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HOW DO YOU GET TO SESAME STREET?

    The FYI evening show was indeed a "filler" - we talked with nobody special and everyone we could find.   School News had some interesting segments - from the crew of Apollo 17, the last men to walk on the moon (for decades to come)  - to the President of the Philadelphia Zoo - to the Wilson High School principal and mother of Dave Wilson who would become the Emmy winning director of Saturday Night Live.  I visited almost all of the countless schools in the District.  One moment stands out from the many classrooms and the thousands of students I encountered - it was in a kindergarten class in west Philadelphia and one of the most troubled areas of the City.  As I entered the class all of the children were sitting on the floor watching  one of my four daily taped broadcasts of School News.  The program ended and the teacher turned off the set, noticed that I had arrived for our visit and announced me to her class of little ones.
One young student jumped to her feet. "School News...it's school news.  Hey mister how'd ya get out of the box????"  The teacher and I had to try hard not to laugh.  I replied, after being told the little girl's name - "That I wasn't really in the box - it was just a picture of me.  And I explained what a TV studio was - but I surely felt that this kindergarten-er wasn't completely convinced that I didn't live in the big brown box at the front of her room.
    And so the year ran its course and then a few weeks before Easter Vacation  (now called Spring Break for many reasons)  I read an article in Broadcasting Magazine that the new highly publicized show eventually to be called Sesame Street was casting for male actors to expand its cast and was looking for a teacher/performer to do a regular "arts & crafts" segment for their new series.  " Experience teachers are urged to reply - TV credits not a prerequisite for consideration."
    I was excited and sincerely believed that I had all the qualifications that they were looking for - I was a certified art teacher, and a "seasoned" public TV performer.  So I stayed late at the office that night typed a letter and added my "head-shot" which I had recently done professionally for the press release about my evening show.  That weekend I engaged a local  photographer Jim Parker to take a bunch of action shots of me at an elementary school playground - on a swing.  When the prints were delivered I sent a package to the Children's Television Workshop, the production company for the show.
    To my great surprise a couple weeks later,  I received a letter inviting me to meet with Joan Ganz Cooney - the Executive Producer in New York City - the coming Friday at 11:AM.  I had a week to worry; to prepare.  I thought about what I should wear and decided that my “dress” clothes weren’t cool enough for a “New York City casting session or was this an audition?  I bought a silver sharkskin suit at Jack Lang's which was recommended by the salesman who assured me that the most expensive suit in the store topped the list of men's spring fashions in the GQ Magazine forecast for “best Spring attire a successful gentleman look”; a wide paisley silk tie with matching pocket handkerchief that would never wipe a nose, the most expensive set I had ever bought; a pair of Bostonian tasseled wingtips.  I had my resume typed by a professional.  Ordered a second set of photos just in case.
    The following Friday happened to be "Good Friday" which I was hoping was a good omen and I got ready to go as morning dawned.  I left for NYC on a very early train from Philly’s Penn station.  My wife Nancy was going to drive north later and meet me  with her folks for dinner and a weekend visit for Easter.  I arrived at Ms. Cooney's office a half hour early and waited nervously in a well furnished reception area with coffee, danish and walls filled with giant photos of the current "stars" of the show.
Summarizing  of what followed - I spent a half hour with Ms. Cooney, a very gracious lady.  It seemed like I actually knew her because I saw her many times each day on a promo for the show, reminding viewers that donations would be much appreciated - as this show would be the most expensive program ever produced by flagship station WNET.   She walked me around the offices and I met Jon Stone, the show’s Producer/Director.  He was dressed in bib overalls.  As I met most of the show’s personnel and cast members it was immediately very obvious that this was either "dress-down day" or everyday was casual cool for network television pro's?  I was self conscious as my new shoes made a horrible squeaking noise as I walked from office to office.  I realized I looked like a used car salesman - in a one button European slim cut shark skin!  Everything I was wearing seemed to be so pretentious or was making a noise.  What was I thinking?  For the rest of my days in broadcasting I never tried to impress anyone with my clothes or "dress for success".  And I was sure to check out the scene with my professional friends before I visited anyone in the "real world" of show business.  
    Soon my ordeal ended quickly without the audition I spent hours preparing and I walked back to the train station - replaying the experience in my mind many times.  No matter what happened - I had just had (sort of) an audition in the Big Apple.  This was indeed a heady first time experience.
    I met Nancy and her mom and dad on the Jersey side and we went to an early dinner at the Hoboken Clam House - the famous seafood joint and observed Good Friday.  It was a traditional holy day for Joe and a special day for me.  A Very Good Friday for sure.
    p.s. I did not get the job.  A Philly artist, who I knew because he did freelance work for WHYY, got the job.  Mathew Robinson became "Matt" for a very long run on the show.  And I got a souvenir letter from Mr. Stone that informed me that I was one of the most qualified candidates he met.  I was sure this was a “form” letter but it made me feel that the $125 bucks I couldn't affort for a sharkskin suit that glowed in the dark, was almost worth the investment.

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