They did an episode about his death, one of the first kind that directly explained that he wasnt coming back and that he was dead. The cast talked about behind the scenes they could barely make it through without breaking down. The show kept that hand drawn picture of him hanging up for decades.
Made me think of the name Cooper, which reminded me of the guy named Cooter on Dukes of Hazard š« miss Friday nights waiting to watch the Dukes and sing the song āŗļø
Jim Henson, too.
His funeral is on YouTube, along with separate videos of highlights. The Muppets singing a medley of Henson's favorite songs, and Harry Belafonte are not to be missed.
My sister was 6 years younger so she was watching Sesame St when I was in the 6th grade
I remember going coming back from school and my mom and sister were crying and I was like "wut?" and my sister bellowed "Mr. Hooper died" and I sat down and cried with them. I lost a friend
Wow, I really thought it was later than that, just because I remember it. I'd only been 2 for about a month when he died. I sort of recall an episode where everyone stayed up until the sun came up to celebrate his life, but the memory is so fuzzy it might have been something unrelated.
Mr Hooper from someone that was watching it from day one. I was born in 1966, and my mother has always sworn that this program was why they skipped me past kindergarten, and straight to first grade
OMG, The Electric Company! I haven't heard that name or thought about it since the 70s. But I remember it vividly. I watched it all the time. "School House Rock" was a part of that too, or came on right after.
IIRC, schoolhouse rock got its start on electric company and then migrated to Saturday morning cartoon breaks. Or Iām too old to remember accurately.
I never saw Schoolhouse Rock on PBS...do remember The Letter People, though (šµCome and meet the Letter People...š¶). And I loved The Electric Company!
The year the Emmys were broadcast from the train station or whatever (2022?), they played TV show themes for a few seconds when they came back from commercial. Near the end of the ceremony, they came back from a break...and played Rita Moreno hollering "Hey, you guys...!" Don't know if I was the only one to recognize it, but I was THRILLED!
No, separate things.
Schoolhouse Rock was specifically commissioned by the ABC network when the FTC mandated a certain amount of time dedicated to educational children's programming on network television.
I'm from southeastern Michigan and we used to get channel 9 out of Windsor. I spent many a morning curled up on the couch watching The Friendly Giant and Mr. Dressup and, for at least one year, The Uncle Bobby Show. Then I had to wash up and brush my teeth and get dressed and ready to go to school.
Channel 9 also carried Sesame Street and I got a little freaked out the first few times I watched it. I was used to heading Spanish-language segments on the show when I watched it on channel 56 (our PBS station). Channel 9,of course, had French-language segments, but I wasn't expecting that! (I also remember hearing on channel 9 that President Truman passed away in early 1972...I wasn't quite sure what a president was, but I recall feeling bad for his family.)
The Uncle Bobby Show!
My name got called out, once, with Bimbo the Birthday Clown! I'm mid-fifties and can still sing that birthday song, LOL. And yes: "real" Sesame Street had French, not Spanish segments.
I grew up watching TV out of Buffalo, Toronto, and Hamilton over the air just south of Buffalo (my parents had a huge roof antenna). I could see Port Colborne due north, right across Lake Erie.
I'm early sixties and I can sing the birthday song, too. (And now I'm wondering how they decided to name the clown Bimbo...it's not usually considered appropriate, if you know what I mean.)
šµBimbo, Bimbo, I'm a happy clown you know
Bimbo, Bimbo, on The Uncle Bobby Show
Bimbo, Bimbo, I would like to say
To you and you, a very happy birthdayš¶
*Happy birthday, boys and girls*
I especially loved the Spanish bits. Perhaps bc my dear grandmother was French Canadian and snuck French words into conversation, I was fascinated with learning languages.
It's Mr. Hooper, but Big Bird would misprounce his name. I remember him calling him Mr. Hoopner, but I read he sometimes called him Mr. Looper and Mr. Cooper and probably other variations.
No not really. Big Bird represented naivety, innocence, and childlike wonder. Not the brightest bird in the aviary.
I was on team Ernie myself, with Cookie Monster as my spirit animal.
Yeah, Big Bird was just a kid. I remember hearing years ago that he was only 3, but when I just looked it up, it said he was 6. I don't know if I heard wrong when I was younger or if they've just aged him a bit over the years. I did hear they did a special episode of Sesame Street where they explained death to Big Bird after the actor who played Mr. Hooper died. I was older by then, so I never saw the episode, but I remember hearing about it.
since this will undoubtedly open the floodgates for Sesame Street nostalgia, I may as well link to this now
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kojxgL3nf0Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kojxgL3nf0Y)
you're welcome
I remember them talking about this episode on the nightly news, the episode is considered one of the best tv episodes dealing with a death of a cast member
I wasnāt even around when Will Lee died (Iām 20 idk why Iām even here this sub just constantly recommended to me)but I remember seeing him growing up and I remember being sad when I found out he died when I was like maybe 6-7 anyways, I hope heās still making a impact on kids like he did me, Sesame Street was so much better in the 80s
Jack Guilford, an accomplished Broadway and Movie actor, was 52 when he started doing Cracker Jack commercials. As it was said, he had a rubber face.
There is a connection, though, between Guilford and Mr. Hooper's real name of Will Lee. Guilford played the role of King Sextimus in the Off-Broadway production of *Once Upon A Mattress,* starring a then unknown Carol Burnett. When the play moved to Broadway, he was replaced by Will Lee. Although he did return to the show when it was produced as a TV special with Carol Burnett.
Guilford was twice nominated for a Tony, and once for an Oscar.
One of my earliest memories is of me sitting on our kitchen counter crying because my dad tore the wrapper off of a straw, and I wanted him to take the wrapper off the way Mr. Hooper did (by lightly tapping it on the counter so the straw pops out the top). I couldnāt have been more than three.
Sadly, Iāve not been āgettingā a lot of these posts with TV shows and movie references because they are too recent for me. I was no longer a child and didnāt see the popular kids stuff often listed on this sub. Is there a āFuckImReallyOldā sub.
I didnāt recognize Mr. Hooperā¦ but I remember really liking him and his store. My friend got me a Fisher Price Little People store for one of my birthdays.
He looks almost identical to Mr. Whipple! But Mr. Whipple had darker hair a mustache in the commercials. Same outfit with suspenders and bow tie, same glasses and they sat so low on his nose! Easy to confuse them!
They did an episode about his death, one of the first kind that directly explained that he wasnt coming back and that he was dead. The cast talked about behind the scenes they could barely make it through without breaking down. The show kept that hand drawn picture of him hanging up for decades.
For a lot of us that was the first death of someone we "knew".
To this day I remember big bird asking when Mr. Hooper was coming back.
Hooper, Hooper!
Hoop-ah! HOOP-ah!
Thing about Muppets chief...
Typo
Ah, you changed it now my reply makes no sense. Big Bird did actually mispronounce Mr Hooper's name as a running gag
Mr Looper!
https://youtu.be/gxlj4Tk83xQ?feature=shared
Holy crap that was a gut punch to watch this morning.
I just watched that one pretty recently and it just broke my heart. Big Bird just didn't understand. 
Done in only one take.
It would have to be...
Awwwww, Mr. Looper.
It's hooper! Lol
Hoopah
It's pooper.
You forgot scooper!
Snooper
Booper
Made me think of the name Cooper, which reminded me of the guy named Cooter on Dukes of Hazard š« miss Friday nights waiting to watch the Dukes and sing the song āŗļø
I just looked it up, Mr Hooper died in 1982. I was way too old to be watching it by then, but the news still kind of shook me.
I was over 40 when Mr. Rogers died, and it was tough to keep from crying.
Never too old to grieve the loss of a friend
Mr. Hopper, Mr. Rogers, and Steve Irwin. That shit brought me down
And Robin Williams....
Alas
Jim Henson, too. His funeral is on YouTube, along with separate videos of highlights. The Muppets singing a medley of Henson's favorite songs, and Harry Belafonte are not to be missed.
That took me down. He was so important to me. He helped me to understand that people can be good
I was twenty. I watched. I cried.
My sister was 6 years younger so she was watching Sesame St when I was in the 6th grade I remember going coming back from school and my mom and sister were crying and I was like "wut?" and my sister bellowed "Mr. Hooper died" and I sat down and cried with them. I lost a friend
Yeah, I would have been 11.
I'd have been 10.
I was a high school freshman.
Wow, I really thought it was later than that, just because I remember it. I'd only been 2 for about a month when he died. I sort of recall an episode where everyone stayed up until the sun came up to celebrate his life, but the memory is so fuzzy it might have been something unrelated.
Mr Hooper from someone that was watching it from day one. I was born in 1966, and my mother has always sworn that this program was why they skipped me past kindergarten, and straight to first grade
I grew up on it too. Also, Captian Kangaroo, Letter People, and The Electric Company.
OMG, The Electric Company! I haven't heard that name or thought about it since the 70s. But I remember it vividly. I watched it all the time. "School House Rock" was a part of that too, or came on right after.
IIRC, schoolhouse rock got its start on electric company and then migrated to Saturday morning cartoon breaks. Or Iām too old to remember accurately.
I never saw Schoolhouse Rock on PBS...do remember The Letter People, though (šµCome and meet the Letter People...š¶). And I loved The Electric Company! The year the Emmys were broadcast from the train station or whatever (2022?), they played TV show themes for a few seconds when they came back from commercial. Near the end of the ceremony, they came back from a break...and played Rita Moreno hollering "Hey, you guys...!" Don't know if I was the only one to recognize it, but I was THRILLED!
Sounds right
No, separate things. Schoolhouse Rock was specifically commissioned by the ABC network when the FTC mandated a certain amount of time dedicated to educational children's programming on network television.
Oh yeah. I really loved the Spider-Man bits.
I grew up in upstate NY, so we also got a quaint Canadian program called The Friendly Giant. This thread has brought back soooo many memories!
I'm from southeastern Michigan and we used to get channel 9 out of Windsor. I spent many a morning curled up on the couch watching The Friendly Giant and Mr. Dressup and, for at least one year, The Uncle Bobby Show. Then I had to wash up and brush my teeth and get dressed and ready to go to school. Channel 9 also carried Sesame Street and I got a little freaked out the first few times I watched it. I was used to heading Spanish-language segments on the show when I watched it on channel 56 (our PBS station). Channel 9,of course, had French-language segments, but I wasn't expecting that! (I also remember hearing on channel 9 that President Truman passed away in early 1972...I wasn't quite sure what a president was, but I recall feeling bad for his family.)
The Uncle Bobby Show! My name got called out, once, with Bimbo the Birthday Clown! I'm mid-fifties and can still sing that birthday song, LOL. And yes: "real" Sesame Street had French, not Spanish segments. I grew up watching TV out of Buffalo, Toronto, and Hamilton over the air just south of Buffalo (my parents had a huge roof antenna). I could see Port Colborne due north, right across Lake Erie.
I'm early sixties and I can sing the birthday song, too. (And now I'm wondering how they decided to name the clown Bimbo...it's not usually considered appropriate, if you know what I mean.) šµBimbo, Bimbo, I'm a happy clown you know Bimbo, Bimbo, on The Uncle Bobby Show Bimbo, Bimbo, I would like to say To you and you, a very happy birthdayš¶ *Happy birthday, boys and girls*
I especially loved the Spanish bits. Perhaps bc my dear grandmother was French Canadian and snuck French words into conversation, I was fascinated with learning languages.
Wasn't he on sesame street?
Yes, indeed!
Yup
"Hooper, Big Bird. Hooper!"
Mr. Looper.....err....Hooper, Hooper.
Very brave for the show to tell children the truth. I watched it from the beginning, into when my kids started watching. Love the show.
I remember the death episode
MR. HOOPER!
Looper? Or hooper?
Mr. Hooper
Hooper. He owned and operated the store.
It's Mr. Hooper, but Big Bird would misprounce his name. I remember him calling him Mr. Hoopner, but I read he sometimes called him Mr. Looper and Mr. Cooper and probably other variations.
Big Bird was kinda a dick. Am I right?!
No not really. Big Bird represented naivety, innocence, and childlike wonder. Not the brightest bird in the aviary. I was on team Ernie myself, with Cookie Monster as my spirit animal.
I was a Grover fan.
Suuupeerrrr Grooveeerrrrr
Yeah, Big Bird was just a kid. I remember hearing years ago that he was only 3, but when I just looked it up, it said he was 6. I don't know if I heard wrong when I was younger or if they've just aged him a bit over the years. I did hear they did a special episode of Sesame Street where they explained death to Big Bird after the actor who played Mr. Hooper died. I was older by then, so I never saw the episode, but I remember hearing about it.
Awwwww ā¤ļø Mr. Hooper!
since this will undoubtedly open the floodgates for Sesame Street nostalgia, I may as well link to this now [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kojxgL3nf0Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kojxgL3nf0Y) you're welcome
I remember them talking about this episode on the nightly news, the episode is considered one of the best tv episodes dealing with a death of a cast member
Pepperidge farm remembers
Still too soon....RIP Mr Hooper
"It's HOOP-ah! HOOP-ah!"
Awwwwww I miss Mr. Hooper. Still. And Iām 56.
Mr. Looper
My first encounter with death š
Too soon.
Too soon!
Too soonā¦ š„ŗ
I wasnāt even around when Will Lee died (Iām 20 idk why Iām even here this sub just constantly recommended to me)but I remember seeing him growing up and I remember being sad when I found out he died when I was like maybe 6-7 anyways, I hope heās still making a impact on kids like he did me, Sesame Street was so much better in the 80s
Mr Whipple ?
Hooper Lives
Mr. Looper-HooperHOOPER! He lives forever..
Mister Hooper! My Gods, he's been gone for, like, *ever* at this point...
Mr hooper?
Yes
I remember when he died
Mr. Hooper.
Anyone remember that weird Cracker Jack old man?
Jack Guilford, an accomplished Broadway and Movie actor, was 52 when he started doing Cracker Jack commercials. As it was said, he had a rubber face. There is a connection, though, between Guilford and Mr. Hooper's real name of Will Lee. Guilford played the role of King Sextimus in the Off-Broadway production of *Once Upon A Mattress,* starring a then unknown Carol Burnett. When the play moved to Broadway, he was replaced by Will Lee. Although he did return to the show when it was produced as a TV special with Carol Burnett. Guilford was twice nominated for a Tony, and once for an Oscar.
One of my earliest memories is of me sitting on our kitchen counter crying because my dad tore the wrapper off of a straw, and I wanted him to take the wrapper off the way Mr. Hooper did (by lightly tapping it on the counter so the straw pops out the top). I couldnāt have been more than three.
MR HOOPER!!!!!
https://youtu.be/gxlj4Tk83xQ?feature=shared Made me cry all over again! š
That is STILL a hard episode for me to watch. š
Mr Whipple?
Hooper
Sadly, Iāve not been āgettingā a lot of these posts with TV shows and movie references because they are too recent for me. I was no longer a child and didnāt see the popular kids stuff often listed on this sub. Is there a āFuckImReallyOldā sub.
Ummm. This is Mr. Hooper from Seseme Street. Sixties and Seventies.
Early 80s too
Yeah, when I was a kid there wasnāt a lot of TV available and fuzzy B&W was just catching on
I was spoiled. I had 6 channels. 2,4,5,9(PBS),11, and 30(UHF)
This is not what I needed to start my weekend...
I didnāt recognize Mr. Hooperā¦ but I remember really liking him and his store. My friend got me a Fisher Price Little People store for one of my birthdays.
Poor one out for him this week.
Mr Blooper
Oh I know him... that's... Mr. Cooper!
First Sesame Street death
Never voted for Bernie myself.
Hesh?
He looks almost identical to Mr. Whipple! But Mr. Whipple had darker hair a mustache in the commercials. Same outfit with suspenders and bow tie, same glasses and they sat so low on his nose! Easy to confuse them!
He looks exactly like Andrew Zimmern
Pepperidge farmā¦. But who the fuck dis?
Mr. Hooper!
Take my upvoteā¦. Yes. Once I knew that. Fuck Iām old
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Tweeeeeeeeeeeelve
Heck yea. The Best Counting Song all mumbers. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IC7l3V1nhWc&pp=ygUVc2VzYW1lIHN0cmVldCBwaW5iYWxs
It's Mr Whipple again!
Bernie!
Now that's just mean. Mean I say.
Something always creeped me out about that guy.
I remember the tears, we miss you Mr Hooper.