ABBA

Children’s author, director, producer, songwriter and voice-over artist from New Haven, Connecticut who attended Williams College and the School of Drama at Yale University.

In 1955, he graduated from Yale and shortly thereafter wrote for the CBS television series, Captain Kangaroo. He married Beverley Owen in 1964 after she had done a 13-episode stint as Marilyn on The Munsters.

The Munsters were not to be in the Stones’ future, but The Muppets were. In 1965, Jon began a long-time creative partnership with Jim Henson, helping to invent the furry and feathered creatures that would populate Sesame Street. If Jim Henson was the heart and soul of The Muppets, Jon was the brain, often multi-tasking as writer, director and producer. He also had a hand in creating Big Bird and The Cookie Monster.

In 1969, the children’s program was launched and it would become a franchise and the focal point of Jon’s creative energy until his death in 1997. Not only did he serve on the show in the aforementioned capacities: He also voiced characters and co-wrote many of the songs, such as “ABC-DEF-GHI”, “Wet Paint” and the famous theme song, penned with Bruce Hart and Joe Raposo. After Joe died, Jon directed and hosted the TV tribute, Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music.

In 1997, Jon died of ALS (amyotropic lateral sclerosis) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. His legacy is not only immortalized on film and television. He also wrote a series of children’s books, many of them inspired by the denizens of Sesame Street. The Monster at the End of This Book, published in 1977, is considered a children’s classic.

The Oscar Peterson Trio and The Singers Unlimited recordings

Sesame Street (Bruce Hart/Joe Raposo/Jon Stone)

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