'Sesame Street' Fires Three Longtime Cast Members
TV

Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado and Roscoe Orman, who have played human characters on the children's show for over four decades, are departing the series.

AceShowbiz - "Sesame Street" will never be the same anymore, now that it drops three longtime cast members. Bob McGrath who starred on the children's show since its premiere in 1969, Emilio Delgado who joined the show in 1971 and Roscoe Orman who first appeared in 1974 are departing the show.

McGrath revealed in a Q&A at Florida Supercon earlier this month that the trio, who all played human characters on the show, had been let go from the series. He claimed that HBO, which acquired the series since its 46th season premiering January this year, was involved in the change.

"As of this season, I have completed my 45th season this year," McGrath said. "And the show has gone under a major turnaround, going from an hour to a half hour. HBO has gotten involved also. And they let all of the original cast members go, with the exception of Alan Muraoka - who is probably 20 years younger than the rest of us - and Chris Knowings, who is also young." McGrath added that Loretta Long, who plays Orman's on-screen wife, would remain on the show.

The show has confirmed the sad news on Twitter. "Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado (Luis) and Roscoe Orman (Gordon) remain a beloved part of the Sesame family and continue to represent us at public events. To us, and for millions of people worldwide, they are a treasured part of Sesame Street."

The studio denied that HBO was involved in the decision to drop the three actors, claiming, "Since the show began, we are constantly evolving our content and curriculum, and hence, our characters, to meet the educational needs of children. As a result of this, our cast has changed over the years, though you can still expect to see many of them in upcoming productions. As we've stated previously, Sesame Workshop retains sole creative control over the show. HBO does not oversee the production."

Fans have since taken to Twitter to react to the layoffs. @KrispyNickyB wrote, "@sesamestreet They deserve a proper goodbye for everything they've done. You still left a lot of questions in the air." @momjustice tweeted, "#SesameStreet was the most integrated neighborhood in many US kids' childhoods. Now they've fired most of the PoC."

@bohndrake added, "Firing Gordon, Luis, & Bob from #SesameStreet represents everything that's wrong w/ the world. I'm not even exaggerating."

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