Will Lee
Encyclopedia
Will Lee was an American
actor best known for playing the store proprietor Mr. Hooper
on Sesame Street
, from the show's debut in 1969 until his death in 1982.
, Night Music, Boy Meets Girl, The Time of Your Life
(as Willie the pinball machine addict) and other Broadway
plays. He succeeded John Garfield
as the lead in Golden Boy.
Lee was co-founder of the Theater of Action and a member of the Federal Theatre Project
. During World War II
, he served in Army Special Services in Australia
and Manila
and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for troops overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he appeared Off Broadway in Norman Mailer
's Deer Park (as movie mogul Teppis) and on Broadway
in The Shrike
, Once Upon a Mattress
, Carnival!
, Incident At Vichy
and The World of Sholom Aleichem
.
, A Song Is Born
, Little Fugitive
, and Saboteur
. Will Lee was blacklisted as an alleged communist
and barred from films and on television for five years during the Red Scare
, according to members of his family. He had been active in the Actors Workshop and had been an unfriendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee
hearings in 1950 investigating show business. At the end of that period, in 1956, he landed the role of Grandpa Hughes in the soap opera
As The World Turns
; however, the role was recast with Santos Ortega
on the show's second episode.
He taught at the American Theatre Wing
for nine years (where his students included James Earl Jones
) as well as at the New School for Social Research
, Boston University
and the Uta Hagen-Herbert Berghof Studio. In addition, he conducted his own acting classes. Outside of Sesame Street, later roles included television movies and a supporting role as the judge in Sidney Lumet
's 1983 film Daniel
(with Mandy Patinkin
, Ed Asner
, and Peter Friedman
). He also worked in commercial
s, including a spot for Atari
, as a grandfather learning to play Pac-Man
from his granddaughter and spots for Ocean Spray
juice.
on the popular children's show Sesame Street
. "He gave millions of children the message that the old and the young have a lot to say to each other," said Joan Ganz Cooney
, president of the Children's Television Workshop. The New York Times reported that on Sesame Street, Will Lee's Mr. Hooper ranked ahead of all live cast members in recognition by young audiences, according to a survey. His bowtie and hornrimmed
reading glasses became his trademark.
In a November 1970 TIME
article, following the show's first season, Lee recalled his feelings about the show:
In addition to being a staple of Sesame Street for more than ten years, Lee portrayed Mr. Hooper in television specials (Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
, A Special Sesame Street Christmas
), guest appearances (Evening at Pops: 1971), stage appearances, countless record albums, and parades, including the 1982 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
. It was revealed in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street that the character of Mr. Hooper is Jewish, as was Lee himself. Lee taped his final segments as Mr. Hooper in November 1982, but his death would become the focal point of Episode 1839, in which Mr. Hooper's death is explained to Big Bird
.
According to his obituary in The New York Times
as he became known on Sesame Street, children would approach him on the street and ask, "How did you get out of the television set?"' or whisper, "I love you." "Apart from the joy of knowing that you are helping so many kids, the recognition is heartwarming," Lee was quoted as saying in 1981.
, with questions about how to acknowledge the death of one of the series' most visible actors. After considering a number of options, CTW decided to have the character of Mr. Hooper die as well, and use the episode to teach its young viewers about death as a natural part of life.
Episode 1839, now known to children and fans as "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" aired on November 24, 1983 (Thanksgiving Day
), and was quickly selected by the Daytime Emmys as being one of the 10 most influential moments in daytime television.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor best known for playing the store proprietor Mr. Hooper
Mr. Hooper
Harold Hooper was a character on Sesame Street, played by Will Lee, who was the original proprietor of Mr. Hooper's Store, which still retains his name.-Biography:...
on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, from the show's debut in 1969 until his death in 1982.
Early career
Lee was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a character actor on stage. He was a member of the Group Theater in the 1930s and appeared in Johnny JohnsonJohnny Johnson (musical)
Johnny Johnson is a musical with a book and lyrics by Paul Green and music by Kurt Weill.Based on Jaroslav Hašek's satiric novel The Good Soldier Švejk, it focuses on a naive and idealistic young man who, despite his pacifist views, leaves his sweetheart Minny Belle Tompkins to fight in Europe in...
, Night Music, Boy Meets Girl, The Time of Your Life
The Time of Your Life
The Time of Your Life is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened 25 October 1939 at the Booth Theatre in New York City...
(as Willie the pinball machine addict) and other Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
plays. He succeeded John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
as the lead in Golden Boy.
Lee was co-founder of the Theater of Action and a member of the Federal Theatre Project
Federal Theatre Project
The Federal Theatre Project was a New Deal project to fund theatre and other live artistic performances in the United States during the Great Depression. It was one of five Federal One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administration...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he served in Army Special Services in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for troops overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he appeared Off Broadway in Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
's Deer Park (as movie mogul Teppis) and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in The Shrike
The Shrike (play)
The Shrike is a play written by American dramatist Joseph Kramm. It debuted on Broadway at the Cort Theater, on January 15, 1952, with Jose Ferrer as the producer, director and star...
, Once Upon a Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway...
, Carnival!
Carnival!
Carnival is a 1961 musical with the book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Bob Merrill. The musical is based on the 1953 film Lili.-Background:...
, Incident At Vichy
Incident At Vichy
Incident at Vichy is a 1964 play by American dramatist Arthur Miller focusing upon the subjects of human nature, guilt, fear, and complicity using Vichy France for the setting. Miller, a Jew himself, wrote the one act play about a group of detainees waiting for inspection by German officers during...
and The World of Sholom Aleichem
Maurice Samuel
Maurice Samuel was a Romanian-born British and American novelist, translator and lecturer.A Jewish and Zionist intellectual, he is best known for his work You Gentiles, published in 1924...
.
Blacklist and teaching
Lee also began appearing in films, including bit parts in CasbahCasbah (film)
Casbah is a musical film directed by John Berry, starring Yvonne DeCarlo and Tony Martin, and released by Universal Studios.-Plot:...
, A Song Is Born
A Song Is Born
A Song Is Born was a 1948 Technicolor musical film remake, starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo, of 1941 movie Ball of Fire with Gary Cooper...
, Little Fugitive
Little Fugitive
Little Fugitive is a 1953 film written and directed by Raymond Abrashkin , Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin, that tells the story of a child alone at Coney Island....
, and Saboteur
Saboteur (film)
Saboteur is a 1942 Universal film directed by Alfred Hitchcock with a screenplay written by Peter Viertel, Joan Harrison, and Dorothy Parker. The movie stars Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, and Norman Lloyd...
. Will Lee was blacklisted as an alleged communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and barred from films and on television for five years during the Red Scare
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized by...
, according to members of his family. He had been active in the Actors Workshop and had been an unfriendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
hearings in 1950 investigating show business. At the end of that period, in 1956, he landed the role of Grandpa Hughes in the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
As The World Turns
As the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
; however, the role was recast with Santos Ortega
Santos Ortega
Santos Ortega was an American actor.-Radio:Ortega was active in radio, starring in The Adventures of Nero Wolfe and narrating a popular radio show called Gangbusters as well as Stroke of Fate. Perhaps his most famous and notable radio role was Commissioner Weston on The Shadow...
on the show's second episode.
He taught at the American Theatre Wing
American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
for nine years (where his students included James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
) as well as at the New School for Social Research
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
, Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
and the Uta Hagen-Herbert Berghof Studio. In addition, he conducted his own acting classes. Outside of Sesame Street, later roles included television movies and a supporting role as the judge in Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
's 1983 film Daniel
Daniel (1983 film)
Daniel is a 1983 film which was adapted by E. L. Doctorow from his novel The Book of Daniel. It was directed by Sidney Lumet. It was based on the life story of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted as spies and executed by the United States government in 1953 for giving nuclear secrets...
(with Mandy Patinkin
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
, Ed Asner
Ed Asner
Edward Asner , commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant...
, and Peter Friedman
Peter Friedman
Peter Friedman is an American stage, film and television actor.Born in New York City, Friedman graduated from Hofstra University before making his Broadway debut in The Great God Brown in 1972...
). He also worked in commercial
Television advertisement
A television advertisement or television commercial, often just commercial, advert, ad, or ad-film – is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization that conveys a message, typically one intended to market a product...
s, including a spot for Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
, as a grandfather learning to play Pac-Man
Pac-Man
is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution in the United States by Midway, first released in Japan on May 22, 1980. Immensely popular from its original release to the present day, Pac-Man is considered one of the classics of the medium, virtually synonymous with video games,...
from his granddaughter and spots for Ocean Spray
Ocean Spray (cooperative)
Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative of growers of cranberries and grapefruit headquartered in Lakeville/Middleborough, Massachusetts. It currently has over 600 member growers . The cooperative employs about 2,000 people, with sales of $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2005...
juice.
Impact of Mr. Hooper
In 1969, he pursued the role of Mr. HooperMr. Hooper
Harold Hooper was a character on Sesame Street, played by Will Lee, who was the original proprietor of Mr. Hooper's Store, which still retains his name.-Biography:...
on the popular children's show Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. "He gave millions of children the message that the old and the young have a lot to say to each other," said Joan Ganz Cooney
Joan Ganz Cooney
Joan Ganz Cooney is an American television producer. She is one of the founders of the Children's Television Workshop , the organization famous for the creation of the children's television show Sesame Street. Cooney received her B.A...
, president of the Children's Television Workshop. The New York Times reported that on Sesame Street, Will Lee's Mr. Hooper ranked ahead of all live cast members in recognition by young audiences, according to a survey. His bowtie and hornrimmed
Horn-rimmed glasses
Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses. Originally made out of either horn or tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials...
reading glasses became his trademark.
In a November 1970 TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
article, following the show's first season, Lee recalled his feelings about the show:
In addition to being a staple of Sesame Street for more than ten years, Lee portrayed Mr. Hooper in television specials (Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street is a Sesame Street Christmas special first broadcast on PBS on December 3, 1978.-Plot:The opening features the inhabitants of Sesame Street enjoying an ice skating party. Big Bird has trouble skating, but a child gives him a hand, and he ends up skating very well...
, A Special Sesame Street Christmas
A Special Sesame Street Christmas
A Special Sesame Street Christmas was a low-budget 1978 CBS Christmas special, made the same year as the legendary and still popular Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. The special was first broadcast on Friday, December 8, 1978 at 8 PM ET on CBS, pre-empting Wonder Woman that week.The special features...
), guest appearances (Evening at Pops: 1971), stage appearances, countless record albums, and parades, including the 1982 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
. It was revealed in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street that the character of Mr. Hooper is Jewish, as was Lee himself. Lee taped his final segments as Mr. Hooper in November 1982, but his death would become the focal point of Episode 1839, in which Mr. Hooper's death is explained to Big Bird
Big Bird
Big Bird is a protagonist of the children's television show Sesame Street. Big Bird, like many of the other Sesame Street characters, is a Muppet character. He is sometimes referred to simply as "Bird" by his friends....
.
According to his obituary in The New York Times
as he became known on Sesame Street, children would approach him on the street and ask, "How did you get out of the television set?"' or whisper, "I love you." "Apart from the joy of knowing that you are helping so many kids, the recognition is heartwarming," Lee was quoted as saying in 1981.
Death of Mr. Hooper
Will Lee died on December 7, 1982 at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City from a heart attack at the age of 74. Lee was never married and never had any children, and was survived by his sister Sophia Lee-Lubov who lived in Florida. Lee's death left the producers of Sesame Street, the Children's Television WorkshopSesame Workshop
Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop , is a Worldwide American non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world...
, with questions about how to acknowledge the death of one of the series' most visible actors. After considering a number of options, CTW decided to have the character of Mr. Hooper die as well, and use the episode to teach its young viewers about death as a natural part of life.
Episode 1839, now known to children and fans as "Farewell, Mr. Hooper" aired on November 24, 1983 (Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
), and was quickly selected by the Daytime Emmys as being one of the 10 most influential moments in daytime television.
External links
- Muppet Wiki: Will Lee
- Will Lee at The Internet Broadway DatabaseInternet Broadway DatabaseThe Internet Broadway Database is an online database of Broadway theatre productions and their personnel. It is operated by the Research Department of The Broadway League, a trade association for the North American commercial theatre community....