7 Tearjerking TV Sitcom Tributes To Cast Members Who Died
1. Sesame Street (Will Lee - Mr. Hooper)
Oh boy. Having a character die on Sesame Street is comparable to lining up a hundred or so children under the age of 10 and having Harry Potter tell them that Santa Claus doesn't exist. And that he murdered their parents. It's...terrible, basically.
But when Will Lee, the actor who played one of the original (and rare for that time) human characters on Sesame Street, passed on, the show's writers decided it would be a good time to teach its young viewers one of the most unfortunate life lessons of all: That sometimes, even though it doesn't seem fair, people die. Parents were encouraged to watch the episode with their children, to guide them through and answer any questions they had.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxlj4Tk83xQ
There really no words that can adequately describe the scene in which Big Bird tries to comprehend how his friend, Mr. Hooper, will no longer be around to tell him stories. It is one of the most heartrending things ever filmed, and there's a good reason it was never rebroadcast.