And I walked into the studio that day and I said, 'Gee, are they singing about what I think they're singing about? Are they singing about race?' Manzano: Certainly another example of how the show worked on two levels was ' It's Not Easy Being Green,' Kermit the Frog singing that wonderful song with Lena Horne, the great jazz singer-activist. A perfect example of that is Alistair Cookie, the host of 'Monsterpiece Theater.' You know, some of those Muppet skits had really sophisticated social satire, and this was all geared to bring the adults in. I know as a kid, I was not remotely aware of a lot of the nobler advancement of social justice and racial equity that you all were grappling with, I just thought, 'This is really funny.' The Count and Oscar the Grouch had me rolling on the floor.Īgrelo: There were other shows with puppets on television, but there was something about the writing on Sesame Street. Muppets, the the nonhuman characters on the show, connected so much with people. Caroll Spinney gave his voice to Oscar the Grouch for decades.
