10 TV Characters They Couldn't Stop Recasting

Gordon Robinson was one of Sesame Street's longest-tenured characters, having appeared in the legendary show's very first episode back in 1969, and only being retired from the series in 2016.

Before Sesame Street went on the air, the role of Gordon was played in the pilot episode by Garrett Saunders, an actor whose identity actually remained unknown until 2011 due to the producers losing casting records.

He was only identified when his family discovered the investigation into the original Gordon's identity and stepped forward.

When Sesame Street went on the air, though, the producers decided to replace Saunders due to being dissatisfied with his performance, and so Gordon was played by Matt Robinson for the series' first three seasons.

Hal Miller then took over for seasons four and five, before PBS finally settled on a permanent Gordon by way of Roscoe Orman.

Orman played Gordon from 1974 to 2016, appearing in more than 400 episodes as the beloved character and so easily cementing himself as the Gordon for literally generations of viewers.

Orman was let go after the decision was made to retool Sesame Street, though he continues to represent the franchise at public events.