'Sesame Street' Says Goodbye To 3 Characters After 45 Years
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- Sesame Street announced it will be saying goodbye to three of its beloved characters after 45 years.
Longtime cast members Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado and Roscoe Orman, who played Bob, Luis and Gordon, will no longer regularly appear on the show.
McGrath announced the news last month, but Sesame Street officially addressed the reports on Twitter Thursday afternoon.
Regarding our beloved cast members: pic.twitter.com/NzZ3HAuIc6
— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) July 28, 2016
The show said the three actors will "continue to represent us at public events" and that they are a "treasured part" of the children's series.
"We are constantly evolving our content and curriculum and hence, our characters, to meet the education needs of children," the statement said.
The actors were released from the show after it was brought over to the premium cable network.
"I have completed my 45th season this year," McGrath said on The Muppet Cast podcast. "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."
Some fans spoke out on Twitter criticizing the decision and asking for more information.
education also means social interaction, I'm now a grandmother, if these characters are able to work, KEEP them.
— bad nana (@cyclone_cowgirl) July 28, 2016
.@sesamestreet You sicken me. You have destroyed the format, then you destroyed the message, then you destroyed the cast.
— Safe Muffins (@safemuffins) July 28, 2016
Horrible horrible! This is the beginning of the end for Sesame Street. Such a shame. You've destroyed a classic! ????????
— Melissa (@mullerrred25) July 28, 2016
"Sesame Street" first premiered in 1969. McGrath was an original cast member, while Delgado joined the cast in 1971. Orman joined in 1974 and was the third actor to play Gordon, after Matt Robinson and Hal Miller.