Hooper's Store

Hooper's Store is a fictional business and meeting-place on the television show Sesame Street. When the show began, the store was one of the four main locations on the set representing the fictional Sesame Street, with the 123 Sesame Street brownstone, the Fix-It Shop and the carriage house.[1] Its original owner was friendly grocer Mr. Hooper.

After the death of Will Lee, the actor who played Mr. Hooper, the store was later managed by other characters, including David[2], Mr. Handford, and Alan.[3]

History

Original proprietor Mr. Hooper (Will Lee) and his store in its earlier days as a candy shop/soda fountain/general store

The fictional store was said to be founded by Mr. Harold Hooper in 1951 as a general store. The food menu was extensive and suited to the different characters that lived on Sesame Street, a fictional Manhattan street. Along with traditional American diner-type food, the store sold a wide range of goods from dry goods to soap dishes and stranger goods such as empty cigar boxes (in Christmas Eve on Sesame Street) and birdseed milkshakes for Big Bird.

In Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street, Michael Davis notes that the store was one of the early core concepts that producer Jon Stone brought to the show:

There would be an older proprietor of a neighborhood variety store, the type that had a soda fountain with pedestal stools. At that time in Bronx sociological history, the owner of such a business would likely have been male, Caucasian, and Jewish. Stone asked Rosen to build into the set what ultimately became Hooper's Store. "It gave us a wonderful location both for comedy and curriculum-driven bits," Stone said.[4]

The store often acts as a gathering spot for the characters.[5][6] In Sesame Street Unpaved, David Borgenicht writes:

Hooper's Store is what all good communities and neighborhoods require -- a gathering place. Hooper's Store is to Sesame Street what Cheers was to Cheers, what the Pirate's Cove was to The Love Boat, what Arnold's was to Happy Days: a place where Muppets and humans alike could go to get whatever they needed, whether that be a Figgy Fizz soda or a chocolate egg-cram (Hooper's specialty).[7]

David and Gina

The fictional character David (Northern Calloway), a young African-American who moved to Sesame Street in the early 1970s, was soon hired by Mr. Hooper as an assistant. David was originally conceived as a hip, upbeat singer fresh out of high school who was fond of eccentric hats. Although he appeared in Season 3, he began working at the store in Season 4 while studying law at college.

Mr. Hooper left David the store in his will. During seasons 16 and 17, a teenaged boy named Piri (played by Eddie Castrodad) worked at the store. Following this, David hired a new resident of the area, Gina (played by Alison Bartlett-O'Reilly) in 1987. This young teenage girl helped David as he himself had helped Mr. Hooper.

Bert was hired to help David in one Sesame Street book. During his employment he accidentally broke a teapot given to David by Mr. Hooper, but was forgiven for the mistake.

Actor Calloway faced health issues in 1989, and left the series.[8] His character moved to a farm, to live with his grandmother. The actor died in 1990.

David's final appearance was the season finale of Season 20 (the birth of Maria and Luis' daughter). Gina continued to work at the store for a couple of years after it was bought out by Mr. Handford. Partway through the 1990s, she got a new job at the local daycare, until she finished college and remained on the show as a veterinarian.

Mr. Handford and Carlo

The enthusiastic Mr. Handford was a new character brought to the show exclusively to run the store, a change from the previous new managements of David and Gina, who started out as characters before store operators. This African-American man was a retired firefighter who bought the store to keep active.

Although Leonard Jackson played him in Season 21, he was then recast and David L. Smyrl took over the role. While Jackson portrayed Mr. Handford as something of a “grumpy old man” with little patience for his friends’ quirks, Smyrl made the character much more cheerful, friendly, and quite young at heart.

In 1991, Sully and Biff tried to hang a picture frame, but one blow from their hammer caused the entire woodwork of the store to fall apart. No one was hurt, but the store was ruined. Mr. Handford considered forgetting about the store, but everyone convinced him that they needed it, so they all pitched in to rebuild it.

A teenager named Carlo (played by Carlo Alban) first appeared in 1993 as one of Gordon’s students. In 1995, he was hired to work at the store.

Mr. Handford and Carlo ran the store until 1998 when the actors left the show. There was no on screen explanation to the characters' departures, though it's been cited that Mr. Handford had sold the store to Alan (played by Alan Muraoka) that year.

Alan

Alan Muraoka joined the cast in 1998, as Alan, the new store owner.[9] Muraoka has commented that his casting was atypical for the role, as most of the previous owners "were older and more grandfather-ish."[10]

In season 35, Natalie was hired by Alan as a replacement while he took a vacation. Big Bird and Baby Bear are initially very anxious of the big change, but Natalie gradually assures them things will be fine. Natalie was played by guest star Natalie Portman. Portman was set to star as Natalie in three episodes in the 2004 season, but due to her losing her voice, Sesame Workshop had to film the other two episodes with Gabi in charge.

In Season 38, Chris Robinson joined Alan in running Mr. Hooper's Store. Chris is played by Chris Knowings, and is the nephew of Gordon and Susan.

A 2009 article about the series described the store as becoming a bodega.[11]

In themed entertainment

Various Sesame Place theme parks have featured the store. Originally at the Pennsylvania location, Mr. Hooper's Store was part of a play area.[12]

Japan's Sesame Place included Mr. Hooper's Store, a gift shop.[13]

For the 50th anniversary of the series, in 2019, an Australian pop-up exhibition of Sesame Street named its gift shop "Hooper's Store."[14]

References

1. Gikow, Louise A. (2009). Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street. Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 67. ISBN 978-1579126384.
2. Gikow, Louise A. (2009). Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street. Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 78. ISBN 978-1579126384.
3. Gikow, Louise A. (2009). Sesame Street: A Celebration of 40 Years of Life on the Street. Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 81. ISBN 978-1579126384.
4. Davis, Michael (2009). Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street. Penguin Books. p. 168. ISBN 978-0143116639.
5. Manning, Anita (12 May 1989). "And baby makes three on 'Sesame Street'". The Daily Journal. Vineland NJ. Gannett News Service. p. 13. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
6. Walsh, Michael (8 August 1985). "TV nest best: watch Big Bird laying an egg". The Province. Vancouver BC. p. 34. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
7. Borgenicht, David (1998). Sesame Street Unpaved: Scripts, Stories, Secrets and Songs. Hyperion Books. p. 124. ISBN 978-0786864607.
8. "N.J. Calloway, veteran of 'Sesame Street'". Arizona Republic. Phoenix AZ. 14 January 1990. p. 37. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
9. "'Sesame Street' timeline spans 30 seasons of prize-winning program". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis IN. 15 January 1999. p. 42. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
10. James, Greg; Fletcher, Duane (June 2007), An Interview with Alan Muraoka, The Muppet Newsflash, archived from the original on 2008-05-17, retrieved 2008-07-02
11. Kahn, Joseph P. (7 November 2009). "Neighbourhood watch". The Boston Globe. Boston MA. p. G15. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
12. "Sunday Outing; Where 'Sesame Street' Comes to Life in Earnest". The New York Times. New York NY. 1 September 1991. p. A50.
13. Mallin, Lorne (14 October 1990). "Tokyo celebrates Sesame Place park". The Province. Vancouver BC. p. 38.
14. "Haven Celebrates 'Sesame Street' with Art Exhibit". LicenseGlobal. New York NY. 30 October 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.