RIP Sesame Street Composer Stephen J. Lawrence

Stephen J. Lawrence best known for his work on Sesame Street and the Marlo Thomas children's album Free to Be... You and Me, has died.

His role on Sesame Street became that of a jack of all trades — composer, musical director, arranger, and conductor. During his time as Sesame he earned three Daytime Emmys for music direction.

Lawrence composed many well known songs and scores including the iconic "Fuzzy and Blue (and Orange)," which he co-wrote with David Axelrod.


"We are saddened by the passing of our friend Stephen Lawrence, who composed more than 300 beloved songs and scores in over 30 years on Sesame Street, like the classic "Fuzzy and Blue." Thank you for bringing smiles, laughter, and the gift of music to our neighborhood," Sesame Street wrote on their official Twitter account:

We are saddened by the passing of our friend Stephen Lawrence, who composed more than 300 beloved songs and scores in over 30 years on Sesame Street, like the classic "Fuzzy and Blue." Thank you for bringing smiles, laughter, and the gift of music to our neighborhood. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/zIITs231EI

— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) January 3, 2022

Lawrence also composed the score for The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss and worked as a musical director and co-producer with Bruce Hart on the popular 1972 children's album Free to Be... You and Me, composing the title song, "When We Grow Up," and "Sisters and Brothers."

He contributed to the Robert De Niro film Bang the Drum Slowly as well as four songs for the 1979 film Sooner or Later, for which he composed the hit single "You Take My Breath Away."

Lawrence founded Quill Entertainment Company alongside Graville Burgess, a nonprofit that creates musicals about American history for children in 1998, and served as music director at Temple Sinai in Stamford, Conn. since 2003.


Below is a small sample of Lawrence's work.

"We're Gonna Stay Up Late and Party!": 

 

"Fuzzy and Blue": 

   

 

The Wubbulous World of Dr Seuss Intro:

 

 "If I Were":

 

"N-TV":

 

 "If Moon Was Cookie":

  

"Heart of a Frog": 

   

"We Are All Monsters" (original):

  

Stephen J. Lawrence was 82.

Henson "Comes Over to" New Dr. Seuss Series!

The Jim Henson Company is developing a new series based on the Dr. Seuss book Come Over to My House that they hope will re-engage children socially long after the pandemic lockdown.

Come Over to My House will be a live-action unscripted series for kids 5-8 based on Dr. Seuss' 1966 children’s picture book of the same name.

While the book tells the story of an American boy who travels around the world and is introduced to the homes and customs of kids in different countries, the Henson series will re-cast the lead as a puppet (tentatively named Katie) and be filmed documentary-style with real kids in their real homes.

Having previously collaborated with the Suess estate for The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, this time the Henson Company wanted to reimagine another book together—but one that didn’t feature Seuss’ familiar characters and feels grounded in reality.

To achieve this, Halle Stanford, president of television at Henson, hired documentary filmmaker Tiffanie Hsu to direct the series. 

Though “These aren’t the classic Cat in the Hat fantasy characters, we hope to capture the joy of an unfettered, unstructured day of play between a kid and a puppet.”

Elmo in Sesame Workshop's International Rescue Committee 

“Because we’ll be using real kids and loose scripts, and we won’t be shooting on sets, I went into the doc world to find a creator" she said. 

Though no release date has been set, Stanford plans to pitch the series in early spring. Despite the fact that unscripted content tends not to travel as well as animation, which is easier to dub, she’s confident broadcasters will be interested in the stories and drawn to the production’s potential speed to market.

“We’re hoping for 20 half hours, and if we set it up with the right partners, the show will come out at a time when kids and families across the globe will need to re-embrace connection as we start to come out of the pandemic."

Sesame Workshop's International Rescue Committee 

The series will also have a small crew and Stanford expects production could begin as early as this summer and be delivered quickly to networks that need content.

She says the biggest challenge will be figuring out where the show can shoot, and how it can be done safely if filming begins this year."

Come Over to My House sounds very much like Sesame Workshop's International Rescue Committee project and their recent 50th Anniversary road trip videos, but as an internationally released show. 

We'll keep you posted as we learn more about this latest Henson series.

Jim Henson Company Favorites Available on Amazon Prime Video!

The Jim Henson Company and Amazon have inked a deal to release "2,500 hours" of programming to Prime Video. 

The official press release: 

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., April 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Beginning today, Amazon Prime Video will offer 2,500 hours of The Jim Henson Company's classic and award-winning programming on its streaming platform, providing a one-stop destination to enjoy and rediscover many of the Company's most popular specials and series. 

Prime Video will be offering a plethora of the Company's popular content to 68 English language territories including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordics, with on-demand access to titles like Fraggle Rock, The Storyteller, The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, and Pajanimals (certain territory exclusions apply).  

"Featuring masterful puppets and creatures from the world-famous Jim Henson's Creature Shop, these popular titles reflect the magic and wonder that has become synonymous with The Jim Henson Company brand," explained Anna Moorefield, Vice President, Global Distribution for The Jim Henson Company. "These beloved shows will all be on Amazon Prime Video, providing immediate access for our legions of fans as well as an entirely new generation of viewers."  

Available in up to 68 territories including the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordics, the collection includes: 

Fraggle Rock: The Animated Series (13 x 30'): Based on the original, live-action puppet show, this animated series features new stories and songs. 

Doozer Music (1 x 15'): Features popular songs sung by the hardworking Doozers of Fraggle Rock. 

Fraggle Songs (1 x 60'): Showcases favorite songs from the first season of Fraggle Rock. 

The Song of the Cloud Forest (1 x 30'): A blend of music, puppetry, and animation echoes the natural beauty found in the real world's rain forests. 

Living with Dinosaurs (1 x 52'): A troubled boy confides in his toy dinosaur to help him come to terms with the changes and difficulties in his life.

Lighthouse Island (1 x 30'): Rivals fight for a mysterious, stolen pearl that has the power to transform the shape of whoever possesses it.

Monster Maker (1 x 73'): A young teen is confronted by the fantastic and frightening creations of his own imagination.
Certain English-speaking territories can also view:

Fraggle Rock (96 x 25', excluding the United States): The International Emmy-award winning series stares the musical Fraggles, the industrious Doozers, and the royal Gorgs, who all learn about living together in Fraggle Rock.

The Storyteller (9 x 30', excluding the United States): An anthology series starring legendary actor John Hurt in the title role telling European folk tales to his cynical dog.

The Storyteller: Greek Myths (4 x 30', excluding the United States): Starring Michael Gambon in the title role, this spin-off series features a new Storyteller who finds himself trapped with his dog in the ruins of an ancient Labyrinth.

Pajanimals (26 x 22', excluding Canada): Four sweet characters embark on amazing adventures of discovery, modeling the skills preschoolers need to move through their day successfully.

The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (40 x 30', excluding the United States): An Emmy-award winning puppet series featuring the fun, music, and adventures of some of the characters created by celebrated children's author Dr. Seuss.

Mother Goose Stories (13 x 24', excluding the United States): A live-action puppet series featuring well-known nursery rhymes.

Fans are encouraged to follow The Jim Henson Company's official social channels for specific Prime Video territory details. 

This is a great start, especially for those who want to see the remastered versions of The Storyteller, and The Storyteller: Greek Myths who don't have STARZ and Fraggle Rock who don't have HBO or the DVDs/ Blurays. 

It's nice that they include The Jim Hour specials The Song of the Cloud Forest, Living with Dinosaurs, Lighthouse Island, and Monster Maker, but not odd that Dog City wasn't included. Hopefully one day Henson and Disney will come together and release the entire 13 episodes series. 

A couple things, the 73 minute listed run time for Monster Maker is a typo. The actual run time is 44 min.

Also currently on available with a Prime membership are Farscape, Jim Henson's Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story, and Dreamchild.


However, 2,500 hours and still no Ghost of Faffner Hall, City Kids, Brats of The Lost Nebula, or Dog City: The Animated Series. It's about time Henson opened the vaults to these rarely seen gems!

Happy Dr. Seuss Day!

The Jim Henson company teamed up with the Suess estate to create The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss which ran on Nickelodeon from 1996 - 1998.

In honor of Dr. Seuss Day, check out "Mrs. Zabarelli's Holiday Baton", Written by Craig Shemin!

And a behind the scenes look at the making of the show:

Happy Wubbulous Dr. Seuss Day!

"Wubbulous World" Leaving Netflix!

The first, and IMO the infinitely better, season of The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss is set to leave Netflix June 18.