Whatever Happened To The Cast Of Sesame Street?

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Since 1969, the beloved PBS children's show "Sesame Street" has brought sunny days to the homes of families across the globe that love learning and, of course, large puppets. From Big Bird and Elmo to Oscar the Grouch and many more lovable characters, the show has become an icon for teaching children an array of different topics, such as the alphabet, languages, and counting. It is safe to say that the Cookie Monster will always bring out the inner child in us, no matter how old we get. Yet, there are some things in the show that only adults would notice.

Outside of our favorite puppet characters come the human neighbors that made the show feel effortlessly magical. How could we ever forget about Mr. Hooper and his shop?! Plenty of actors have come and gone throughout the series — some replacing others and adding new faces we grew to love. However, the series' original characters and other longtime characters on the show have made an everlasting impact on not only "Sesame Street" but also the world.

But where are those friendly neighbors today, you may ask? Well, some continued acting, while others focused on directing, producing, and writing. Wherever the road took our favorite crew, they will always have a special place in our hearts and remain an integral part of our childhood. Keep reading to see what happened to the cast of "Sesame Street."

For 44 years, Sonia Manzano portrayed the lovable character Maria Figueroa Rodriguez, the shop owner and wife of Luis Rodriguez, on "Sesame Street." In 2015, at the American Library Association Annual Conference in San Francisco, the actress announced she was departing the show (via CNN). According to Deadline, Manzano won a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2016 as well as 15 Emmy Awards for her writing work on the show. After leaving the beloved series, the actress published several children's books with Scholastic and released her autobiography, "Becoming Maria: Love and Chaos in the South Bronx," in August 2015. In 2019, she starred in "Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration." Her other acting credits include "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "The Casagrandes" (via IMDb). 

Her most recent work is the show "Alma's Way," which Manzano wrote and produced for PBS Kids. The animated series, which was inspired by her own children, is about 6-year-old Alma Rivera, a Puerto Rican girl living in the Bronx, New York, with her family. In an October 2021 interview with Variety, Manzano spoke about how the goal of the show, which was for children to think and learn about social awareness rather simply memorizing information. "I thought this was a cool message to kids that, if you have a brain, you could figure things out by observing the world around you and applying it to solving your own problems."

Roscoe Orman was the third person to play the role of teacher Gordon Robinson on "Sesame Street," a role he began in 1973. Orman landed multiple other roles in television series since his time on "Sesame Street," including "Last Resort," "New Amsterdam," and "Blue Bloods" (via IMDb). Outside of acting, Orman released two books, a memoir, "Sesame Street Dad: Evolution of an Actor," published in June 2006, about his experience on the show for three decades, and the children's book "Ricky and Mobo," published in November 2013.

In an interview with Time in November 2014, Orman looked back on his character and the significance the show had on the world, saying, "Sesame Street holds a very special place in the heart of American and worldwide audiences that would be hard to replace."

In 2016, Orman was one of several longtime "Sesame Street" actors who were let go from the program as part of HBO's takeover of the show (via Distractify). 

Will Lee, otherwise known as storekeeper Mr. Hooper, was arguably one of the most influential characters on "Sesame Street." The American actor was one of the four original human characters on the show when it debuted in 1969. He appeared on the series for 13 years until his death. According to his New York Times obituary, Lee died in December 1982 from a heart attack at age 74.

Instead of immediately replacing the actor after his death, the writers and producers of "Sesame Street" decided to demonstrate how the puppets, specifically Big Bird, were to cope with death and grief in the historic "Farewell to Mr. Hooper" episode. The heart-wrenching episode aired on Thanksgiving of 1983, according to the Television Academy Foundation. The episode earned the series the Peabody Award, alongside a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing the next year (via Heavy). 

Caroll Spinney, who provided the voice of Big Bird, said the episode was a great teaching opportunity for children when explaining death, per AV Club. "I think it was one of the best things we ever did," he said.

Between performing, acting, and directing, Alan Muraoka can do it all, He joined the "Sesame Street" cast in 1996 as Alan and can be found in front of and behind the camera. Aside from bringing sunny days to "Sesame Street," Muraoka was featured in "City on a Hill," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "30 Rock," and "Brotherhood" (via IMDb). In an interview with NBC News, Muraoka described what working on the set of "Sesame Street" was like as an Asian-American. "What I love about Sesame is that it's a world of universal acceptance: where humans, animals, monsters, fairies, and Snuffleupaguses can live in harmony."

Muraoka made his way to Broadway and also starred in several main stage performances, including "The King and I," "My Favorite Year," "Miss Saigon," and "Anything Goes" (via Alan Muraoka). In 2013, he was awarded the APEX Award for Youth Inspiration for his work mentoring children in New York City. 

Aside from acting, Muraoka has a passion for directing. In November 2021, he spoke with the Pioneer Theater Company about producing "Elf The Musical," his past projects, and the transition between acting and directing. "The only time it becomes a small challenge is when I am both directing and acting in the same episode. It's a lot of hats to wear at the same time, but I have figured out how to make that work and I am luckily surrounded by great people who help support me," he said.

Mr. Noodle, otherwise known as the beloved Michael Jeter, was featured in the "Elmo's World" segment of "Sesame Street" at the beginning of 2000. Outside of "Sesame Street," Jeter starred in many well-known films and television series, including "The Polar Express," "Open Range," "Hey Arnold!" and "Jurassic Park III" (via IMDb). The actor took home a Tony Award in 1990 for his role in the musical adaptation of "Grand Hotel" (via Playbill). He was also awarded an Emmy in 1993 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on the CBS series "Evening Shade." 

According to The New York Times, Jeter died in April 2003 at 50 years old of "natural causes." He was survived by his partner, Sean Blue. Although the exact cause of death is unknown, his publicist, Dick Guttman, shared that, although he tested positive for HIV, he was in good health at the time of his death. According to AP News, Guttman stated, "Kids would recognize him and come running up to him, 'Mr. Noodle! Mr. Noodle,‴ Guttman said. "He really loved that.″