Sesame Street titan Lloyd Morrisett dies, aged 93

The news of his passing was announced by Sesame Workshop on Tuesday (January 24th 2023). No cause of death was given.

“A Lifetime Honorary Trustee, Lloyd leaves an outsized and indelible legacy among generations of children the world over, with Sesame Street only the most visible tribute to a lifetime of good work and lasting impact,” Sesame Workshop wrote in a statement.

It continued: “A wise, thoughtful, and above all kind leader of the Workshop for decades, Lloyd was fascinated by the power of technology and constantly thinking about new ways it could be used to educate.”

Morrisett initially trained to become a teacher with a background in psychology, but went on to work at Carnegie Corporation, a philanthropic foundation focused on education, and explored new ways to educate children from less advantaged backgrounds.

It was while working there that he co-founded the Children’s Television Workshop with his close friend Joan Ganz Cooney, with the idea of using television programs to educate less advantaged children and prepare them for school.

Its first show, Sesame Street, first aired in 1969 and reached more than half of the nation’s 12 million three- to five-year-olds in its first season.

Cooney paid tribute to Morrisett following the tragic news of his passing, saying: “Without Lloyd Morrisett, there would be no Sesame Street.

“It was he who first came up with the notion of using television to teach pre-schoolers basic skills, such as letters and numbers.

“He was a trusted partner and loyal friend to me for over 50 years, and he will be sorely missed.”

Morrissett continued to serve as chairman of Sesame Workshop until 2000.

The news of Lloyd's death comes just under two months after the passing of Bob McGrath, one of the first non-Muppet regular characters on Sesame street, who died at the age of 90.