President Richard Nixon even sent the show a congratulatory letter.
But not everyone was happy with Sesame Street. Several Hispanic groups criticized the show for being “racist” by not including more Hispanic actors in the cast. Which led the show to add a more diverse cast in later seasons.
Caroll Spinney, in Big Bird costume, talks to several children on the set of Sesame Street's very first season (courtesy CTW, 1970)
And when Mississippi launched its first PBS station in May 1970, the state commissioners running the new Jackson, Mississippi affiliate declined to air Sesame Street, claiming the state’s citizens weren’t ready for the show’s integrated cast. That decision was reversed three weeks later after the decision was picked up national news outlets.
Some women’s organization’s, such as the National Organization for Women (NOW) complained the cast was too “male-oriented” and criticized the decision to make the character Susan a housewife. She was later changed to a nurse and the producers added a female writer in response to the criticisms.
Puppeteer Caroll Spinney as 'Big Bird,' actress Loretta Long (who played character Susan Robinson), and actor Matt Robinson (who played character Gordon Robinson) during the taping of Sesame Street's very first season (photo courtesy CTW, 1970)
Still, the show ended its first season a verified hit and a year after the premiere of Sesame Street, Big Bird was on the cover of Time Magazine. And as we all know, while the show has evolved over the years, it still remains a core part of the PBS experience, with the series currently finishing its 56th year on the air.
Looking at these photos from season one, it’s strange to see the earliest moments of a show that has become an institution. The show was still finding its way, trying to figure out the mix of stories and scenes that both entertained its preschool audience while also providing the knowledge that would prepare them for learning once they started school.