'Sesame Street' 40th Anniversary: A Retrospective (VIDEO)

The Show:
When creator Jim Henson died in 1990, the show stopped producing new sketches featuring Kermit the Frog. He only appeared in reruns of old sketches until 1998, when he popped up to do a Sesame Street News Flash when Oscar the Grouch's pet worm Slimy went into space. He appeared again in 2001, reporting on a hurricane with Al Roker.

'Sesame Street' has won more than 100 Emmy Awards, more than any other television show in the United States.

In 2002, producers of a South African version of 'Sesame Street' announced the addition of an HIV-positive Muppet named Kami to address the growing number of people (including kids) with the virus in that part of the world. However, Kami wasn't gay; he contracted the virus through a blood transfusion as an infant.

Some Muppets were canned over the years for interesting reasons: Don Music, the pianist who banged his head against the piano in frustration, was dropped after kids at home started doing the same thing. Harvey Kneeslapper was cut loose because his signature laugh was too much of a strain on Frank Oz's vocal chords. Roosevelt Franklin was considered to be a negative cultural stereotype (he was the only African American Muppet at the time and was seen mostly in detention after school). Professor Hastings, a teacher whose lectures were so dull that even he fell asleep, was discontinued because ... he was too dull.

'Sesame Street' was originally designed for inner-city kids to help them learn English.

Divorce has never been fully dealt with on the show, because the producers couldn't come up with a story that didn't lead children in test audiences to worry about their own parents getting divorced.

Big Bird:
Big Bird is 8'2" tall.

He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1994.

Big Bird's teddy bear is named "Radar" after the character from 'MASH' who always slept with a teddy bear.

He's generally referred to as a canary, but reports as to his lineage vary. While visiting 'Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood,' he told King Friday XIII, "Actually, I'm a golden condor." During an appearance on 'Hollywood Squares,' he told Peter Marshall that he was a lark, and he's also been referred to as part homing pigeon.

Big Bird almost never got Mr. Hooper's last name right, often calling him Mr. Looper or other rhyming words like "scooper" and "pooper" (thus endearing himself to four-year-olds everywhere).

According to the book 'Sesame Street Unpaved,' Big Bird's nest contains a bubble gum dispenser, a clock with no hands, a feather duster, a football helmet, a golf bag with one club, a hurricane lamp, a megaphone, a picture of Mr. Hooper, a Roman bust, a tricycle wheel, a watering can, an old record player, an umbrella, a mailbox, and a pair of snowshoes. Other objects not listed in the book include a small wooden alphabet sign, a jack-and-balls game, a picture of his cousin Abelardo, and a pull-string lamp.

Big Bird's bookshelf contains 'March of Democracy,' 'Preface to Philosophy,' 'Principles of Chemistry,' and 'Shattered Lamp.' One of the windows of Susan and Gordon's apartment looks into his nest, and Susan has been a surrogate mother to him over the years.

Caroll Spinney has played the part of Big Bird since 1969, though as he's gotten older, others have been trained to play the part, including Matt Vogel. The performer is completely enclosed within the costume and extends his right hand over his head to operate the head and neck of Big Bird. The Muppeteer's left hand serves as Bird's left hand, while the right hand is stuffed and hangs loosely from a fishing line that runs through a loop under the neck and attaches to the wrist of the left hand.

Other Characters:
In 2004, Cookie Monster revealed that before trying cookies for the first time, his name was Sid.

The shoe size of Snuffy Snuffleupagus is 65 GGG.

Some old Bert and Ernie skits showed Ernie having his own bedroom instead of sharing a bedroom with Bert. (Yes, there was that whole "are they gay?" movement there for a while.)

Ernie wears horizontal stripes on his sweater to make him appear more relaxed; Bert wears vertical stripes on his sweater to make him appear more uptight.

The Neighborhood:
The left-side door in the front of 123 Sesame Street has never been opened. Big Bird once tried to get Snuffy into the building; when it turned out that Snuffy couldn't fit through just one door, Big Bird explained that the other door was "locked."

To answer that immortal question, here's how to get to Sesame Street: Take the "R" or "V" train to Steinway Street. Stay on back of train. Walk west on 34th Avenue, three blocks to 36th Street. Turn left on 36th Street. The entrance to Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens is mid-block (between 34th & 35th Avenues).

'Sesame Street' Clips:
We sifted through 40 years of videos to find the best. Of course, that's an impossible feat, since there are thousands of awesome clips. But here are eight clips we found memorable. Watch and enjoy, and list your own favorite clips in the comments below.

Originally, Bird Bird was the only one who ever saw Snuffleupagus. But the producers finally decided to reveal him to the other characters, partly because they felt it was sending a bad message to kids that adults wouldn't believe them if they had something important to tell them.



After the death of Will Lee, who played neighborhood grocer Harold Hooper, the producers decided not to replace him with another actor. Instead, they wrote a special episode dealing with the loss of a loved one.



Bruce Springsteen was 'Born to Add'


'Gone With the Wind' on Monsterpiece Theatre

Robert De Niro explains method acting to Elmo:


Larry King meets the Letter W:


REM With Furry, Happy Monsters


Shoe fairy, Neil Patrick Harris:


'Mad (Muppet) Men':




Sound off: What's your favorite 'Sesame Street' memory? Post the songs, segments, characters and moments you loved in the comments!