July 20, 2007

Franklin Roosevelt's Jive Alphabet

One for the old folks out there. Franklin Roosevelt was the jive-talking black Muppet on the early seasons of Sesame Street. Here he is doing a call-and-response alphabet with his mother to with a funk bassline and a voice that makes me wonder if his dad isn't Barry White.

Matt Robinson was the voice of Franklin Roosevelt. Robinson was the first Gordon, and also the de facto host of the show, and had a producer credit, too. The current Gordon, Roscoe Orman, is the third Gordon, and the only Gordon most of you whippersnappers know; he took over in 1973. Franklin's mom in this song is Loretta Long, who's played Susan all along.

Classic Sesame Street - Roosevelt Franklin's Alphabet [youtube]
Gordon Robinson [wikipedia]

1 Comment

for as creepy as roosevelt's deep voice is in the body of a little muppety lad, i nevertheless am feeling nostalgic. i miss the days of kermit and when ernie used too much electricity and blew the circuit, and when snuffy was invisible, and when there were cool animations like this one for the letter "e"

my heart is full of hope each time i turn sesame street on for my 15month old, and yet my expectations nearly always fall short. wah wah wah. i want youtube in high fidelity to cherish the moments. snif.

Google DT


Contact DT

Daddy Types is published by Greg Allen with the help of readers like you.
Got tips, advice, questions, and suggestions? Send them to:
greg [at] daddytypes [dot] com

Join the [eventual] Daddy Types mailing list!


Archives

copyright

copyright 2024 daddy types, llc.
no unauthorized commercial reuse.
privacy and terms of use
published using movable type