Bob McGrath, ‘Sesame Street’ legend, dies at 90

Bob McGrath, an actor, musician and children’s author widely known for his portrayal of one of the first regular characters on the children’s show “Sesame Street” has died at the age of 90.

McGrath’s passing was confirmed by his family who posted on his Facebook page on Sunday: “The McGrath family has some sad news to share. Our father Bob McGrath, passed away today. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family.”

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MARCH 03: Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters performs onstage at the Venice Family Clinic's 32nd Annual Silver Circle Gala held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 3, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for VFC) — BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MARCH 03: Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters performs onstage at the Venice Family Clinic’s 32nd Annual Silver Circle Gala held at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on March 3, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for VFC)

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Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File

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Author Julie Powell attends the premiere of “Julie & Julia” at The Ziegfeld Theatre, in New York, on July 30, 2009. Powell, who became an internet darling after blogging for a year about making every recipe in Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” leading to a book deal and a film adaptation, died of cardiac arrest on Oct. 26, 2022, at her home in upstate New York. She was 49. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File)

Jerry Lee Lewis performs during Farm Aid on Sept. 20, 2008 in Mansfield, Mass. Spokesperson Zach Furman said Lewis died Friday morning, Oct. 28, 2022, at his home in DeSoto County, Miss., south of Memphis, Tenn. He was 87. (AP Photo/Lisa Poole, File)

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In this May 16, 2007 file photo, jury member French actor Michel Piccoli poses during a photo call at the 60th International film festival in Cannes, southern France. Michel Piccoli, a prolific screen star whose served as muse to filmmaker Luis Bunuel and was a leading man for Jean-Luc Godard, has died. He was 94. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini, File)

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Prolific “Full House” actor Bob Saget attending the “MacGruber” screening and premiere at the California Science Center on December 8, 2021 in Los Angeles. He died on January 9, 2022 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Michael Tran / AFP)

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Sesame Workshop tweeted Sunday evening that it “mourns the passing of Bob McGrath, a beloved member of the Sesame Street family for over 50 years.”

McGrath was a founding cast member of “Sesame Street” when the show premiered in 1969, playing a friendly neighbor Bob Johnson. He made his final appearance on the show in 2017, marking an almost five-decade-long figure in the “Sesame Street” world.

The actor grew up in Illinois and studied music at the University of Michigan and Manhattan School of Music. He also was a singer in the 60s series “Sing Along With Mitch” and launched a successful singing career overseas in Japan.

“A revered performer worldwide, Bob’s rich tenor filled airwaves and concert halls from Las Vegas to Saskatchewan to Tokyo many times over,” Sesame Workshop said. “We will be forever grateful for his many years of passionate creative contributions to Sesame Street and honored that he shared so much of his life with us.”

He is survived by his wife, Ann Logan Sperry, and their five children.

——

This story corrects that McGrath studied at the University of Michigan, not Maryland.

Bob McGrath, ‘Sesame Street’ legend, dies at 90

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Bob McGrath, ‘Sesame Street’ legend, dies at 90

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