Joan Ganz Cooney
Joan Ganz Cooney is a television producer who originated the preschool educational series Sesame StreetSesame StreetSesame Street is an American preschool educational television program produced by the nonprofit Sesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop). It premiered in 1969, is known for its research-based curriculum and its Muppet characters, and has spawned local co-productions in many countries.Open the full entry. She co-founded the Children's Television WorkshopSesame WorkshopSesame Workshop (formerly Children's Television Workshop) is a nonprofit educational media organization based in New York City. Founded by Joan Ganz Cooney and Lloyd Morrisett, it produces Sesame Street and other children's programs and runs early-education projects in many countries.Open the full entry (now Sesame Workshop) with Lloyd MorrisettLloyd MorrisettLloyd Morrisett (1929–2023) was an American experimental psychologist and foundation executive who co-founded the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) with Joan Ganz Cooney and was a co-founder of the children's educational program Sesame Street.Open the full entry and led the organization for many years.
Contents11 sections
Key facts
November 30, 1929Born in Phoenix
1954Moves to New York and Into Television
She attended the University of Arizona and worked as a newspaper reporter after graduating, then moved to New York City in 1954 to write for television.[2]
From 1954 to 1962 she was a publicist for NBCNBCNBC (National Broadcasting Company) is an American national commercial broadcast television network. It was founded by RCA in 1926, began as a radio network and later developed television. With ABC and CBS it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks; it passed to General Electric with RCA in 1986, merged with Universal to form NBCUniversal in 2004, has been controlled by Comcast since 2011, and is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry in New York.[3]
1966Study on Television and Preschool Education
In 1966 Cooney, then a documentary producer at Channel 13, received Carnegie Corporation of New York funding, offered through its vice president Lloyd Morrisett, for a three-month study. She traveled the country interviewing early-learning experts and children’s television producers and wrote The Potential Uses of Television in Preschool Education, which became the blueprint for Sesame Street and the Children's Television Workshop.[4]
1968–2020Leading the Children's Television Workshop
In 1968 she co-founded the Children's Television Workshop with Lloyd Morrisett and served as its president and CEO until 1990; she then chaired the board’s executive committee until 2020, when she was elected a lifetime honorary trustee.[3]
1989Television Academy Hall of Fame
In 1989 she was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.[1]
1995Presidential Medal of Freedom
In 1995 she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.[3]
1998National Women's Hall of Fame
In 1998 she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.[2]
On April 22 and 27 of that year she gave an oral history interview to the Television Academy in New York, conducted by Shirley Wershba, discussing the creation of the Children's Television Workshop and the production of Sesame Street.[5]
2007Founds the Joan Ganz Cooney Center
In 2007 she established the Joan Ganz Cooney Center to explore how children learn from emerging technologies such as smartphones and tablets.[6]
December 8, 2019Accepts the Kennedy Center Honors for Sesame Street
On December 8, 2019, she and Lloyd Morrisett accepted the Kennedy CenterKennedy CenterThe Kennedy Center (John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts) is the national performing arts center in Washington, D.C., designated by Congress in 1964 as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy and opened in 1971; after Donald Trump became chairman of its board in 2025, moves to rename it and close it for renovation became the subject of litigation.Open the full entry Honors on behalf of Sesame Street.[7]
Related Organizations, Websites, and Public Accounts
Sesame Workshop: Official website: https://sesameworkshop.org/ (opens in a new window)[8]
Joan Ganz Cooney Center: Official website: https://joanganzcooneycenter.org/ (opens in a new window)[9]
Sources
- Joan Ganz Cooney | Emmy Awards and Nominations | Television Academy (opens in a new window)
- Cooney, Joan Ganz | Women of the Hall (opens in a new window)
- Joan Ganz Cooney - Sesame Workshop (opens in a new window)
- The Potential Uses of Television in Preschool Education (opens in a new window)
- Joan Ganz Cooney | Television Academy Interviews (opens in a new window)
- A Letter from Joan Ganz Cooney (opens in a new window)
- 'Sesame Street' becomes the first TV show to receive Kennedy Center Honors (opens in a new window)
- About Us - Sesame Workshop (opens in a new window)
- About Us – Joan Ganz Cooney Center (opens in a new window)