The Great Jon Stone
Jerry Juhl
The following obituary is from April 1, 1997 edition of the New York
Times:
April 1, 1997
Jon Stone, 65, Sesame Street Writer and Producer
By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
[N] EW YORK -- Jon Stone, the Emmy Award-winning writer,
producer and director who helped create "Sesame
Street" and such beloved characters as Cookie Monster,
Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, died on Sunday at Mount
Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. He was 65 and lived in
Manhattan.
His daughter Polly said the cause of death was
complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
In the course of a career in television that began in
1955 in a CBS training program, he won 18 Emmy Awards
for his achievements as a producer, director and writer.
In 1968 he helped bring Jim Henson, the creator of the
Muppets, and Joe Raposo, who became the music director,
into the "Sesame Street" family when it was assembled by
Joan Ganz Cooney, a founder of the Children's Television
Workshop.
Stone wrote the pilot script for "Sesame Street." He was
the original head writer and one of the three original
producers of the program, and he remained its principal
director until last year. He served for many years as
the executive producer of the show, which was first
broadcast by PBS on Nov. 10, 1969.
"His reputation was that he was probably the most
brilliant writer of children's television material in
America," Ms. Cooney said Monday as she recalled how she
lured Stone, then 36, out of retirement in Vermont to
help create the show. He had earlier been a producer of
"Captain Kangaroo" for CBS.
Frank Oz, the filmmaker and Muppeteer who has been with
"Sesame Street" from its start, described Stone as "the
major creative force" of the show from its inception.
Stone created the format and setting and, in
collaboration with Henson, invented many favorite
Muppets, including Big Bird and Cookie Monster.
He was also the producer, director and writer of a
variety of projects involving "Sesame Street"
characters, including "Big Bird in China," a 1983
special that won both an Emmy and an award from the
Writer's Guild of America for outstanding achievement in
children's television, and another gentle travelogue,
"Big Bird in Japan," in 1989. He also wrote "Sex and
Violence With the Muppets," the pilot for what became
Henson's popular "Muppet Show."
Stone called "Big Bird in China" an extension of the
philosophy that called for "Sesame Street" to be more
than a children's show. "We set out to make a show that
children and adults could watch together, and children
could ask questions," he said.
He was also an author of children's books, including
"The Monster at the End of This Book," a Muppet-based
tale starring the self-proclaimed lovable, furry old
Grover. The book has sold more than 10 million copies
since it was published by Little Golden Books in 1971.
Last year, "Another Monster at the End of This Book,"
also by Stone, was published.
Stone was born in New Haven, Conn. one of three children
of Grace E. and Emerson L. Stone, a nurse and doctor. He
was a graduate of the Pomfret School in Pomfret, Conn.,
and hoped to become an actor when he graduated from
Williams College in 1952. He received a master's degree
from the Yale University School of Drama in 1955.
In addition to his daughter Polly, of Manhattan, he is
survived by another daughter, Kate, of Dubois, Wyo.; a
brother, Emerson, of Greenwich, Conn., and a sister,
Diana, of Fort Lee, N.J.
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Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company
----------------------------------------------------------
Jerry Juhl
Andy Wolf
Jerry,
Thank you so much for sharing this article with us; it is a pleasure to
hear from you on this forum, and I hope that we can stay in touch in the
future.
I am a friend of Danny Horn's, and contribute to his fanzine; as a fan of
Henson's works, I have collected memorabilia for many years relating to
The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, Labyrinth, The Dark Crystal, and the more
recent (though there isn't as much to collect) Dinosaurs, The Jim Henson
Hour, etc.
I would love to hear about your experiences, as regards to Fraggle Rock,
The Muppet Show, etc. and anything else you could impart upon me.
*smile* I recently met Bill Prady, who I'm sure you know co-wrote both
the Tribute to Jim in 1990 as well as the 3-D Muppet Movie at WDW (which
I have yet to see...he told me it'll be here in Anaheim in a few years,
and I hope he's correct.)
I have also been speaking with Halle Stanford, as our paths have crossed
a few times. (In fact, at one time Eddie Dombrower--I hope I spelled
this correctly--offered me a part-time job in Interactive, which I had to
pass on, as I needed a full-time income.) Anyhow, I do hope to be able
to contribute to a JHP project in the near future.... Currently I am
pursuing acting, though I have worked in many fields such as Producing,
Stage Management, Licensing, Marketing....
I would love it if you could try to come see my current show--it is
called 'Just Grand' and opens this Friday, April 4th. It is an original
musical, about a group of High School students putting on their Senior
Show (it is the final dress rehearsal, the show opens tonight....) For
ticket information, please call (888) 891-ARTS and tell them Andy Wolf
sent you. It would be great to meet you there after the show, if you
could make it. We run at the Hermosa Civic Theatre (in Hermosa Beach)
for two weekends: April 4-6, and April 11-13. 8pm Friday and Saturday
night, 2pm Sunday the 6th, 1:30pm Sunday the 13th. (Okay, enough about
the show.) =)
Anyhow, thanks again for posting, and I hope to keep in touch with you.
(By the way, to introduce myself, I am a graduate of Northwestern
University, and live in Seal Beach/Sherman Oaks...24 years old, working
with a Children's Theatre as well as the musical.)
--Andy
Nancy Eilers-Hughes
Jerry Juhl wrote:
>
> The following obituary is from April 1, 1997 edition of the New York
> Times:
>
>
> By LAWRENCE VAN GELDER
>
> [N] EW YORK -- Jon Stone, the Emmy Award-winning writer,
> producer and director who helped create "Sesame
> Street" and such beloved characters as Cookie Monster,
> Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, died on Sunday at Mount
> Sinai Hospital in Manhattan. He was 65 and lived in
> Manhattan.
>
> His daughter Polly said the cause of death was
> complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,
> commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
What a terrible loss. My condolences to all who knew and loved him. I
didn't grow up with Sesame Street, but I've had the pleasure of sharing
it with a lot of family and friends over the years. Thank you for
caring enough to post this, Jerry.
Nancy
Daniel J Horn
My condolences to everyone who knew Jon, and to all of us who love his
work.
-- Danny
Grant Watson
This is truly a sad loss to Sesame St, the American TV industry and
children everywhere.
I'm reminded of the quote by Kermit about "making people happy".
Jon Stone definitely did that, and definitely played a large part in
shaping my - and I suspect literally millions of children's -
childhood in no small way.
Cheers!
Grant.
___________...@iinet.net.au_______________
"Science fiction is about the future and fantasy
is about the past - the myth of the way things used
to be. Science fiction is, in a sense, trying to
construct a myth of the future."
Ross Garmil
Sesame Street without Jon Stone is not the same, and sadly now it
never will be again.
My condolences to all of his family, friends, and fans.
Ross
Beaker128
Mr. Juhl and all-
It hurts so much to hear of another loss in the beloved Muppet family.
Jon will be sorely missed. His contributions to Sesame Street were
extraordinary and will never be forgotten. My heart goes out to his
family and all who experienced his genius. He joins the ranks of such
loved and lost friends as Richard Hunt, Eren Ozker and, of course, Jim
Henson. They will always be with us.
Sincerely,
David C. Beukema
Age 15
Melissa Yowhan
Don't forget to mention amazing songwriter for Sesame Street Joe Raposo,
and a few actors from the show including Will Lee who played Mr. Hooper.