Weekly Muppet Wednesdays: Roosevelt Franklin

Today's Weekly Muppet Wednesdays post is written by Michael Wermuth, Jr. If you would like to contribute to Weekly Muppet Wednesdays, email us at muppetmindset@gmail.com

ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN

Performed by...
Matt Robinson (voice only)

First appearance...Sesame Street Season 1 (1969)

Most recent appearance...
Sesame Street Season 7 (1975)

Best known role...
Son, brother, teacher, coach, singer, lover of scat, rhyme, and the blues.

Memorable quote...
"I heard someone call me by both my names. My first name first and my last name second."

WHO IS ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN?
Roosevelt Franklin is an African American Muppet who appeared on Sesame Street throughout its first seven seasons. Many of his early segments paired him with his mother, his younger sister, Mary Frances Franklin, or his younger brother, Baby Ray Franklin. In these early segments, Roosevelt Franklin often sang or recited poetry. Roosevelt and his mother would sing about the alphabet, numbers, bears, and many other things.

In later appearances Roosevelt would appear alongside his friends and classmates, who included Hard Head Henry Harris, Smart Tina, and Baby Bree Boo Bop A Doo. Roosevelt would often act as teacher in the classroom, and it is unknown who or where the actual teacher was. Also of interest is the fact that the school was named Roosevelt Franklin Elementary School. At Roosevelt Franklin Elementary, Roosevelt and his friends enjoyed some raucous fun as Professor Franklin taught about poison, traffic, Africa, and various other subjects.

Not only was Roosevelt Franklin the namesake for the school he went to, but also a sports stadium, where Roosevelt's friends played in a game called Headball, in which they answered questions such as "What is bread made of?"

Roosevelt Franklin was so popular in the early days of Sesame Street that he was the first Muppet character to headline his own album, The Year of Roosevelt Franklin (1971). Although he was extremely popular with audiences, Roosevelt Franklin was eventually dropped from Sesame Street because of concerns over stereotype. Although he was removed from the show, he continued to appear in illustrated books over the years, and also pops up on the occasional piece of retro Sesame Street merchandise.

ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN SONGS

• "Roosevelt Franklin Counts"
• "Roosevelt Franklin's Alphabet"
• "Roosevelt Franklin's Days of the Week"
• "The Safety Boy Blues"
• "Just Because"
• "A Bear Eats Food"
• "Me and You"
• "Old King Midas"

WHY DOES SESAME STREET NEED ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN?
Roosevelt Franklin was a fun character for the viewers to watch, and his cool-ness made him an effective teacher. He was good at rhyming, good at teaching opposites, and good at teaching his classmates. He sometimes taught pride, and was proud of his heritage. If not for concerns over his race he'd probably still be on the show today. He would fit well in today's Sesame Street, where we have songs such as "I Love My Hair" that show pride. Roosevelt would be a great element to return to the Street, especially in today's much more tolerant and accepting society.

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier, muppetmindset@gmail.com

Sesame Street Old School Vol. 2 CD Set Coming in October!

Yesterday our good friends at ToughPigs.com and Muppet Wiki reported that Sesame Street: Old School, Vol. 2 3-CD Set (a follow-up to the set released earlier this year) will be coming on October 26th! The three albums included in Volume 2 include Grover Sings the Blues, The Count Counts, and The Year of Roosevelt Franklin! These are all very awesome albums and their inclusion is also, as they say, awesome. The track listing is as follows...

Grover Sings the Blues 

1. What Do I Do When I'm Alone?
2. Name the Animal
3. Grover Takes a Walk
4. Has Anybody Seen My Dog?
5. Four Furry Friends
6. Still, We Like Each Other
7. I am Blue
8. Two "G"Sounds
9. I Stand Up Straight and Tall
10. The Question Song
11. Over, Under, Around, and Through
12. Just Because
13. Near and Far

The Count Counts

1. Introduction
2. Ladybug's Picnic
3. Counting is Wonderful
4. It's a Lovely Eleven Morning
5. The "15" Commercial
6. Ten Turtles
7. The Count's Weather Report
8. Martian Beauty
9. Numerical Correspondence (Sing a Song of Numbers)
10. Candy Man
11. It's Been a Long, Long Time
12. Alligator King
13. Count it Higher
14. Counting is Wonderful (reprise)
15. Country Six (The Snail Song)
16. Number in the News
17. 1-2-3-4-5!
18. Beep
19. Four Big Lions
20. I Just Adore "4" (from the musical "Two Plus Two")
21. The "3" Song
22. Subtraction Blues
23. Doll House
24. The Song of The Count

The Year of Roosevelt Franklin

1. Roosevelt Franklin Counts
2. Days of the Week
3. Mobity Mosely's Months
4. Keep On Trying
5. The Safety Boy Blues
6. Just Because
7. The Skin I'm In
8. A Bear Eats Food
9. Halfies
10. Me And You
11. Old King Midas
12. Roosevelt Franklin's Alphabet

Keep your eyes peeled for this hugely exciting release from Sesame Workshop!

The Muppet Mindset by Ryan Dosier