There were TWO Mr. Hooper Goodbye sketches

[rilc...@gmail.com]

I'm sure of it. In 1983, I was 13, and years past being a Sesame
viewer. But the "Mr. Hooper RIP" episode was announced well in
advance, so I and my parents checked it out.

Now, I'm SURE that what I remember is, Big went into the ice cream
parlor to find the adults quietly talking among themselves. When they
saw him, they started explaining, very gently, that Mr. Hooper
wouldn't be making Big's birdseed sundae that day, or any other. I
clearly remember one of the women (Maria?) saying "He is gone. And we
will miss him," amid a very loud silence.

And I'm equally sure that that episode, or at least that sketch, was
only aired once. And it is NOT the sketch that gets shown as part of
the regular rotation in the reruns on Noggin. I remember reading that
the first sketch, the one I saw, was never rerun because they didn't
want to cause confusion. But a second sketch was created, the one they
show on Noggin, because kids do tend to forget. That's the one with
the portraits, and the adults saying "Don't you remember? We told
you..." Told, as in past tense. So it's not THE sketch.

I'm SURE of this. I was 13 in 1983, so I think I can trust my memory
and I'm not conflating it with something else I saw on TV. But does
anyone else remember what they saw on Thanksgiving 1983? Because I'm
certain of that quote --- "He is gone. And we will miss him." --- and
it's not in the "portraits" sketch. And the T-giving sketch had a MUCH
more awkward and tense feel to it, that the constantly-rerun sketch
doesn't have.

So if you were around in 1983, what do you remember *from then*?

[Random Waftings Of Bunker Blasts]

I was 10 in 1983, but I thought the portraits sketch that got rerun was the
one that aired on Thanksgiving. I was too old for 'Sesame Street' then, but
I know I saw it.

I didn't know there ever was a "he's gone, and we'll miss him" sketch.

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