Mr. Hooper - Biography

Biography

Mr. Hooper was Jewish, according to Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, when Bob told him to have a Happy Hanukkah when he was dropping off presents to his friends. In true Sesame Street fashion, his religion was irrelevant to most other plots, as characters' differences are generally irrelevant to plot. His heritage was suggested in an episode in which Big Bird inquired about the languages that various members of the community could speak when Mr. Hooper revealed that he was taught to read, write, and speak Yiddish at after-school religious instruction.

For unexplained reasons, Big Bird had trouble saying "Hooper," instead using various words that rhymed with it, such as "Looper," "Cooper," "Grouper," "Blooper," or "Crouper," etc. This led to frequent retorts of "Hooper! Hooper!" from Mr. Hooper or the other adults whenever Big Bird mispronounced his last name. Caroll Spinney recalls on the Sesame Street Unpaved TV special: "He (Will Lee) once said to me 'I will always correct Big Bird because I am proud of being Mr. Hooper.'"

In one episode, circa 1974, Mr. Hooper shows his family album, describing each picture in song, "When I was as little as you are, I worked in my father's store..." He delivered groceries on a "thing called a trolley". He describes the circa-1920 clothes he wore and the games he played, adding that "...there was no such thing as T.V." In another episode, Linda teaches him how to do sign language.

His first name was revealed on the March 15, 1976 episode (#871) when it was shown on the GED he had just earned. However, during the ceremony, the woman announcing the names goofed just as Big Bird would have, identifying him as "Harold Cooper."