August 6, 1908
Will Lee is born. William
"Will" Lee (August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor
and comedian, best known for playing Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street, from the
show's debut in 1969 until his death in 1982.
Lee was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a character actor on stage.
He was a member of the Group Theater in the 1930s and appeared in Johnny
Johnson, Night Music, Boy
Meets Girl, The
Time of Your Life (as Willie the pinball machine addict) and other Broadway plays. He succeeded John Garfield as the lead in Golden
Boy.Lee was co-founder of the Theater of Action and a
member of the Federal
Theatre Project. During World War II, he served in Army Special Services
in Australia and Manila and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for troops
overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he appeared Off Broadway in Norman Mailer's Deer Park (as movie mogul Teppis) and on Broadway in The
Shrike, Once
Upon a Mattress, Carnival!, Incident At Vichy and The World of Sholom Aleichem.
Lee also began appearing in movies, including bit
parts in Casbah, A Song Is Born, Little Fugitive, and Saboteur. He was blacklisted as an alleged communist and barred from movies and on TV for 5 years during the Red Scare, according to members of his family. He had been active in the Actor's Workshop and had been an unfriendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in 1950 investigating show business. At the
end of that period, in 1956, he landed the role of Grandpa Hughes in As The
World Turns; however, the role
was recast with Santos Ortega on the show's second episode.
He taught at the American
Theatre Wing for 9 years (where one of
his students included James Earl Jones), as well as at the New School for Social Research, Boston University, and the Uta Hagen-Herbert Berghof Studio. In addition, he conducted his own acting classes.
Outside of Sesame
Street, later roles included TV
movies and a supporting role as the judge in the 1983 movie Daniel. Lee also worked in commercials, including a spot for Atari, as a
grandfather learning to play Pac-Man from his granddaughter and spots for Ocean
Spray juice.
In 1969, he pursued the role of Mr. Hooper on the popular
children's show Sesame
Street. "He gave millions of
children the message that the old and the young have a lot to say to each
other," said Joan Ganz
Cooney, president of the Children's
Television Workshop. The New York Times reported that on Sesame Street,
Lee's Mr. Hooper ranked ahead of all live cast members in recognition by young
audiences, according to a survey. His bowtie and hornrimmed reading glasses became his trademark.
In a November 1970 TIME article,
following the show's first season, Lee recalled his feelings about the show:
I was delighted to take the
role of Mr. Hooper, the gruff grocer with the warm heart. It's a big part, and
it allows a lot of latitude. But the show has something extra, that sense you
sometimes get from great theater, the feeling that its influence never stops.
In addition to being a staple of Sesame Street
for more than 10 years, Lee played Mr. Hooper in TV specials (Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and A Special Sesame Street Christmas), guest appearances (Evening
at Pops: 1971), stage appearances,
countless record albums, and parades, including the 1982 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was revealed in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street that Mr.
Hooper is Jewish, as was Lee himself.[1] Lee taped his final segments as Mr. Hooper in November 1982, but his
death would become the focal point of Episode 1839, in which Mr. Hooper's death
is explained to Big Bird by the adults.
According to his obituary in The New
York Times as he became known on Sesame
Street, children would approach him on the street and ask, "How did
you get out of the television set?" or whisper, "I love you."
"Apart from the joy of knowing that you are helping so many kids, the
recognition is heartwarming," Lee was quoted as saying in 1981.
Lee died in December 1982 at Lenox
Hill Hospital in New York City from a heart
attack. His death left the producers
of Sesame
Street with questions about how
to acknowledge the death of one of the series' most visible actors. After
considering a number of options, CTW
decided to have the character of Mr. Hooper die as well instead of getting a
new actor for him, and use the episode to teach its young viewers about death
as a natural part of life.
Episode 1839, now known to children and fans as "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" aired on November 24, 1983 (Thanksgiving
Day), and was quickly selected by the
Daytime Emmys as being one of the 10 most influential moments in
daytime television.
Lee was never married and never had any children. His
sister is Sophia Lee-Lubov, who used to live in Florida.
Lee died of a heart
attack at Lenox
Hill Hospital on December 7, 1982 at
the age of 74. He was survived by his sister Sophia Lee-Lubov.
In solidarity
Tony Figueroa
August 6, 1908
Will Lee is born. William
"Will" Lee (August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor
and comedian, best known for playing Mr. Hooper on Sesame Street, from the
show's debut in 1969 until his death in 1982.
Lee was co-founder of the Theater of Action and a
member of the Federal
Theatre Project. During World War II, he served in Army Special Services
in Australia and Manila and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for troops
overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he appeared Off Broadway in Norman Mailer's Deer Park (as movie mogul Teppis) and on Broadway in The
Shrike, Once
Upon a Mattress, Carnival!, Incident At Vichy and The World of Sholom Aleichem.
Lee also began appearing in movies, including bit
parts in Casbah, A Song Is Born, Little Fugitive, and Saboteur. He was blacklisted as an alleged communist and barred from movies and on TV for 5 years during the Red Scare, according to members of his family. He had been active in the Actor's Workshop and had been an unfriendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in 1950 investigating show business. At the
end of that period, in 1956, he landed the role of Grandpa Hughes in As The
World Turns; however, the role
was recast with Santos Ortega on the show's second episode.
He taught at the American
Theatre Wing for 9 years (where one of
his students included James Earl Jones), as well as at the New School for Social Research, Boston University, and the Uta Hagen-Herbert Berghof Studio. In addition, he conducted his own acting classes.
Outside of Sesame
Street, later roles included TV
movies and a supporting role as the judge in the 1983 movie Daniel. Lee also worked in commercials, including a spot for Atari, as a
grandfather learning to play Pac-Man from his granddaughter and spots for Ocean
Spray juice.
In 1969, he pursued the role of Mr. Hooper on the popular
children's show Sesame
Street. "He gave millions of
children the message that the old and the young have a lot to say to each
other," said Joan Ganz
Cooney, president of the Children's
Television Workshop. The New York Times reported that on Sesame Street,
Lee's Mr. Hooper ranked ahead of all live cast members in recognition by young
audiences, according to a survey. His bowtie and hornrimmed reading glasses became his trademark.
In a November 1970 TIME article,
following the show's first season, Lee recalled his feelings about the show:
I was delighted to take the
role of Mr. Hooper, the gruff grocer with the warm heart. It's a big part, and
it allows a lot of latitude. But the show has something extra, that sense you
sometimes get from great theater, the feeling that its influence never stops.
In addition to being a staple of Sesame Street
for more than 10 years, Lee played Mr. Hooper in TV specials (Christmas Eve on Sesame Street and A Special Sesame Street Christmas), guest appearances (Evening
at Pops: 1971), stage appearances,
countless record albums, and parades, including the 1982 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was revealed in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street that Mr.
Hooper is Jewish, as was Lee himself.[1] Lee taped his final segments as Mr. Hooper in November 1982, but his
death would become the focal point of Episode 1839, in which Mr. Hooper's death
is explained to Big Bird by the adults.
According to his obituary in The New
York Times as he became known on Sesame
Street, children would approach him on the street and ask, "How did
you get out of the television set?" or whisper, "I love you."
"Apart from the joy of knowing that you are helping so many kids, the
recognition is heartwarming," Lee was quoted as saying in 1981.
Lee died in December 1982 at Lenox
Hill Hospital in New York City from a heart
attack. His death left the producers
of Sesame
Street with questions about how
to acknowledge the death of one of the series' most visible actors. After
considering a number of options, CTW
decided to have the character of Mr. Hooper die as well instead of getting a
new actor for him, and use the episode to teach its young viewers about death
as a natural part of life.
Episode 1839, now known to children and fans as "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" aired on November 24, 1983 (Thanksgiving
Day), and was quickly selected by the
Daytime Emmys as being one of the 10 most influential moments in
daytime television.
Lee was never married and never had any children. His
sister is Sophia Lee-Lubov, who used to live in Florida.
Lee died of a heart attack at Lenox Hill Hospital on December 7, 1982 at the age of 74. He was survived by his sister Sophia Lee-Lubov.
In solidarity
No comments:
Post a Comment