262:, New York. His father, a bookbinder, lost his job due to economic changes. Will Lee came to adulthood during the Great Depression. He worked odd jobs in New York City and absorbed the intellectual atmosphere of Greenwich Village, an enclave of avant-garde culture where small presses, art galleries, and experimental theater thrived. He began his career as a character actor on stage. He was a member of the Group Theater in the 1930s and appeared in
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The cast of Sesame Street were saddened by Lee's death, as over the time Lee had played his signature character on TV, he had befriended most of the cast. The cast said that their characters' sad faces were real but they went through with their performance, remembering they were doing it for a good
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that Mr. Hooper is Jewish, as was Lee himself. Lee taped his final segments as Mr. Hooper on
Wednesday November 24, 1982, two weeks prior to his death. This would become the focal point of Episode 1839, which aired a year later to the date, in which Mr. Hooper's death is explained by the adults to
575:, 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.
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I was delighted to take the role of Mr. Hooper, the gruff grocer with the warm heart. It's a big part, and it allows a lot of latitude. But the show has something extra, that sense you sometimes get from great theater, the feeling that its influence never
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as being one of the 10 most influential moments in daytime television. Before the broadcast ended, a picture of Lee was shown, along with the dates of his birth and death and the writing "In Loving Memory of Will Lee" before fading out.
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faced the challenge of how to address the absence of one of the series' most prominent characters. After deliberating various approaches, such as recasting Mr. Hooper or having him move interstate or
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hearings in 1950 investigating
Communist elements in show business. At the end of that period, in 1956, he landed the role of Grandpa Hughes in
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228:; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing
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and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for troops overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he appeared
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episode "Farewell, Mr. Hooper", episode 1839, was released 11 months later and is dedicated to Lee.
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Episode 1839, colloquially known as "Farewell, Mr. Hooper," aired on
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article, following the show's first season, Lee recalled his feelings about the show:
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1329:(accessed October 14, 2008). The Christmas special can be seen on
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Lee was co-founder of the
Theater of Action and a member of the
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and barred from movies and TV for five years during the era of
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for more than 10 years, Lee played Mr. Hooper in TV specials (
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1375:"WILL LEE, 74, WAS MR. HOOPER ON TELEVISION 'SESAME STREET'"
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Lee also began appearing in movies, including bit parts in
1349:. New York: Children's Television Workshop (CTW). p.
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Sesame Street
Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets and Songs
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Lee died on
December 7, 1982, at the age of 74, from a
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63:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1306:. Australia: Honour Bright Books. pp. 88–90.
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553:on November 25, 1982. It was revealed in
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19:For other people named William Lee, see
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1522:20th-century American male actors
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1190:A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1047:The Philco Television Playhouse
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1537:Federal Theatre Project people
1157:Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
996:(final film role; posthumous)
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551:Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
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1037:Episode: "The Mole: Part 1"
835:Waiter at the Dixieland Club
369:The World of Sholom Aleichem
21:William Lee (disambiguation)
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1278:"Will Lee papers 1930-1980"
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1448:Internet Broadway Database
1343:Borgenicht, David (1998).
884:The Lone Wolf and His Lady
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376:Blacklist and teaching
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691:Whistling in the Dark
547:Evening at Pops: 1971
465:. Lee also worked in
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439:American Theatre Wing
279:The Time of Your Life
1302:Gray, Oriel (2020).
783:Convict in Chow Line
485:Impact of Mr. Hooper
350:Once Upon a Mattress
290:plays. He succeeded
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1502:Hollywood blacklist
1414:, November 27, 1983
1381:. December 9, 1982.
1147:Episode: "Enemies"
1084:East Side/West Side
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579:Death of Mr. Hooper
514:In a November 1970
302:Workers Lab Theatre
1439:TCM Movie Database
1411:The New York Times
1400:, December 9, 1982
1397:The New York Times
1327:Jewish United Fund
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813:They Live by Night
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1258:. April 18, 2018
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50:verification
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975:Joseph Kahn
971:Hit and Run
928:Uncredited
910:Uncredited
892:Uncredited
874:Uncredited
856:Uncredited
838:Uncredited
786:Uncredited
778:Brute Force
768:Uncredited
733:Uncredited
708:Melody Lane
660:Filmography
509:horn-rimmed
479:Ocean Spray
467:commercials
414:McCarthyism
406:blacklisted
270:Night Music
222:William Lee
1466:Categories
1288:2020-04-14
1233:References
1163:Mr. Hooper
1125:Mr. Hooper
1059:1956, 1982
1029:Dick Tracy
1003:Television
907:Cab driver
889:The Waiter
491:Mr. Hooper
344:The Shrike
297:Golden Boy
258:family in
230:Mr. Hooper
204:Occupation
153:Mr. Hooper
83:newspapers
72:"Will Lee"
1304:Exit Left
1114:1969–1982
993:The Judge
920:Shakedown
713:Mr. Russo
609:outcome.
410:communist
404:. He was
356:Carnival!
317:Australia
311:. During
196:Manhattan
1444:Will Lee
1435:Will Lee
1426:Will Lee
1262:March 6,
1221:See also
1106:Kurawicz
1091:Schultz
1034:Reg Prof
1016:Role(s)
902:Backfire
760:Saboteur
615:Big Bird
560:Big Bird
401:Saboteur
339:Broadway
288:Broadway
260:Brooklyn
177:Brooklyn
139:Will Lee
1455:at the
1446:at the
1437:at the
1331:YouTube
818:Jeweler
481:juice.
475:Pac-Man
151:Lee as
97:scholar
1357:
1310:
1211:Shmuel
1019:Notes
1013:Title
988:Daniel
960:Waiter
925:Cabbie
871:Waiter
853:Waiter
801:Beggar
796:Casbah
765:Rogers
730:Shorty
696:Herman
681:Notes
675:Title
591:retire
525:stops.
462:Daniel
398:, and
383:Casbah
321:Manila
256:Jewish
224:(born
99:
92:
85:
78:
70:
1010:Year
678:Role
672:Year
636:Death
630:Susan
471:Atari
207:Actor
104:JSTOR
90:books
1430:IMDb
1355:ISBN
1308:ISBN
1264:2023
1201:1980
1186:1979
1174:1978
1152:1978
1134:1974
1096:1965
1079:1964
1042:1950
1024:1950
983:1983
967:1983
950:1963
933:1953
915:1950
897:1950
879:1949
861:1949
843:1948
825:1948
808:1948
791:1948
773:1947
755:1942
738:1941
720:1941
703:1941
686:1941
665:Film
617:and
539:and
517:TIME
366:and
319:and
185:Died
166:Born
76:news
1428:at
1144:Kon
648:in
644:at
341:in
331:'s
327:in
240:on
155:on
59:by
1468::
1408:,
1394:,
1377:.
1353:.
1351:43
1252:.
1241:^
449:,
434:.
392:,
386:,
372:.
359:,
353:,
276:,
272:,
268:,
1363:.
1316:.
1291:.
1266:.
613:(
364:,
346:,
126:)
120:(
115:)
111:(
101:·
94:·
87:·
80:·
53:.
30:.
23:.
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