Human characters on Sesame Street

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Bob singing "People in Your Neighborhood" with Ralph Nader

Alan and Gladys the cow on Sesame Street

A picture of Bob, holding the Sesame Street sign in the rain

Gabi Rodriguez

Maria Rodriguez on Sesame Street

Following is a list of human characters (and the actors and actresses who portrayed them) on the long-running American children's television show Sesame Street.

ABC Rapper

Alan: (played by Alan Muraoka, 1998—) Proprietor of Hooper's Store. He has been the proprietor of Mr. Hooper's Store since 1998. [1]

Antonio: Adult in Street Scenes, 1970s

Billy: Adult in Street Scenes, 1976–1979

Bob Johnson: (played by Bob McGrath, 1969—) A regular on the show since it began in 1969, Bob is a music teacher on the show. Bob was a shop teacher in the first season. In Episode 1, Bob instructed Gordon Robinson how to hang a picture on the wall. Bob is one of the few humans to enter Oscar's trashcan; for the effort of climbing in, he got burnt by Oscar's pet fire-breathing dragon, got covered in muck head to foot, and got his clothes torn by the mess. His birthday is August 15.

Buffy: (played by Buffy Sainte-Marie Wolfchild, 1976–1981) Folk singer. Also her husband Sheldon and child Koty, Buffy joined the show in 1976 as the first Native American cast member and she taught viewers about Native American culture.

Carlo: (1993–1997)

Celina: (played by Annette Calud, 1993–1996) A ballet teacher who ran the dance studio above Finder's Keepers, Celina often held dance recitals.

Clarice: David's grandmother. (1976–1990)

David: (played by Northern Calloway, 1971–1989) When Calloway died in 1990, "David" was retired.

Fanny: "Real-life kid" used on the show in the 1970s

Gordon

Mr. Handford: (played by David Langston Smyrl), Mr. Handford came to Sesame Street in 1989 to run Hooper's Store. He was a retired firefighter who was "tired of being retired."

Hiroshi: (played by Gedde Watanabe, 1988)

Mr. Hooper: (played by Will Lee) Original proprietor of Hooper's Store. (1969–1982). When Lee died, his character was announced to also have died. At the time, this was considered a controversial decision (to address death on a show for young children).[2]

Jamal: Adult. Married to Angela; they had two children, Kayla and Tarah

Dr. Gina Jefferson: (played by Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly) Proprietor of Hooper's Store, university student, veterinarian. Known generally just as Gina, is a long-time human character on Sesame Street. Debuting as a teen, Gina has essentially grown up on Sesame Street, just as Maria had before her. Her first appearance was in 1987, when she was hired to assist then-operator of Hooper's Store, David. The classic Sesame Street video title Best of Ernie and Bert[3] features Gina in the main plotline, carried on throughout the highlighted skits. In Episode 3179, Elmo actually falls in love with, and wants to marry, Gina. Gina has to kindly explain to him about their age difference. Gina eventually went to vet school and is seen briefly in the 35th anniversary special The Street We Live On in what appear to be scrubs. In episode 4131, Gina has just returned from Guatemala where she adopted a baby, Marco.

John-John: "Real-life kid" who was on the show in the 1970s and often interacted with Cookie Monster, Grover, and Kermit the Frog.

Judy: Adult in Street Scenes (1975–1979)

Keshia: Child (played by Keshia Knight Pulliam who would later gain fame as a cast member of The Cosby Show)

Kim: (Played by Kim Raver 1975–1978) Child

Koty: See Buffy.

Larry and Phyllis: Comedy team. (1970–1972)

Lillian: (played by Lillias White) Mrs. Lillian Edwards ran the family day care center for three years.

Linda: (played by Linda Bove) A deaf woman who regularly educates viewers and characters on sign language.

Maya

Mr. Macintosh: (played by Chet O'Brien) Street vendor; he was the local fruit and vegetable man and a soft-shoe dancer. (1975–1992)

Miguel: (played by Jaime Sanchez) Miguel was the first addition to the human cast of Sesame Street, seen in the 1970–1971 season. Miguel was the first Hispanic member of the cast, predating Luis, Raphael and Maria by a year.

Molly, the Mail Lady: (played by Charlotte Rae) Rae was famous as Mrs. Garrett in the 1980s sitcoms Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life.

Natalie: (played by Natalie Portman) Ran Hooper's Store for one episode, while Alan was on vacation.

The Noodles: Mr. Noodle (played by Bill Irwin), Mr. Noodle's Brother, Mr. Noodle (played by Michael Jeter 2000–2003), and Mrs. Noodle (played by Kristin Chenoweth)

The Number Painter and his victim: Comedy team.

Olivia: was played by Alaina Reed from 1976 to 1988. Interestingly, when she left the show to become a part of the cast of 227 (TV Series), she performed on the same set she did on Sesame Street; the front stairs of the apartment building were the same stairs that were right next to Oscar The Grouch's trash can.

Rafael: Adult in Street Scenes, 1970s

The Robinson family: Susan, Gordon, and adopted son Miles, Gordon's sister Olivia and father Mr. Robinson. Susan, played by Loretta Long, is one of only two original cast members from 1969 along with Bob McGrath.

Gabriella "Gabi" Rodriguez: (played by Desiree Casado 1993—) Daughter of Luis and Maria Rodriguez.

Luis Rodriguez: (played by Emilio Delgado) His birthday is November 14. (1971—)

Maria Rodriguez: (played by Sonia Manzano) Her birthday is June 26. (1971—)

Ruthie: (played by Ruth Buzzi), Ruthie is the owner of Finder's Keepers, the thrift shop located around the corner from 123 Sesame Street. She is a slightly-eccentric shopkeeper.

Sheldon: See Buffy.

Savion: (played by Savion Glover), He made many guest appearances on the show before joining the cast in 1990. He was a close friend of Gina's, as well as resident dancer.

Susan Robinson: is played by Loretta Long and is one of two original human characters left from the original 1969 cast. The other is Bob Johnson.

Tom: Adult in Street Scenes, 1970s

Uncle Wally: (played by Bill McCutcheon, Uncle Wally is Bob's uncle. He visited the show from 1984 to 1992.

Wally and Ralph

Comedy team. Like the earlier Buddy and Jim, Wally (Joe Ponazecki) was seen as the guy opening little doors with ?'s on the "Baker" counting films. Every time he opened those doors, he found various animals inside the little boxes. Here's the list:

1 cow
2 turtles
3 alligators
4 fishes
5 frogs
6 cats
7 spooky spiders
8 little puppies
9 mice

Wanda the Word Fairy

Willy: (played by Kermit Love), the local hot dog vendor.

[edit] Sesame Street's wedding

In 1988, Maria and Luis fell in love, which led eventually to a marriage, in which Elmo was a ring bearer. This unexpected plot twist, in which Maria ends her truly evident crush on David, is regarded by many longtime fans as a moment when Sesame Street jumped the shark (however unlike many alleged "shark-jumping" moments, this did not result in the series coming to an end; on the contrary it continues to air nearly 20 years after the event.

Maria (Sonia Manzano) and Luis (Emilio Delgado) are not married to each other in real life, but Sonia, who also writes for the show, reflected the story of her own personal romance, marriage and birth of her baby "Gabriella" into the plot line for Luis and Maria. Since Sonia was pregnant and married, but Maria was neither, the show paired the two Hispanic characters (Luis is Mexican, Maria is Puerto-Rican), so that Sonia could continue to act without taking maternity leave, and the writers did not have to write an episode about Maria being an unwed mother or have to explain why the character was absent.