Robert Emmett McGrath (June 13, 1932 – December 4, 2022) was an American actor, singer, and children's author best known for playing original human character and music teacher Bob Johnson on the educational television series ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

'' from 1969 to 2016.

Early life

McGrath was born on June 13, 1932, in Ottawa, Illinois, the son of Flora Agnes (née Hallagan) and Edmund Thomas McGrath, a farmer. He was named for the Irish patriot Robert Emmet. As a child he would sing for his family while his mother would play the piano. His mother enrolled him in the Roxy Theater's Amateur Program and he finished in second place. He graduated from Marquette High School. McGrath graduated from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1954; he went to the

school of music A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

there. While attending Michigan, he was a member of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club and of the fraternity of

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...

. During fraternity events he washed dishes while David Connell, a fraternity brother, waited tables, a connection which Connell used when ''Sesame Street'' casting began. After graduating he was inducted into the U.S. Army; he was in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

for two years performing for the

Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra The Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra was the only symphonic orchestral ensemble ever created under the supervision of the United States Army. Founded by the composer Samuel Adler, its members participated in the cultural diplomacy initiatives of ...

and booking for them. McGrath earned a Master of Music degree in voice from the

Manhattan School of Music The Manhattan School of Music (MSM) is a private music conservatory in New York City. The school offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the areas of classical and jazz performance and composition, as well as a bachelor's in mu ...

in 1959.

Career

McGrath worked with Mitch Miller and was the featured tenor on Miller's NBC-TV television singalong series '' Sing Along with Mitch'' for four seasons from 1960 to 1964. He was a singer on the

Walt Kelly Walter Crawford Kelly Jr. (August 25, 1913 – October 18, 1973), commonly known as Walt Kelly, was an American animator and cartoonist, best known for the comic strip ''Pogo (comic strip), Pogo''. He began his animation career in 1936 at The Walt ...

album ''Songs of the Pogo''. In the mid-1960s, McGrath became a well-known recording artist in Japan, releasing a series of successful albums of Irish and other folk songs and ballads sung in Japanese."Irish Tenor From Teaneck Is the Toast of Tokyo; Bob McGrath Specializes in Japanese Folk Ballads to Flute Accompaniment"
''The New York Times'', July 5, 1967. Accessed December 30, 2007. This aspect of his career was the basis of his "secret" when he appeared on the game shows '' To Tell the Truth'' in 1966 and ''

I've Got a Secret ''I've Got a Secret'' is an American panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television. Created by comedy writers Allan Sherman and Howard Merrill, it was a derivative of Goodson-Todman's own panel show, ''What's My Line ...

'' in 1967. From 1969 to 2016, McGrath was a regular cast member on ''

'', playing the character of Bob Johnson. Along with series matriarch Susan Robinson, played by Loretta Long, McGrath was one of the two longest-lasting human characters on the series since the show's debut. A Noggin segment proclaimed the four decades of Bob when promoting ''Sesame Street'' on that network. In July 2016,

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

announced that McGrath would not return to the show for its 47th season because it would be re-tooling the series, but the company did say that McGrath would continue to represent the Workshop at public events. Sesame Workshop later announced that there would be talks to bring him back and that he would still represent ''Sesame Street''. Although McGrath had not been in any new material since season 45, he subsequently appeared in online videos for the show. He also returned for the 2019 TV special '' Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration''. McGrath said that his two favorite moments on ''Sesame Street'' were '' Christmas Eve on Sesame Street'' (a 1978 Christmas special that included a

pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...

of " The Gift of the Magi"), and the 1983 sequence that candidly addressed the death of longtime character

Mr. Hooper Mr. Harold Hooper (played by Will Lee) was one of the first four human characters to appear on the television series ''Sesame Street''. Created by producer and writer Jon Stone, Mr. Hooper is the original proprietor of Hooper's Store, the neighbor ...

, played by his good friend

Will Lee William Lee (born William Lubovsky; August 6, 1908 – December 7, 1982) was an American actor who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of the eponymous Hooper' ...

who had died the previous year. Bob McGrath Sesame Place headshot

Other accomplishments

For 38 years, McGrath was a regular fixture on '' Telemiracle'', a telethon broadcast annually on CTV outlets in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. His final regular appearance at ''Telemiracle'' was in 2015, where performers at the show paid tribute to him. He returned for a special appearance in 2018. On March 3, 2006, he was awarded the

Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan The Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan, also called the Saskatchewan Centennial Medal, is a commemorative medal struck to celebrate the first 100 years since Saskatchewan's entrance into Canadian Confederation. The medal recog ...

for this work by the

Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan The lieutenant governor of Saskatchewan () is the Viceroy, viceregal representative in Saskatchewan of the , who Monarchy in Saskatchewan, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other ...

, Lynda Haverstock. He was given the Saskatchewan Distinguished Service Award in 2013 by the Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall. He received a Distinguished Service Award for his decades of service by the Variety Children's Charity Telethon in British Columbia. McGrath wrote many children's books, including ''Uh Oh! Gotta Go!'' (1996) and ''OOPS! Excuse Me Please!'' (1998). In 1995, he was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award. McGrath's ''Sing Me a Story'' was nominated for the 7th Annual Independent Music Awards for children's Album of the Year. On April 10, 2010, he was the first recipient of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club Lifetime Achievement Award. Bob McGrath 2014

Personal life and death

McGrath and his wife Ann married in 1958. They had five children, five granddaughters, and three grandsons. The couple lived in Teaneck, New Jersey, from 1958 until 2017, after which they moved to a ranch in

Norwood, New Jersey Norwood is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 5,711,stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

at home on December 4, 2022, at age 90.

Filmography

References

External links

* * * *
Bob McGrath Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection December 19, 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Bob 1932 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors A&M Records artists American children's musicians American children's writers American male television actors American male voice actors American tenors Male actors from Illinois Manhattan School of Music alumni Military personnel from Illinois Musicians from Illinois People from Norwood, New Jersey People from Ottawa, Illinois People from Teaneck, New Jersey University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni Writers from Illinois Singers from New Jersey Singers from Illinois