The U.S. Postal Service has honored Sesame Street and its lovable Muppets with 16 colorful Sesame Street Forever stamps. (Photo via U.S. Postal Service)
The U.S. Postal Service has honored Sesame Street for its upcoming 50th anniversary with a pane of 16 Forever stamps. A first-day-of-issue ceremony for the stamps was held June 22 in Detroit, Mich.
Art director Derry Noyes designed the stamps. Arranged in horizontal rows, the stamps showcase 16 of the characters that appear on Sesame Street. Images of nine of the characters appear on the right side of the pane underneath the iconic Sesame Street sign. The back of the pane displays the Sesame Street 50th anniversary artwork.
The characters selected for the stamps include Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Rosita, The Count, Oscar the Grouch, Snuffy, Grover, and Elmo
Sesame Street first aired November 10, 1969, providing educational programming and entertainment unlike any other children’s television show. Initially broadcast on more than 180 stations, the program introduced audiences to human characters, often children themselves, who interacted with Jim Henson’s Muppets. Characters like Maria and Gordon, Mr. Hooper, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie were soon watched by viewers worldwide. Parodies and spoofs — of fairy tales, musicals and pop culture, for example — quickly became fundamental components of the show.
Backed by research and testing, the creative team for Sesame Street has always aimed to develop a compelling curriculum for preschool-age kids that also appeals to their parents. Scenes were interspersed with fast-paced, catchy videos teaching letters and numbers, songs sung by colorful characters and people, film clips of various real-world activities and much more. Hundreds of celebrity guests made appearances.
Watch Ray Charles sing “I Got a Song” with Bert & Ernie
“For the past 50 years, the influential and beloved Sesame Street has won the hearts of kids, parents, and critics alike,” said Luke Grossmann, USPS vice president of finance and planning, who served as the dedicating official at the event. “The Postal Service is delighted to honor the show, its creators and these lovable characters.”
Watch Johnny Cash and Oscar the Grouch sing “Nasty Dan”
Related: Marvin Gaye was honored with a stamp in 2019
Watch Stevie Wonder and Grover rehearse
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationWhat? No Kermit?!
Oh yeah, Sesame Street rocked, and rolled and folked and souled my children born in ’75, ’77 and ’79.
They had their own small record players in their rooms, and tunes from their Sesame Street albums wafted through the upstairs on many a day. “Grover Sings the Blues,” “Sesame Street Merry Christmas,” “The Count Counts” and “Sesame Street Fever” no doubt were favorites from their listening library.