'Sesame Street' Parts Ways With Longtime Cast Members
The actors who played Bob, Luis and Gordon are moving on.
— -- "Sesame Street" continues to change.
Longtime cast members Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado and Roscoe Orman — who played Bob, Luis and Gordon, respectively — will no longer regularly appear on the children's show, McGrath announced earlier this month.
However, Sesame Workshop said in a statement today that the three actors "continue to represent us at public events" and remain "a treasured part of 'Sesame Street.'"
"Since the show began, we are constantly evolving our content and curriculum and, hence, our characters, to meet the educational needs of children. As a result of this, our cast has changed over the years, though you can still expect to see many of them in upcoming productions," the statement continued. "As we've stated previously, Sesame Workshop retains sole creative control over the show. HBO does not oversee the production."
Earlier this month, McGrath, 84, made the announcement during a discussion at Florida Supercon. In audio released by "The Muppet Cast" podcast, he praised cast members Alan Muraoka and Chris Knowings, who will remain on the show.
"They're terrific, wonderful people and really great actors and performers," McGrath said.
This January, "Sesame Street" debuted on HBO, after being broadcast on PBS since the show premiered in 1969. It went from hourlong episodes to 30-minute ones in the fall. For the show's next five seasons, HBO has exclusive rights to run episodes for nine months, after which they will air on PBS.