Sesame Street Releases ‘Gordon,’ Montclair’s Roscoe Orman

By Daniel Hubbard (Patch Staff)

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Sesame Street has bid farewell to some of its most beloved personalities, including Montclair resident Roscoe Orman, reports say.

Bob McGrath, 84, one of the only original cast members to still be on “Sesame Street,” told the audience at Florida Supercon July that he, Roscoe Orman, the Montclair resident and actor who plays “Gordon,” and Emilio Delgado, otherwise known as “Luis,” have all been released from the show as part HBO’s re-tooling of the program.

The MuppetCast, a Muppet-centric podcast, broke the story.

McGrath, a Teaneck resident, gave a statement about the move at Supercon.

“As of this season, I have completed my 45th season this year. And the show has gone under a major turn around, going from an hour to a half-hour. HBO has gotten involved also. And they let all of the original cast members go, with the exception of Alan Muraoka — who is probably 20 years younger than the rest of us — and Chris Knowings, who is also young,” McGrath said.

McGrath said the changes were made in part because of HBO’s major re-tooling the show has gone under since it moved to that network in a deal last year. New episodes debut on HBO first. Sesame Workshop retains sole creative control over the show.

A post on the show's Twitter page stated that McGrath, Delgado, and Orman "remain a beloved part of the Sesame family" and would continue to represent the show at public events.

"To us, and for millions of people worldwide, they are a treasured part of Sesame Street," the post stated.

File Photo: Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons