Did you know James Earl Jones not only had a stutter, he was functionally mute for like eight years? And that his counting to ten segment tested the best of all the clips in the Sesame Street pilot they showed to focus groups?
Unfortunately, the only copy of 1-10 I can find on YouTube is overdubbed with the Nutcracker by some yahoo cyborg. So Jones's rendition of the alphabet will have to suffice. [via notcot]
Yes, I knew about him being mute, but I've never seen this alphabet clip. Weird. I can't get over how Grinchy his mouth looks when he's pronouncing the letters; I keep expecting him to start talking about how he can't stand the Whos.
Great to see this! Circa 1971, this sent my little sister into hysterics, running from the room, hiding behind doors. Happy memories.
Yeah, it's probably best that Sesame Street didn't stick to this format.
This segment would have probably worked better on "Learn Your ABC's - The Nightmare on Elm Street".