The bad news came late last month. The services of Bob, Luis and Gordon would no longer be needed at the hallowed address of Sesame Street.

Actors Bob McGrath, Emilio Delgado and Roscoe Orman were let go, according to news headlines.

HBO, the new television neighborhood in which Sesame Street is now found, was blamed by some. Fans of children’s television, particularly those of a certain age, were disappointed and many took to social media and fan sites to express dismay.

Live actors have long been part of children’s television, Nickelodeon’s Patchy the Pirate notwithstanding.

Howdy Doody had Buffalo Bob. Mickey Mouse had his Mouseketeers, including Annette Funicello and, in a later version, Britney Spears.

There are those who, no doubt, hold fond memories of ventriloquist Shari Lewis and her sock puppet Lamb Chop, and a few of you may recall enjoying bowls of breakfast cereal very early on Saturday mornings in the company of Chief Halftown on WFIL/WPVI-TV, out of Philadelphia, which ran from 1950 to 1999.

There was the children’s show “Romper Room,” a uniquely franchised, rather than syndicated, program that appeared in markets as far flung as Australia, Brazil and Japan, featuring a cast of preschoolers led by a female host as they sang songs, played games and dealt with moral lessons.

Viewers spent time with the likes of Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Green Jeans, Gene London and W. Carter Merbreier, best known as Captain Noah, a beloved local children’s television host who died Aug. 9, at age 90, and was remembered with classic episodes of his program “Captain Noah and His Magical Ark” in a tribute Sunday on 6ABC.

The human touch appears to be taking a back seat to the thrills and ease, it may be said, of technology.

Animation champions like Pixar can create computer-generated characters so empathetic we follow their adventures through the sea and into outer space.

And, on the small screen, who can’t relate to the trials of suburbia presented by programs such as “The Simpsons,” now the longest running show in television history?

Would young viewers relate to a “Doc McStuffins” hosted by the likes of ER doc Travis Stork? Would “Bob the Builder” take construction advice from Bob Villa?

I am not sure; however, may I beg your indulgence in recalling a moment often highlighted as among the most poignant, beloved and the best in children’s television?

When actor Will Lee, who played Mr. Harold Hooper on Sesame Street, died of a heart attack in 1982, his character also died and provided Big Bird, eternally 6 years old and arguably the most famous resident of Sesame Street, to learn about death.

In the episode, Big Bird, a large yellow costumed creature, comes upon the human actors chatting at tables and announces he’s drawn pictures of all his “grown-up friends on Sesame Street.” The characters pass their portraits around, ending with Mr. Hooper. Big Bird is eager to show Mr. Hooper his drawing and gets frustrated and upset when the grown-ups explain Mr. Hooper died and he’s not coming back, ever.

“I don’t understand! Why does it have to be this way?” Big Bird laments.

“It has to be this way. Just because,” an adult says.

That adult is Roscoe Orman’s Gordon.

The scene ends as Gordon, Bob, Luis and others gather around Big Bird in support.

Sesame Street producers received accolades for the episode.

Fast forward to 2016 when the recent reception to reported casting changes garnered more boos than applause for those now in charge at “Sesame Street.”

In the tradition the media savvy among us have come to recognize as backtracking, Sesame Street executives soon walked back the cast changes in a statement beginning, “We apologize for misunderstandings around the changing cast roles” as published in The Washington Post.

According to media reports, actors Delgado, Orman and McGrath have been invited to meet with decision makers on the show “about how they could potentially be included in forthcoming episodes.”

In a television-worthy happy ending, the important human touch may be felt a bit longer in children’s programming.

And maybe Homer Simpson or Elmo will snag a role in an episode of “Game of Thrones.”

April Peterson

editorial assistant

East Penn Press

Salisbury Press