Bob McGrath (June 13th, 1932, Age 90) was a beloved original and founding member of “Sesame Street,” cast member. He has passed away according to posts made on social media by his family and Sesame Workshop, He was 90 years old at the time of his Death.
“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,” the family statement shared on Facebook read.
In a Twitter thread, The Sesame Workshop paid respect to McGrath’s nearly five decades of involvement with the program.
“A founding cast member, Bob embodied the melodies of Sesame Street like no one else, and his performances brought joy and wonder to generations of children around the world,” the statement read in part. “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.”
McGrath made his “Sesame Street” debut in the 1969 pilot and went on to play Bob Johnson for 47 seasons of the program. He left the show in 2017 but has continued to represent it at events in recent years.
According to Sesame Workshop, the actor, who was also a skilled tenor and musician, performed “many times over” in concert halls from Las Vegas to Saskatchewan to Tokyo. McGrath contributed to the memorable status of several of “Sesame Street’s” most well-known songs, including “People in Your Neighborhood” and “Sing a Song.”
During the four seasons of Miller’s NBC-TV television singalong series Sing Along with Mitch from 1960 to 1964, McGrath collaborated with Mitch Miller and served as the show’s featured tenor. On the Walt Kelly CD Songs of the Pogo, he sang.
Midway through the 1960s, McGrath established himself as a well-known recording artist in Japan by putting out a number of popular albums of Japanese-sung versions of Irish and other folk songs and ballads. When he appeared on the game series To Tell the Truth in 1966 and I’ve Got a Secret in 1967, this facet of his professional life served as the foundation of his “secret.”
Who was Bob McGrath?
Bob Johnson, the initial human character on the enduring children’s television program Sesame Street, was portrayed by American actor, singer, musician, and author Robert Emmett McGrath.
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Earlier life of Bob McGrath, Where is he from? What about the family members
In Ottawa, Illinois, McGrath was born on June 13th, 1932. His name is a tribute to Irish nationalist Robert Emmet. While his mother played the piano, he used to sing for his family as a child. In the amateur program at the Roxy Theater, where his mother enrolled him, he placed second. In high school, he attended Marquette.
The University of Michigan’s School of Music is where McGrath received his degree in 1954.
He participated in the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club and the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity while a student at Michigan. During fraternity functions, he washed dishes while fraternity brother David Connell waited tables, which Connell would use when casting for Sesame Street began. After receiving his degree, he joined the U.S. Army and spent two years in Germany booking and performing for the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra.
In 1959, McGrath graduated with a Master of Music in voice from the Manhattan School of Music.
Who Is Bob McGrath’s Wife? What about children? His Death on Family
In 1958, McGrath wed his wife Ann Logan Sperry. Three grandsons, five granddaughters, and five children were born to them. The couple moved to a ranch in Norwood, New Jersey in 2017, after living in Teaneck, New Jersey, since 1958.
On December 4, 2022, McGrath, who was 90 years old, passed away at his New Jersey home.
