Nick Martel

They also could pull a Dumbledore, Jack, and replace the deceased actor. But something about a casting swap feels wrong. The show exists to teach kids, right? Maybe this moment of human sadness, something every human will go through, is actually the exact topic Sesame Street should take head on. The more Joan and her team think about it, the more right it seems. Let's just tell the kids the truth.

They actually consult with child psychologists to help them craft a script that breaks the news in a gentle but clear way. In the scene, Big Bird, who wants to be an artist, is handing out drawings he's made of all the grown-ups. Every adult on the show is there. Then Big Bird gets to the last drawing, the one of Mr. Hooper. And he starts looking around, but Mr. Hooper isn't anywhere.

They actually consult with child psychologists to help them craft a script that breaks the news in a gentle but clear way. In the scene, Big Bird, who wants to be an artist, is handing out drawings he's made of all the grown-ups. Every adult on the show is there. Then Big Bird gets to the last drawing, the one of Mr. Hooper. And he starts looking around, but Mr. Hooper isn't anywhere.

They actually consult with child psychologists to help them craft a script that breaks the news in a gentle but clear way. In the scene, Big Bird, who wants to be an artist, is handing out drawings he's made of all the grown-ups. Every adult on the show is there. Then Big Bird gets to the last drawing, the one of Mr. Hooper. And he starts looking around, but Mr. Hooper isn't anywhere.

Now, eventually, the adults step in, and one by one, they each gently explain what being dead really means. And Big Bird, he just can't accept that.

Now, eventually, the adults step in, and one by one, they each gently explain what being dead really means. And Big Bird, he just can't accept that.

Now, eventually, the adults step in, and one by one, they each gently explain what being dead really means. And Big Bird, he just can't accept that.

The adults reassure him that David will make him milkshakes. They'll all take turns telling him stories. Slowly, Big Bird starts to understand, but he doesn't like it. It won't be the same. And everyone agrees, because it won't be the same. The actors only shoot one take. When Carol Spinney comes out of the bird suit, he asks for a towel because he's been crying.

The adults reassure him that David will make him milkshakes. They'll all take turns telling him stories. Slowly, Big Bird starts to understand, but he doesn't like it. It won't be the same. And everyone agrees, because it won't be the same. The actors only shoot one take. When Carol Spinney comes out of the bird suit, he asks for a towel because he's been crying.

The adults reassure him that David will make him milkshakes. They'll all take turns telling him stories. Slowly, Big Bird starts to understand, but he doesn't like it. It won't be the same. And everyone agrees, because it won't be the same. The actors only shoot one take. When Carol Spinney comes out of the bird suit, he asks for a towel because he's been crying.

And honestly, when we first saw this scene, we started crying. Yeah. Sesame Street decides to air the episode on Thanksgiving 1983. And they do that so that children will be home with their parents to watch it together. But before the big day, the team test screens the segment at a daycare. They show it around pickup time so that the parents can catch it along with their children.

And honestly, when we first saw this scene, we started crying. Yeah. Sesame Street decides to air the episode on Thanksgiving 1983. And they do that so that children will be home with their parents to watch it together. But before the big day, the team test screens the segment at a daycare. They show it around pickup time so that the parents can catch it along with their children.

And honestly, when we first saw this scene, we started crying. Yeah. Sesame Street decides to air the episode on Thanksgiving 1983. And they do that so that children will be home with their parents to watch it together. But before the big day, the team test screens the segment at a daycare. They show it around pickup time so that the parents can catch it along with their children.

When the scene is over, parents and kids physically reach out to each other for comfort, not in a scared way, but in a reassuring way. When the producers see that, they know they've done the right thing. Their answer is in the embraces. This moment foreshadows the way the Muppets, and the actors who play them, remember Jim Henson himself.

When the scene is over, parents and kids physically reach out to each other for comfort, not in a scared way, but in a reassuring way. When the producers see that, they know they've done the right thing. Their answer is in the embraces. This moment foreshadows the way the Muppets, and the actors who play them, remember Jim Henson himself.

When the scene is over, parents and kids physically reach out to each other for comfort, not in a scared way, but in a reassuring way. When the producers see that, they know they've done the right thing. Their answer is in the embraces. This moment foreshadows the way the Muppets, and the actors who play them, remember Jim Henson himself.

In 1990, a sudden illness claims Jim's life too early at the age of 53. At Jim's memorial, Carol Spinney, as Big Bird, sings Kermit's favorite song, It's Not Easy Being Green. You can hear the emotion in his voice as he sings in character. And amazingly, you can even see it on Big Bird's face. Even when he's mourning his friend, Carol gives Big Bird an entire life of his own.

In 1990, a sudden illness claims Jim's life too early at the age of 53. At Jim's memorial, Carol Spinney, as Big Bird, sings Kermit's favorite song, It's Not Easy Being Green. You can hear the emotion in his voice as he sings in character. And amazingly, you can even see it on Big Bird's face. Even when he's mourning his friend, Carol gives Big Bird an entire life of his own.

In 1990, a sudden illness claims Jim's life too early at the age of 53. At Jim's memorial, Carol Spinney, as Big Bird, sings Kermit's favorite song, It's Not Easy Being Green. You can hear the emotion in his voice as he sings in character. And amazingly, you can even see it on Big Bird's face. Even when he's mourning his friend, Carol gives Big Bird an entire life of his own.

The show experiences deaths and cast changes, which will always happen on a show that runs for 50-plus years. But this story isn't just about who's missing. It's about who gets added, too. That's right, because it wouldn't be a Sesame Street episode without a character so beloved that he even gets more fan mail than Big Bird, the Muppet who actually helped save the entire show.