Lloyd N. Morrisett Dies: ‘Sesame Street’ Co-Creator Was 93

Lloyd N. Morrisett, the co-founder with Joan Ganz Cooney of Sesame Street, has died, Sesame Workshop announced. He was 93.

“Without Lloyd Morrisett, there would be no Sesame Street,” said Ganz Cooney in a statement. “It was he who first came up with the notion of using television to teach preschoolers basic skills, such as letters and numbers. He was a trusted partner and loyal friend to me for over fifty years, and he will be sorely missed.”

After co-founding Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street and other programs) in 1968, Morrisett remained a Lifetime Honorary Trustee until his death.

“Lloyd leaves an outsized and indelible legacy among generations of children the world over, with Sesame Street only the most visible tribute to a lifetime of good work and lasting impact,” Sesame Workshop said in a statement. “A wise, thoughtful, and above all kind leader of the Workshop for decades, Lloyd was fascinated by the power of technology and constantly thinking about new ways it could be used to educate.”

After graduating from Oberlin College, Morrisett did graduate work in psychology at UCLA and earned his Ph.D. in experimental psychology at Yale University. From 1969 to 1998, he served as President of the John and Mary R. Markle Foundation, where he initiated the Foundation’s program in communications and information technology. Before going to Markle, Morrisett was Vice President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Information on survivors was not immediately available.

Sesame Workshop mourns the passing of our esteemed and beloved co-founder Lloyd N. Morrisett, PhD, who died at the age of 93. pic.twitter.com/I9cSez95Px

— Sesame Workshop (@SesameWorkshop) January 23, 2023