FOG BLOG ENTERTAINMENT NEWS LOG: BOB McGRATH OF SESAME ST. SINCE 1969 , DEAD AT 90

BOB McGRATH PICTURED HERE IS ON A FLOAT IN MACY'S THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE IN 2009. Bob McGrath, original cast member on Sesame Street, dead at 90 McGrath played friendly neighbour Bob Johnson when show premiered in 1969 Bob McGrath, an actor, musician and children's author widely known for his portrayal of one of the first regular characters on the children's show Sesame Street, has died at the age of 90.

McGrath's passing was confirmed by his family who posted on his Facebook page on Sunday: "The McGrath family has some sad news to share. Our father Bob McGrath, passed away today. He died peacefully at home, surrounded by his family."

Sesame Workshop tweeted Sunday evening that it "mourns the passing of Bob McGrath, a beloved member of the Sesame Street family for over 50 years."

McGrath was a founding cast member of Sesame Street when the show premiered in 1969, playing a friendly neighbour Bob Johnson. He made his final appearance on the show in 2017, marking an almost five-decade-long figure in the Sesame Street world.

The actor grew up in Illinois and studied music at the University of Michigan and Manhattan School of Music. He also was a singer in the '60s series Sing Along With Mitch and launched a successful singing career overseas in Japan.

'Sesame Street' mainstay Bob McGrath remembered as friendly neighbour in Saskatchewan REGINA — For decades, Saskatchewan received a double dose of love from Bob McGrath.

As one of the original cast members of "Sesame Street," McGrath was known for stealing people's hearts through their television screens.

He later became a legend in another way in Saskatchewan — as a friendly neighbour.

McGrath, 90, died at his home in New Jersey on Sunday surrounded by family.

For nearly 40 years, McGrath was a fixture on the Prairies with Saskatchewan's annual Kinsmen Foundation fundraiser called TeleMiracle, which helps local charities and communities.

"We got to know him on this whole other level," said singer-songwriter Jeffery Straker, who co-hosted the fundraiser with McGrath for 10 years. They also shared a dressing room.

"He loved the idea that there was this telethon where it was these people calling in — not because they had to, but because they wanted to — and they were doing it because they knew they were helping their neighbours and people in their own community," said Straker.

McGrath became Saskatchewan's longest-serving TeleMiracle host after joining in 1977 and retiring in 2015.

"On 'Sesame Street,' we saw him as a fictional character who was living in this fictional land and introducing us to people in the neighbourhood," Straker said.

"On TeleMiracle, he helped us realize that we should help the people in our neighbourhood. It was like this extra helping of this giant heart that he had. He was a double celebrity in Saskatchewan."

Canadian country artist Brad Johner said generations of Saskatchewan children, including his own, learned from McGrath how to give back.

"People all across North America grew up with Bob teaching them how to count and teaching them their ABCs," Johner said.

He worked with McGrath for about 20 years on the telethon.