Longtime "Sesame Street" Writer Tony Geiss Has Died

Tony Geiss, a key collaborator on Sesame Street for which he was awarded several Emmy Awards, has died at the age of 86.

Click here for his New York Times obituary.

Click here for Tony Geiss' full Archive interview.

Interview description:

Tony Geiss was interviewed for one-and-a-half hours at the Sesame Workshop in New York, NY.  Geiss spoke in great detail about his 28-year association as a writer of the classic children’s series Sesame Street.  He described the basics of writing for the show, the importance of research, and his composition of the enduring theme song for “Elmo’s World.”  He also talked about key creative talent from the series including series developer Joan Ganz Cooney and performers Kevin Clash, Will Lee, and Carroll Spinney.  Additionally, he talked about his early years as a writer on such television series as WNET’s “How to Be Mayor of New York.”  The interview was conducted by Karen Herman on July 20, 2004.