A few weeks ago a Sesame Street character lit the web on fire singing how she loved her hair. Well 40 years before she came along Sesame Street had another muppet with Soul-Power and his name was Roosevelt Franklin! Roosevelt Franklin (you have to say his whole name) had the funkiest intro in all of children’s television and classmates with names like Smart Tina (like Martina) and Hard Head Henry Harris. Check out more info and videos below.
From the Muppet Wiki:
Roosevelt Franklin appeared on Sesame Street from Season 1 (1970) to Season 7 (1975). The precocious Roosevelt Franklin attended Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School, where he taught the class as often as not. He taught concepts like family, pride, respect, geography and not drinking poison. Roosevelt was a cool kid who loved to scat, rhyme and sing the blues. His mother was proud of him.
In addition to his elementary school, he had his own stadium, Roosevelt Franklin Stadium, where he coached Headball. Roosevelt has a younger sister, who wishes that she could go to school like he does.
Matt Robinson, who played Gordon during the first three seasons, created the character and performed Roosevelt’s voice.
For a while, Roosevelt was considered one of the main characters on Sesame Street. He even had his own record album, The Year of Roosevelt Franklin. Despite significant popularity, he was dropped from the cast following letters complaining of a negative African-American stereotype, and because his rowdy elementary school did not set a good example for children. Roosevelt continued to surface occasionally in storybooks, however, as late as 1996.
VIDEOS: