Lloyd Morrisett, best known as the co-creator of “Sesame Street,” died Monday at the age of 93, according to a post from Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the iconic children’s show.
“Sesame Workshop mourns the passing of our esteemed and beloved co-founder,” the organization tweeted Monday afternoon. “Lloyd leaves an outsized and indelible legacy among generations of children the world over, with Sesame Street only the most visible tribute to a lifetime of good work and lasting impact,” Sesame Workshop continued in a separate Tweet.
“#SesameStreet is a place that asks children to learn how to become smarter, kinder, and stronger.”
Today, we remember psychologist and @SesameStreet co-creator Lloyd Morrisett, who accepted the program’s 2019 #KennedyCenterHonors with fellow co-creator Joan Ganz Cooney. pic.twitter.com/jLbNKFlv0P
— The Kennedy Center (@kencen) January 24, 2023
A psychologist, Morrisett was reportedly inspired to create an educational series when he noticed how closely his 3-year old daughter watched the television in December 1965.
Morrisett teamed up with Joan Ganz Cooney to create the Children’s Television Workshop in 1968. Together, the two sought to tackle socioeconomic obstacles facing the impoverished by creating a television series that would help prepare disadvantaged children for school, an effort that came to fruition as “Sesame Street” the following year, Variety reported. (RELATED: ‘The Lucy Show’ Actress Dead At 98)
Children’s Television Workshop became Sesame Workshop in honor of the show’s immense success, and Morrisett continued to serve as a board member of the workshop until he died, according to the outlet.
Morrisett and Ganz Cooney were recognized at the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for Sesame Workshop and its impact and commitment “to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder.”
“Without Lloyd Morrisett, there would be no ‘Sesame Street.’ It was he who first came up with the notion of using television to teach preschoolers basic skills, such as letters and numbers. He was a trusted partner and loyal friend to me for over fifty years, and he will be sorely missed,” Ganz Cooney said at the news of Morrisett’s passing, per Sesame Workshop.