While poking around YouTube for something completely different, I serendipitously stumbled upon a bunch of Roosevelt Franklin clips from Sesame Street. Some of you youngsters out there may be asking who the heck Roosevelt Franklin is, so let me inform you: he was a hip, rhyming, purple Muppet who appeared on the show in the 1970s, voiced by Matt Robinson, the original Gordon on the series.
In the 1970s, Sesame Street was not the perfectly sterilized children's show it is today. The show never advocated bad behavior, but it understood that sometimes kids can be rowdy and disruptive. Even in those more carefree days, however, some felt Roosevelt Franklin was a bad influence on kids, not to mention a negative cultural stereotype, so he was booted from the show. I personally don't see anything negative about the character. If anything, I think he taught kids that it's okay to be proud of who you are, to stand up and let the world know you're special, too.
My fondest Roosevelt Franklin memory was sitting next to my grandparents gigantic cabinet record player and listening to Roosevelt Franklin's record album. I don't know why my grandfather had that album, but hey, it was fun to listen to.
Enjoy these clips, kids:
The TV Squad Podcast: Vik Sahay of Chuck, Oprah talk, brutal timeslots, and more!
TV Squad Ten: Top Ten ESPN shows from worst to first
Andy Richter: The TV Squad Interview
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-03-2006 @ 2:16PM
Ricky said...
I guess this is where the folks at "Arrested Development" got the idea for Gob's puppet Franklin Delano Bluth.
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12-03-2006 @ 3:08PM
realityCheck said...
I remember the pot smoking muppets jim henson had on the first season of SNL
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12-03-2006 @ 7:15PM
Miss Teppermann said...
I don't see what a negative sterotype of a young African American elementary school student who knows the alphabet and is a leader amongst his peers could possibly be. I remember these skits on Sesame Street from when I was a kid. I also remember thinking that they were just regular kids. It was great seeing images of different ethnic groups learning the same lessons. Programs like that which showed positive learning experiences of all kinds of children played a key role in my being accepting of all people from an early age.
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12-03-2006 @ 7:15PM
Zack said...
I've seen these clips! A number of people have credited Roosevelt for inspiring Franklin on AD, yes.
"I tell you the days of the week if you go an' get me a plate of stringbeans!"
But you need to be puttin' some links up for Billy Joe Jive, super crime-fighting ace! That had the funkiest theme music of all time, ever.
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12-04-2006 @ 10:58AM
MrsEldubya said...
Wow, what memories. I am old enough to remember these clips. I was a huge fan of Seasame Street when I was a kid. Guess Rosevelt wasn't that bad of an influence on me. :)
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