Jon Stone

 Jon   Stone  ( April 1 3, 1931 - March 3 0 , 1997 ) , was an Emmy - winning write r  ,  director  , &  producer  who was involved in the creation o f  SESAME STREET  & continue d to work on the  show  until short l y before his death.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut , Stone graduate d from Williams College in 1952. He receive d a master ' s degree from the Yale University School o f Drama in 1955, at which time he joined a CBS training program. Before helping to create  SESAME STREET , he worked on the popular chil dren ' s television show Captain Kangaroo for CBS. He also worked on several other Muppet project s before & during his time on  SESAME STREET , & was the author of several book s , including the popular The  Monster  at t he End of This Book. He was married for 9 year s to actress Beverly Owen.

Stone ' s earliest association with  JIM HENSON  came i n 1965, working on fairy tale project s , along wit h write r Tom Whedon , such as a proposed Snow White series. This was turned into a Cinderella pilot, which was shot in Octo ber of that year but never aired , & eventually became ''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Hey_Cinderella! Hey Cinderella ! ] . Stone also appeared in  JIM HENSON  ' s 1967 short film Ripple s'', as a n introspective architect.

In 1968, Stone brought  HENSON  & Joe Raposo  to the attention of CTW president  Joan Ganz Cooney when she start ed putting together  SESAME STREET . He wrote  the pilot script, & was 1 of the 3 original  producer s  of the  program  ; he later served as an executive  producer  for many year s.

During a 1980 trip to  SESAME STREET  ' s German c o - production Sesamstrasse, Stone appeared on the show ' s 750th episode , together wit h BIG BIRD ,  OSCAR THE GROUCH  , Kermit Love &  CAROLL SPINNEY  ' s wife Debi Spinney.

In a 1999 article, Children ' s Television Workshop Director of Research [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Edward_L._Palmer Edward L. Palmer ] recalled how Stone approached writing for  SESAME STREET  in the early day s of the production  :

1 member of the CTW staff became terribly agitated when he 1 st saw the curriculum statement. His concern was that if this document, with all its educational jargon , set the tone for the series ,  SESAME STREET  would be terribly dull instead of light & lively. How ever, head writer  Jon Stone spoke for all of the key producers in his response to t he concern ; he said , 1 st , that the curriculum document did not set the tone for the entertainment content of t h e pro gram , & 2 nd , that in sitting down to write a script , he would far rather start with a curriculum goal at the top of the page than with a totally empty p age. What Stone understood was that stating a curriculumgoal did not limit creativity, because there were still an infinite number of way s in which to express i t on the screen.

Stone was t he show  ' s principal  director  until 1996. Working with  JIM HENSON , he helped to create many of the Muppet character s , including BIG BIRD & Cookie Monster. He was also responsible for t he show  ' s format & setting. Stone contribute d occasional announcer voice s ( such as the soap opera promo spoof " School i n t h e After noon " ), & h e serve d similar duty o n 2 Muppet Meeting Film s. In April 1990, Stone hosted & directed  a television special title d ''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sing!_Sesame_Street_Remembers_Joe_Raposo_and_His_Music Sing !  SESAME   STREET  Re member s Joe Raposo & His Music ]''. The special was created as a tribute to Joe Raposo , who passed away from lymphoma on February 5 , 1989.

Jon Stone died of complication s from Lou Gehrig ' s disease on March 30 th, 1997. In his New York Time s obituary, Joan Ganz Cooney describe s Stone as " probably the most brilliant write r  of chil dren ' s T V mater ial i n A m e r i c a . "

Memorial Bench
Following Stone ' s death, a bench on the Literary Walk in Central Park was dedicate d t o him. The bench is directly to the right of the bench dedicate d to  JIM HENSON .

Credit s
 Direct or  :
 * Youth 6 8 ( 1 9 6 8 )
 *  SESAME STREET  ( 1 9 69 - 9 6 )
 * Christ mas Eve on  SESAME   STREET  ( 1978 )
 *  DON ' T  Eat t he P i c t u r e s ( 1983 )
 * My  SESAME   STREET  Home Video
 *  BIG   BIRD  i n China ( 1983 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  i n Japan ( 1988 )
 *  SESAME   STREET , Spec ial ( Put Down the  DUCKIE  ) ( 1988 )
 * Monster Hit s ! ( 1990 )
 * Sin g Yourself Silly ! ( 1 990 )
 *  Elmo  ' s S in g - Along Guessing Game ( 1 9 9 1 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  ' s Birth day or Let  Me  Eat Cake ( 1 9 9 1 )
 * M r . Willowby ' s Christ mas Tr e e ( 1995 )

 Write r  :
 *  SESAME STREET  Pitch R eel ( 1 9 6 9 )
 * Hey Cinderella ! ( 1970 )
 * Julie on  SESAME   STREET  ( 1973 )
 * The Muppet Show : Sex & Violence ( 19 75 )
 * Christ mas Eve on  SESAME   STREET  ( 1978 )
 *  SESAME STREET  Live : A  SESAME   STREET  Mystery : The Case of t he Missing Rara Avis ( 1 9 8 0 )
 *  SESAME STREET  Live :  BIG   BIRD  ' s Super Spectacular Totally Amateur Show ( 1 9 8 1 )
 * Rocky M o u n t a i n Holiday ( 1 983 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  i n China ( 19 83 )
 *  BIG   BIRD  i n Japan ( 19 88 )
 *  SESAME STREET  Live :  BIG   BIRD  ' s  SESAME   STREET  Story ( 19 88 )

 Author  :
 * T he  SESAME   STREET  Story book ( 1971 )
 * The  Monster  at t he End of This Book ( 1971 )
 * Would You Like t o Play Hide & Seek in This Book With Lovable, Furry Old  Grover  ? ( 1976 )
 * T he  SESAME   STREET  Library ( 19 78 - 1979 )
 * Christ mas Eve on  SESAME   STREET  ( 1981 )
 * The Song s of  SESAME   STREET  in Poem s & Picture s ( 1983 )
 * Lovable Furry Old  Grover  ' s Resting Place s ( 1984 )
 * Another  Monster  at t he End of This Book ( 1996 )

 Lyric s  :
 * A B C - D E F - G H I
 * " Best Friend s "
 * "  BIG   BIRD  ' s Beautiful Birth day Bash "
 * " Danger ' s No Stranger "
 * " Every body Wash "
 * " Get Along "
 * " Things One of These Thing s "
 *  SESAME STREET  " Theme "
 * " Wet Paint "

Album Credit s

 *  Let a  FROWN  Be Your Umbrella  ( 1974 )