New Illustration - Mister Hooper - Friend of Angel Grove · 5:14am Nov 23rd, 2020
The man pictured below is Will Lee. He was better known to my generation as Mr. Hooper, the owner of Hooper's General Store on Sesame Street. I referenced a line he made during the TV special "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street" briefly at the end of the Christmas Special - VOLUME 14 FINALE - Chapter 22 - Christmas Miracles in the Author's Notes. It was a very touching scene to me. Sadly, this chapter's reference is not so happy.
On November 24, 1983, Thanksgiving Day, a very special scene was played on that day's episode of Sesame Street. In it, the cast of the show take the opportunity to explain to Big Bird (and the children watching) about a very sober topic... death. Will Lee passed away suddenly on of a heart attack on December 7, 1982. The executives were unsure of what to do about his passing. It was eventually decided to use the event to teach children about the natural inevitability of life's conclusion, as Will Lee would have wanted. After consulting with child psychologists a script was written and the scene performed. It aired on Thanksgiving to assure that there would be adults in the house whom could answer any other questions their children might have about death.
A bit of myself is personified in nearly every character in this story. Therefore I found it only fitting to take this opportunity to pay homage to Will Lee in the chapter that directly references him. A copy of the original footage can be found here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37M5fcM-cSU
Rest in peace, Mr. Hooper...
August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982
Gone... but not forgotten.
