1 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: On June sixteenth, nineteen seventy nine, a plane touched down 2 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:18,320 Speaker 1: in Beijing carrying a group of Americans. This was kind 3 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: of a big deal at the time. Just three months earlier, 4 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,400 Speaker 1: a US embassy had opened in mainland China, the first 5 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:30,200 Speaker 1: since diplomatic relations between the countries had come to a 6 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: screeching halt in the nineteen forties. America and China were 7 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:40,680 Speaker 1: trying to become cordial again. Maybe not besties, but you 8 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: know the kind of acquaintances who can spot each other 9 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: at the same party without finding some excuse to leave. 10 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: A lot was riding on this plane and the Americans 11 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:56,040 Speaker 1: on it. After they landed, the group got their passports 12 00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: stamped and a Chinese chauffeur drove them to their hotel. 13 00:01:00,080 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: Hell They settled in and got to see the sites 14 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: nearby Tianaman Square, the Forbidden City. So few Americans had 15 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:13,040 Speaker 1: this kind of access to the heart of China. They 16 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:17,559 Speaker 1: took it all in, but they noticed something felt off. 17 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:21,720 Speaker 2: From the moment we arrived there, we were under such 18 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 2: suspicion and surveillance. 19 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:28,040 Speaker 1: That's Bob, one of the Americans on the trip. 20 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 2: After we were there for a week, we're in the 21 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 2: limo or Chinese limo they had assigned us. 22 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:39,200 Speaker 1: Bob says one of his colleagues in the limo felt 23 00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: that chilling sensation two that everywhere they went someone was 24 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:45,840 Speaker 1: watching them. 25 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:48,400 Speaker 2: Plead silver and he says, we have to be careful 26 00:01:48,440 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 2: what we say. And I said, what do you mean? 27 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,720 Speaker 2: He said, I think this car is bugged. He's whispering, 28 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:58,960 Speaker 2: you know. He says, be very careful, and anything important 29 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 2: will be outside when we talk, and not in the 30 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 2: car or in our rooms. 31 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:11,200 Speaker 1: It was uncomfortable, sure, but not entirely unexpected. They were Americans, 32 00:02:11,280 --> 00:02:15,320 Speaker 1: after all, in a country that was still under authoritarian 33 00:02:15,480 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: rule and had a long legacy as a violent police state. 34 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: But what made it all especially odd was that these 35 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: American visitors weren't esteemed diplomats. They weren't politicians or CIA operatives. 36 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: They didn't even work for the government. They were comedians. 37 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 2: We, of course, are in the laughter business. It's pure 38 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,120 Speaker 2: and simple. We find humor and things. 39 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: Bob's full name is Bob Mills. He was a TV 40 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: writer there with an American crew to film a comedy 41 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:56,360 Speaker 1: special with that colleague of his who'd warned him about 42 00:02:56,440 --> 00:03:01,519 Speaker 1: surveillance in the Limo, and that colleague was the legendary 43 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,680 Speaker 1: comedian Bob Hope. In the US, Bob Hope was a 44 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:11,160 Speaker 1: household name. Over the course of his career. He starred 45 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:17,240 Speaker 1: in almost three hundred TV specials, hosted the Oscars nineteen times, 46 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:21,560 Speaker 1: and performed for thousands of American troops. 47 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:22,679 Speaker 3: Ladies and gentlemen. 48 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 4: Mister Bob Hope, I want to tell you, I hope 49 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 4: you all saved your ticket, Stubbs, because we're rewarding the 50 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 4: Oscars by number tonight. 51 00:03:31,480 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: But in China he was unknown and filming a comedy 52 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: special where he'd have to integrate himself into the culture, 53 00:03:40,720 --> 00:03:44,559 Speaker 1: meet the locals, and share what he saw with Americans 54 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: back home under a famously secretive regime. Was no small task. 55 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: But he wasn't doing it alone because there was another 56 00:03:54,920 --> 00:04:00,360 Speaker 1: American traveling around China with our Bobs there Piast Resistance, 57 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: a cultural ambassador like no other. Height eight feet two inches, 58 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:10,680 Speaker 1: Home address one twenty three and a half Sesame Street. 59 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 5: Thankala, me Me, me me. 60 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: That's right. At one of the most delicate times for 61 00:04:24,480 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 1: international relations, the United States sent Bob Hope to China 62 00:04:29,880 --> 00:04:35,160 Speaker 1: with the ultimate wingman, Big Bird, and the two would 63 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: play a surprisingly influential role in bridging a massive cultural divide. 64 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:50,839 Speaker 1: Welcome to very special episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm 65 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: your host Danish Schwartz. And this is Big Bird Goes 66 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: to China. 67 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:03,279 Speaker 3: Welcome back Danish Swartz. He's Aaron Burnett. I am Jason English. 68 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 3: I have to say I'm a former season pass holder 69 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 3: at Tesame Place, the theme park in Langhorn, Pennsylvania. 70 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: Are you really? 71 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,480 Speaker 6: Oh yeah, really, it's lapsed. It's lapped. 72 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 3: But for a time that was the most impressive thing 73 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:16,880 Speaker 3: about me. 74 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:20,120 Speaker 1: This is embarrassing because I didn't even know that existed. 75 00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 3: Wow, we got to get the word out more because 76 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:28,320 Speaker 3: sis Langhorn. It is not exactly Orlando or Anaheim. But 77 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 3: to be in the theme park hub in the northeast. 78 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: What any one of these days? 79 00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 3: Could I give you a few Sesame Street facts that 80 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 3: only an insider like myself? 81 00:05:36,680 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 2: Please? 82 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:38,799 Speaker 6: I love the insider information. 83 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 3: Okay, Oscar the Grouch famously green originally orange? Really it's 84 00:05:45,839 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 3: like the Muppet multiverse? 85 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: Is he green because of all the goo and the trash? 86 00:05:50,200 --> 00:05:50,960 Speaker 1: Is that the whole thing? 87 00:05:51,160 --> 00:05:54,600 Speaker 3: He started orange? Jim Henson decided after the first year 88 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,279 Speaker 3: he should be green. They rode it into the show 89 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 3: that he went to some swamp and came back, so 90 00:06:01,680 --> 00:06:03,359 Speaker 3: he has a transformation. 91 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:06,720 Speaker 1: So he's canonically he's still orange. He's just orange underneath 92 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: green or swampy. 93 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:13,200 Speaker 3: Big Bird's friend snuffle up Aguess. We all know I 94 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:18,960 Speaker 3: loved Snuffy my first name. What I guesses, uh, Edward 95 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:25,919 Speaker 3: Barnaby pretty close, Aloysious, Aloysious, snuffle up AGAs. 96 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,359 Speaker 6: Alious love the name. I used to tell people that 97 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 6: was my name. 98 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,200 Speaker 1: Wow, Aloisious. I feel like I missed out. I didn't 99 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: get this before I named my baby. That should have 100 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: been on the list. 101 00:06:37,480 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 3: That's a great one's classical name, good nickname. At Mental Floss, 102 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:43,640 Speaker 3: we used to have a pop culture spelling bee at 103 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:46,240 Speaker 3: our live events and snuffle Up, I guess used to 104 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 3: get a lot of people out. 105 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:49,720 Speaker 6: So, oh yeah, I don't think I got close. 106 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: I don't think I could nail it at all. Spelling 107 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,200 Speaker 1: was my worst thing in school s. 108 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:56,000 Speaker 6: And U F F l. 109 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 3: Full You be a gus? 110 00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 4: Is it? 111 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:06,080 Speaker 7: Snuffle up ugus? Yeah, there's a lump in there. Okay, 112 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 7: That's how I'm gonna remember right now. 113 00:07:07,800 --> 00:07:08,320 Speaker 6: One more. 114 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,440 Speaker 3: I think we should do a whole episode about this story. 115 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:14,520 Speaker 3: I got this on Snopes in nineteen ninety one, not 116 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:18,800 Speaker 3: long after Jim Henson had died, A student convinced graduating 117 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,320 Speaker 3: seniors at Pinkerton Academy in New Hampshire that they should 118 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:26,240 Speaker 3: all write save Ernie on their hats. And the newspaper 119 00:07:26,280 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 3: took the photo and ran with it, and it became 120 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:31,960 Speaker 3: a story that dissessinme workshop was going to kill off 121 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 3: Ernie to talk about the death of Jim Henson before 122 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:39,840 Speaker 3: outraged talk radio calls. And so they had to put 123 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:41,760 Speaker 3: out a statement say, we have no plans to kill you. 124 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: Never planned to kill Herdy. 125 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 6: That's amazing. 126 00:07:45,080 --> 00:07:51,160 Speaker 1: What a prank. Let me take you back to nineteen 127 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: forty nine, thirty years before Bob Hope goes to China 128 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 1: with his film crew, his writers, and his secret weapon. 129 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: After a bitter civil war, the Chinese Communist Party, led 130 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 1: by Mao Zedong took control of mainland China. The US 131 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: didn't love it. The Cold War was underway and the 132 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: spread of Communism was seen as a threat. The US 133 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: soon removed their embassy and had no ties with Mao's government. 134 00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:27,520 Speaker 1: International conflict raged on. There was the arms race, the 135 00:08:27,600 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: space race, the Red Scare, the Korean War, and the 136 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:36,280 Speaker 1: Vietnam War. Through all this, relations between the US and 137 00:08:36,600 --> 00:08:41,520 Speaker 1: China were icy, but things started to thaw when Richard 138 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,319 Speaker 1: Nixon came into office. Nixon wanted to drive a wedge 139 00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:51,320 Speaker 1: between China and the Soviets, so he basically slid into 140 00:08:51,480 --> 00:08:56,440 Speaker 1: China's DMS. In nineteen seventy two, he made his historic 141 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: trip to the country. Very important document, men's get signed, 142 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 1: very important hands get shaken, and a very important step 143 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: is taken toward diplomacy. It takes some time, but seven 144 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,760 Speaker 1: years later, in nineteen seventy nine, the US reopens an 145 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:21,440 Speaker 1: embassy on the mainland. Bob Hope sees an opportunity with 146 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: relations between the US and China grid official again. He 147 00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: knows he has to go. 148 00:09:28,400 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 2: Why ratings, television ratings. The whole country is wondering China. 149 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 2: We know something about it, but not much so just 150 00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 2: pure ratings. That's what he lived for. 151 00:09:45,600 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: That's Bob Mills again, Hope's writer tasked with helping to 152 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 1: show Americans a piece of China and bring a slice 153 00:09:54,120 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: of American comedy to China. In turn, this was a 154 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:01,559 Speaker 1: chance for a television goal with China. 155 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:05,800 Speaker 2: Nobody knew what was going on there, ever, I mean, 156 00:10:05,800 --> 00:10:09,720 Speaker 2: it was so secretive, and we were the first to 157 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:14,640 Speaker 2: show them up close what these things looked like, and 158 00:10:14,679 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 2: how the Chinese spoke, and what they sounded like, and 159 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 2: what they laughed at. 160 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,920 Speaker 1: This trip wasn't Hope's first stab at bringing the world 161 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: to American's TV screens. In nineteen fifty eight, he went 162 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:34,199 Speaker 1: on a State Department sponsored trip to Moscow. He made 163 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:39,280 Speaker 1: a special that one critic credited with penetrating the Iron Curtain. 164 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:43,839 Speaker 1: He gave viewers glimpses of American troops at an air 165 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 1: base in Vietnam and on a remote island in the 166 00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:54,080 Speaker 1: Indian Ocean. Hope was once called America's most prized ambassador 167 00:10:54,160 --> 00:10:58,280 Speaker 1: of goodwill throughout the world. But for Hope to get 168 00:10:58,280 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: to China, he had to get letters of support from 169 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: two former presidents and a former Secretary of State. Nothing 170 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,720 Speaker 1: like getting Henry Kissinger's blessing before you can go tell 171 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: some jokes. The situation was delicate, but in June of 172 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:21,560 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, Chinese officials crossed the t's and dotted 173 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:26,160 Speaker 1: the eyes on Hope's contract within seventy two hours of 174 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: the trip, getting approved, Hope touched down and started work 175 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 1: on Bob Hope on the Road to China. 176 00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:38,840 Speaker 5: Hey, this is it Peaking China amazing? Just ten years ago, 177 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:41,720 Speaker 5: who would have reaped an American comedian would be standing 178 00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:45,080 Speaker 5: here in Tiana Men Square saying whatever he please and 179 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:49,840 Speaker 5: photographing anything you please. This fast moving world, radical changes 180 00:11:49,880 --> 00:11:52,559 Speaker 5: can occur overnight. I guess that's what this trip is 181 00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 5: all about, getting to know each other, talking and laughing 182 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 5: and singing and dancing together the way good friends should. 183 00:12:00,600 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: Hope plays the part of tour guide, a singing, dancing, 184 00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:09,719 Speaker 1: wise cracking American navigating a new place. He performs his 185 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,680 Speaker 1: own musical number on the Great Wall, challenges some kids 186 00:12:13,679 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 1: to ping pong, and shows us some tai chi. It's charming, 187 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:22,360 Speaker 1: but not all of it. Lands Critics pointed out how 188 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: it tended to rely on cliches of Chinese culture and 189 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: how it felt deeply American. For better and for worse, 190 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,520 Speaker 1: every street corner was the setup for a potential bit. 191 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: Every historical site in unwitting stage. 192 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,360 Speaker 4: Our first stop is the Temple of Heaven, which was 193 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,480 Speaker 4: built in fourteen twenty was used by the emperors as 194 00:12:48,480 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 4: an order on which to seek Heaven's blessings for events 195 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,480 Speaker 4: to come. One event they never anticipated was the impairs 196 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:56,920 Speaker 4: one day of a harmonious prayer, Who will bring the 197 00:12:56,960 --> 00:13:06,079 Speaker 4: blessings of disco to these beautiful surroundings? Peaches and Her. 198 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,240 Speaker 1: Hope pulled out all the stops. He rolled out the 199 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: red carpet for celebrities like disco duo Peaches and Herb, 200 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,840 Speaker 1: country star Crystal Gale, and ballet performer Mikhail Barishnikov, and 201 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: of course Big Bird. 202 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:26,400 Speaker 2: Hope knew that he had to bring people who could 203 00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:30,959 Speaker 2: defy the language barrier, and that's why Big Burden was there. 204 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:33,360 Speaker 1: Look, we still have this audience. 205 00:13:33,520 --> 00:13:35,960 Speaker 8: Maybe I could do a show for him right now myself. 206 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 4: Here I am with Big Bird, leaving the Peaking Hotel 207 00:13:39,120 --> 00:13:41,600 Speaker 4: for a strode on the main rag Cheang Road. 208 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,520 Speaker 1: By the time A. Hope made his trip to China, 209 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:53,560 Speaker 1: Big Bird was already a fixture in US households. Sesame 210 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: Street had been on the air for a decade, and 211 00:13:56,520 --> 00:14:02,040 Speaker 1: it represented a radical shift in children programming. Big Bird 212 00:14:02,080 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: and his Muppet friends lived on a fictional block in 213 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:10,719 Speaker 1: New York that took after working class neighborhoods like Harlem. 214 00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:13,920 Speaker 1: He was part of the Sesame Street Gang from day 215 00:14:14,080 --> 00:14:19,160 Speaker 1: one thanks to a puppeteer named Carol Spinney. Spinny was 216 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,960 Speaker 1: Big Bird. He invented the character, giving Big Bird the 217 00:14:23,120 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 1: personality of a gregarious six year old kid, and he'd 218 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:31,080 Speaker 1: perform as Big Bird for almost half a century. 219 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:33,520 Speaker 9: I just feel that I'm one of the luckiest birds 220 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 9: in the world. 221 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:36,000 Speaker 3: Now I'm an old bird myself. 222 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:38,840 Speaker 1: But am I thinking of retiring. 223 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:40,280 Speaker 3: I don't think I want to. 224 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 9: As long as I can hold my head up this high, 225 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:50,440 Speaker 9: I want to continue. Carol was just this very effusive friendly. 226 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 9: Of course, he was a great artist. 227 00:14:53,280 --> 00:14:57,640 Speaker 1: That's Brian Mehal. He's a puppeteer who worked alongside Spinney 228 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 1: for a number of years. A hardcore Sesame fan, you 229 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,440 Speaker 1: might know Meal as the lively orange and white sheep 230 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:06,680 Speaker 1: dog Barkley. 231 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 9: His only speaking voice was woo and woo. He had 232 00:15:13,320 --> 00:15:17,080 Speaker 9: to express everything the way a dog would, and Big 233 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 9: Bird were really good buddies like Barkley. 234 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: Big Bird is a body puppet, not a hand puppet. 235 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: To become Barkley, Meal would get on all fours with 236 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:34,040 Speaker 1: his arms on stilts. To become Big Bird. Spinney would 237 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: step into orange pants and three toed slippers, then a 238 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:43,480 Speaker 1: helper would hoist the puppet's body, covered in four thousand 239 00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:48,720 Speaker 1: yellow feathers over his head. Spinney's human head reached Big 240 00:15:48,760 --> 00:15:52,600 Speaker 1: Bird's chest, so to operate the bird head he had 241 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:55,840 Speaker 1: to hold his right arm straight up and use his 242 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:59,400 Speaker 1: hand to move Big Bird's mouth as he spoke, all 243 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:03,120 Speaker 1: while keep his pinky finger pointed so it could maneuver 244 00:16:03,200 --> 00:16:06,760 Speaker 1: the puppet's eyelids. The best way to gauge his own 245 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,560 Speaker 1: movement was by looking at a monitor inside the puppet. 246 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: It showed the director's view of the scene. Spinny would 247 00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:19,080 Speaker 1: read from a script pinned inside the costume. Being Big 248 00:16:19,080 --> 00:16:22,520 Speaker 1: Bird was an art, but it also might as well 249 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 1: have been an Olympic sport. 250 00:16:25,000 --> 00:16:27,960 Speaker 9: Carol was incredible in that costume. I mean he'd rollerskate 251 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 9: in it. He did all sorts of things in that costume. 252 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,240 Speaker 9: It was definite a good workout for his arm. He 253 00:16:34,280 --> 00:16:37,080 Speaker 9: always did a beautiful job for many, many, many years. 254 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:44,280 Speaker 1: Any joy or wonder that Big Bird inspired through TV 255 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:50,400 Speaker 1: screens was absolutely earned. He was a towering, warm, awe 256 00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: inspiring presence, a puppet with the heart of a kid 257 00:16:54,720 --> 00:16:59,720 Speaker 1: and the movements of a trained professional. So just imagine 258 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: it you're a kid going about your day in Beijing. 259 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:07,880 Speaker 1: You've never seen this character on TV. And then all 260 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:13,520 Speaker 1: of a sudden, there he is, thousands of yellow feathers, expressive, 261 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: childlike inviting and walking down the street with a film 262 00:17:18,359 --> 00:17:22,679 Speaker 1: crew and a random white dude. Here's Bob Mills again. 263 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 2: Since the kids saw what this was, language went out 264 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,880 Speaker 2: the window. It doesn't matter what the bird is called. 265 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 2: Or you look at Big Bird and kids are gonna 266 00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 2: love that character. 267 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: With his beak reaching far above any crowd, Big Bird 268 00:17:43,280 --> 00:17:46,560 Speaker 1: was easy to spot as Hope, Spinny and the rest 269 00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: of the team filmed in popular locations across the city, 270 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:53,719 Speaker 1: kids and their parents following along. 271 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:56,920 Speaker 2: They were just appear out of nowhere. The word would 272 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 2: spread and tnon Men Square. They had that big riot. 273 00:18:01,440 --> 00:18:04,159 Speaker 2: You know, it's a huge square. I mean it's like 274 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 2: eight football fields all connected together, and we almost fill 275 00:18:09,600 --> 00:18:12,639 Speaker 2: that thing up with kids because he's come out of 276 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:16,639 Speaker 2: the woodwork, you know, to see what this Big Bird was. 277 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: Spinny got a kick out of these crowds. The Chinese 278 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: police not so much. 279 00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 2: You could see all kinds of guys in suits watching you. 280 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:33,600 Speaker 2: A secret service everywhere the authorities are very aware of 281 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 2: control and where people go and how they move around 282 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:42,040 Speaker 2: and stuff, and once something like that happens, they get 283 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:42,880 Speaker 2: very nervous. 284 00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: Spinny had agreed not to walk around in his costume 285 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: unless they were rolling cameras. Chinese authorities also kept tabs 286 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:56,919 Speaker 1: on what Hope's team filmed. They ordered Hope to hand 287 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,840 Speaker 1: over the reels of a performance at the Democra Wall, 288 00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:05,680 Speaker 1: a relatively new landmark where Chinese people could freely pin 289 00:19:05,880 --> 00:19:10,880 Speaker 1: up posters sharing their ideas and political beliefs. The wall 290 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:14,320 Speaker 1: would stay up for about a year before the government 291 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,639 Speaker 1: shut it down. Hope's bit in front of the wall 292 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:21,920 Speaker 1: riffed on a man who was complaining about the city's 293 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:24,880 Speaker 1: traffic and pollution, and Hope. 294 00:19:24,680 --> 00:19:28,360 Speaker 2: Says, boy, thin king sounds terrible. He says, Oh, I'm 295 00:19:28,359 --> 00:19:32,600 Speaker 2: I'm from Beking. I'm from Passaic, New Jersey. That was 296 00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:33,880 Speaker 2: the Joe right. 297 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: It's not the most clever joke in the world, and 298 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:42,480 Speaker 1: it's innocent enough, but Chinese authorities said the clip had 299 00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,840 Speaker 1: to go. When it was all said and done, Hope 300 00:19:45,960 --> 00:19:48,880 Speaker 1: and his team had filmed in China for a month 301 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:56,159 Speaker 1: before packing up and heading back home. The special generated 302 00:19:56,240 --> 00:20:01,080 Speaker 1: a huge amount of hype before even airing. On July fifth, 303 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:05,040 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine, a photo of Big Bird, Bob Hope 304 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:08,719 Speaker 1: and a crowd in Beijing was splashed on the front 305 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,159 Speaker 1: page of the New York Times, and on September sixteenth, 306 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:17,080 Speaker 1: three months after touching down on that plane in Beijing, 307 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:21,760 Speaker 1: Bob Hope on the Road to China aired on NBC. 308 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:24,119 Speaker 3: Our Table set with China. 309 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:27,680 Speaker 1: So let's all Hope's Journey to China may have ended, 310 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:42,560 Speaker 1: but Big Birds was just beginning. Welcome On. Around the 311 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:46,640 Speaker 1: time of Bob Hope's special China was entering a new 312 00:20:46,720 --> 00:20:51,600 Speaker 1: era of foreign policy. Mao Zedong's decades long rule ended 313 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: with his death in nineteen seventy six. New leadership took 314 00:20:56,080 --> 00:21:00,200 Speaker 1: up the reins and sought to jumpstart the country's economy, 315 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:06,120 Speaker 1: encourage foreign trade, and open up society. Before nineteen seventy eight, 316 00:21:06,200 --> 00:21:11,040 Speaker 1: you could characterize television in China as pure state propaganda. 317 00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 1: You had a few hours of government broadcasts in the evenings, 318 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,560 Speaker 1: some images of Chairman Mao over the national anthem. The 319 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:24,760 Speaker 1: occasional state sanctioned communist opera, but new laws passed in 320 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: seventy eight ended the Communist Party's monopoly over the media. 321 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:34,080 Speaker 1: All of a sudden, TV stations could develop new programs 322 00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:38,200 Speaker 1: and appeal to broader audiences. More people at home were 323 00:21:38,240 --> 00:21:43,880 Speaker 1: watching dramas and love stories, but politicians still heavily censored 324 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: non state TV. The vast majority of people lived below 325 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: the poverty line and in rural areas where it's uncommon 326 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: to have a TV. Despite all this, there was something 327 00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:00,600 Speaker 1: pulling Carol Spinney back. When he got home to New York. 328 00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:04,760 Speaker 1: He had an idea Big Bird should return to China 329 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,639 Speaker 1: and star in a second TV special, Now Where Have 330 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: You Been? Spinney's desire to go back to China was 331 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:18,760 Speaker 1: pretty different from Hope's original mission. Spinney fell in love 332 00:22:18,840 --> 00:22:22,240 Speaker 1: with China and its people on his first trip, and 333 00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: he wanted to feel that magic again. Big Bird seemed 334 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,760 Speaker 1: like his best bet for booking a return flight, so 335 00:22:29,960 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: he pitched the idea to Sesame Street Brass, who ran 336 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:37,600 Speaker 1: with it. It took three years, but in nineteen eighty two, 337 00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 1: another flight with American entertainers landed in Beijing, and this 338 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,240 Speaker 1: time Big Bird was calling the shots. 339 00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,800 Speaker 9: I have a copy of the original pre shooting scripts. 340 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,040 Speaker 9: It's Courier font and I think the draft is April 341 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,480 Speaker 9: fourteenth nineteen eighty two. 342 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,159 Speaker 1: That's Brian Meal again. He's the puppeteer who played to 343 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:02,520 Speaker 1: Big Bird's canine friend Berkley. 344 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,280 Speaker 9: I was all in just about anything related to muppets 345 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:08,800 Speaker 9: at that point, so it was a great opportunity and 346 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 9: I just jumped at it. 347 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,120 Speaker 1: Instead of starting in the streets of Beijing, this new 348 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:19,640 Speaker 1: special begins in Big Bird's hometown, New York City. Alongside Berkley, 349 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:23,240 Speaker 1: he visits Chinatown to see a scroll in a shop 350 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 1: keeper storefront with the drawing of a beautiful bird, the 351 00:23:27,520 --> 00:23:32,160 Speaker 1: Chinese Phoenix. It's a legendary bird known as the Empress 352 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,359 Speaker 1: of the Southern Skies. Big Bird can't stop thinking about 353 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,200 Speaker 1: the Phoenix, but the only way to track her down 354 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:41,720 Speaker 1: is to follow the instructions on the scroll. 355 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,520 Speaker 8: And I guess that scroll is very old and valuable, right, 356 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,600 Speaker 8: Yes it is. And there isn't much chance you'd lend it. 357 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:49,680 Speaker 1: To a bird, is there? 358 00:23:50,440 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 2: Not much? 359 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:54,040 Speaker 8: Chants even a bird who promised to take extra good 360 00:23:54,080 --> 00:23:56,680 Speaker 8: care of it and not get it dirty or anything. 361 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,840 Speaker 8: A bird who only wants to find the Phoenix bird 362 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 8: so that you can tell her that American birds think 363 00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:06,080 Speaker 8: that Chinese birds are just swell a Bird, who would 364 00:24:06,080 --> 00:24:09,239 Speaker 8: guard it with his very life, and whose mission to 365 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,479 Speaker 8: find the Phoenix just might be the biggest step forward 366 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:17,159 Speaker 8: in the friendship between China and America that the world already. 367 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:21,800 Speaker 1: It's pretty on the nose. Big Bird and Barkley pack 368 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,520 Speaker 1: their bags, head to China and go on a sightseeing tour. 369 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:29,760 Speaker 1: Eventually they end up at a school where they befriend Shufu, 370 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: a six year old girl played by U Yang Linzi, 371 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,760 Speaker 1: who helps Big Bird and Barkley on their quest. Maybe 372 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:43,120 Speaker 1: I could help you. Could I speak English? Well, then 373 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:49,359 Speaker 1: you can help us cool from not on tier after school. Yes, 374 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:54,639 Speaker 1: it is pretty adorable, but behind the scenes making this 375 00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,959 Speaker 1: new friendship between Big Bird, Barkley and Chofu look seamless 376 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:01,040 Speaker 1: wasn't all so smooth. 377 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:04,200 Speaker 9: It was pretty stressful at times. You know, some days 378 00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:04,840 Speaker 9: are really. 379 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 1: Tough, Brian says. Their translators doubled as informants and tried 380 00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:14,360 Speaker 1: to control where and what they could film. The country 381 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 1: was so poor at the time that the food was 382 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: usually unspiced and totally bland. The cast and crew got 383 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,639 Speaker 1: worn out and struggled to recharge. Carol Spinney carried a 384 00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 1: suitcase around full of peanut butter and crackers to eat, 385 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:35,439 Speaker 1: and said, one windy day, grains of sand and dust 386 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: from the Gobi desert got into the table. 387 00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:41,040 Speaker 9: We lost an entire day of shooting. 388 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,320 Speaker 1: Another time, Brian and Carol had to take a tiny 389 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: boat down a flooded river, all while in their Muppet costumes. 390 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:53,639 Speaker 1: Brian had to stuff his costume with kid floaties. 391 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:56,760 Speaker 9: I knew that if I fell out of that boat 392 00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,520 Speaker 9: in the Barkley costume, I was going to sink like 393 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,080 Speaker 9: a stone. 394 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,920 Speaker 1: All of this happened over the span of three weeks. 395 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 1: Meil talks about it like a war vet in the 396 00:26:08,119 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: trenches with his crew in arms. 397 00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,439 Speaker 9: I think Carol and I, you know, we've been in 398 00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:15,639 Speaker 9: combat together, brother. 399 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 1: But talking to him, you get the sense that there 400 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:23,399 Speaker 1: was something really special at the heart of this. Meil, 401 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:27,600 Speaker 1: Spinny and Uyang were a group of unlikely friends on 402 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:32,560 Speaker 1: a journey to find something familiar. That feeling drove the 403 00:26:32,600 --> 00:26:36,960 Speaker 1: whole production. It was the feeling that motivated Spinny to 404 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:41,240 Speaker 1: pitch it to begin with, and the experience had echoes 405 00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 1: of Bob Hope's time with Big Bird in Beijing. Wherever 406 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:49,840 Speaker 1: Big Bird went, people followed, they connected with him. 407 00:26:50,440 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 9: We always had a huge group of people that just 408 00:26:53,880 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 9: saw what was going on and came and watched. They 409 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 9: just were laughing and having a great time. And there's 410 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:07,680 Speaker 9: a universal message there. When kids meet muppets and they 411 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:13,399 Speaker 9: see different species, different colors, different attitudes, they see this 412 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:19,760 Speaker 9: huge range welcoming something that's completely different from themselves, and 413 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 9: that ability to embrace and enjoy those kind of differences. 414 00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,400 Speaker 9: That's probably the ultimate diplomacy of muppets. 415 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:33,200 Speaker 1: Berkley, Big Bird, and Shufu eventually do find the Phoenix, 416 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 1: but when they stand in front of her, Big Bird 417 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: realizes he doesn't have so many questions for her anymore. 418 00:27:40,320 --> 00:27:44,679 Speaker 1: He's learned about China by seeing it himself, by meeting 419 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,399 Speaker 1: a new friend. The Phoenix tells Big Bird that in fact, 420 00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:51,840 Speaker 1: she had planned it that way all along. In the 421 00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:55,760 Speaker 1: final scene, the trio walks along the Great Wall as 422 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,720 Speaker 1: the camera pans out to show them as small specs 423 00:27:59,760 --> 00:28:05,000 Speaker 1: again against a breathtaking landscape. The last words before the 424 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 1: credits are from Chauffeu, I love you week. But in 425 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:24,920 Speaker 1: a nineteen eighty three article in The Washington Post, Pulitzer 426 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: Prize winning film critic Tom Shales wrote. 427 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,880 Speaker 10: Ronald Reagan has never been to China, but Big Bird 428 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 10: has been there twice. By now, some of the Chinese 429 00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:36,560 Speaker 10: may think Big Bird as President of the United States, 430 00:28:37,240 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 10: or at least a semi official State Department emissary, a 431 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:41,680 Speaker 10: muppet without portfolio. 432 00:28:42,800 --> 00:28:46,920 Speaker 1: The special was celebrated for building a bridge across cultures, 433 00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:51,120 Speaker 1: from filming with a Chinese co star to collaborating with 434 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:55,760 Speaker 1: a Chinese production crew and engaging local children. It won 435 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:01,280 Speaker 1: the nineteen eighty three Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program. Across 436 00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:05,280 Speaker 1: the US, viewers got another glimpse of China in their 437 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 1: homes and in China, a dubbed version aired on the 438 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:13,960 Speaker 1: National Broadcaster. It didn't reach as many kids as it 439 00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:17,200 Speaker 1: did in the US, but one still remembers it to 440 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:17,760 Speaker 1: this day. 441 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:22,760 Speaker 11: Da yaha, what I mean, toumi a jung Shanghai. 442 00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,120 Speaker 1: That's Zuming, he. 443 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,520 Speaker 12: Said, Hi everyone, my name is Chu Ming, and I 444 00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 12: call from Shanghai, China today. 445 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:35,640 Speaker 1: And that's Yishiao Ren, our translator regular one. 446 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,000 Speaker 12: That time, when I watched the Baker in China, it 447 00:29:40,240 --> 00:29:44,520 Speaker 12: brought me an extraordinary, beautiful childhood memory. 448 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:48,520 Speaker 1: Chu Ming says he saw the special in Shanghai when 449 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 1: he was about thirteen years old. He's almost fifty now 450 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:55,760 Speaker 1: and he's lived in Shanghai his whole life. If you 451 00:29:55,800 --> 00:29:59,320 Speaker 1: ask him about how the city was then compared to now, 452 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:03,360 Speaker 1: he'll point out little things. He says the streets were 453 00:30:03,480 --> 00:30:08,040 Speaker 1: much narrower, that people mostly biked instead of drove, that 454 00:30:08,120 --> 00:30:11,520 Speaker 1: there were markets to shop at, but not every block 455 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:15,600 Speaker 1: was lined with stores like they are now. Life was simple. 456 00:30:16,360 --> 00:30:19,600 Speaker 1: One day after school, Chuming and his cousin turned on 457 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:23,440 Speaker 1: the TV in his parents' living room, but instead of 458 00:30:23,480 --> 00:30:29,120 Speaker 1: the regular children's programming, everybody, this is the Great Wall 459 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:29,880 Speaker 1: of China. 460 00:30:32,760 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 12: I did not know that a bird could be this big, 461 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,520 Speaker 12: and I thought it was real, Like I thought it 462 00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 12: was a real bird, and we were talking like it 463 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 12: was so amazing. 464 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,600 Speaker 1: They were actually watching a rerun of Big Bird in China. 465 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't dubbed in Chinese either, It was the original 466 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 1: English language version, and no yellow feathers on our main character. 467 00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:01,120 Speaker 1: Their TV was in black and white. Dragged his uncle 468 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:03,960 Speaker 1: into the living room at one point to help translate 469 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,320 Speaker 1: the English. But even in gray scale and in a 470 00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:18,160 Speaker 1: foreign language, Juman was hooked. 471 00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:16,440 Speaker 12: And we saw it for the first time. All our 472 00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:20,960 Speaker 12: attention was really really drowned to The Big Bird. My 473 00:31:21,080 --> 00:31:26,080 Speaker 12: cousin and I we constantly argued about if The Big 474 00:31:26,120 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 12: Bird was for real or like someone was performing it. 475 00:31:30,560 --> 00:31:34,520 Speaker 12: In our impression, America was like a developed country with 476 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:37,920 Speaker 12: high techniques, so we were even talking about if The 477 00:31:37,960 --> 00:31:43,200 Speaker 12: Big Bird was performed by robots. But I just could 478 00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 12: not explain how it could be performed. How would a 479 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,080 Speaker 12: human character perform this Big Bird? 480 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: If Carol Spinney, the quote human character performing This Big 481 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:00,680 Speaker 1: Bird had one goal, It was to connect with young 482 00:32:00,760 --> 00:32:04,320 Speaker 1: people in China through his character, the same way he 483 00:32:04,360 --> 00:32:08,440 Speaker 1: did with viewers in America. Young people like Schu Ming, 484 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:12,520 Speaker 1: a kid who grew up in Shanghai who happened to 485 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: turn on the TV and see a new exciting character 486 00:32:16,800 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: in his family's living room. It was this cool domino effect. 487 00:32:21,520 --> 00:32:25,959 Speaker 1: Comedian goes to China for the ratings, big hearted puppeteer 488 00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:31,160 Speaker 1: goes back for the kids. But the dominoes don't stop there. 489 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:35,240 Speaker 1: If Big Bird really wanted to make an impact, he'd 490 00:32:35,280 --> 00:32:38,280 Speaker 1: have to relocate Jim j. 491 00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:51,560 Speaker 12: Yr Posa, Lanza ay Yeo, Wantza. 492 00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:05,040 Speaker 1: Kurna and at no Chinese I could yeah listen high 493 00:33:08,520 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 1: Na get me how good by Sesame Street has long 494 00:33:18,160 --> 00:33:22,320 Speaker 1: been the gold standard for children's programming. According to a 495 00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:26,680 Speaker 1: study by the American Economic Association, the program has had 496 00:33:26,760 --> 00:33:31,200 Speaker 1: a sizable impact on preparing kids for elementary school since 497 00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,960 Speaker 1: it was created in nineteen sixty nine. By the late 498 00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:41,880 Speaker 1: nineteen nineties, Sesame Street had expanded to twenty different countries Canada, Germany, Brazil, 499 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:46,160 Speaker 1: the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates. This was the longest 500 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:50,239 Speaker 1: street in the world, and it kept getting longer. An 501 00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,560 Speaker 1: American led Sesame Street special in China every few years 502 00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:58,080 Speaker 1: was fine, but it was time to level up. It 503 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: was time for China have a Sesame Street of its own. 504 00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,320 Speaker 6: Hey hold an you shall ya ya. 505 00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:12,879 Speaker 1: Hi will kaisei BD of War by Yao ya ya wah. 506 00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:19,839 Speaker 1: I'm recognize that tune. Maybe you'll be a little more 507 00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:21,520 Speaker 1: familiar with the original. 508 00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:22,880 Speaker 4: Rubber Ducky. 509 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:27,399 Speaker 6: You're the one you make bad time, lots of fun. 510 00:34:28,160 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 1: It's rubber Ducky. The Chinese dubbed version you heard would 511 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:33,920 Speaker 1: air on Jimmy Jay. 512 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 11: Jimmy Jay Mean Sesame Street. 513 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,520 Speaker 1: Jimmy Jay was a Chinese co production of Sesame Street 514 00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:45,080 Speaker 1: that ran from nineteen ninety eight to two thousand and one. 515 00:34:45,680 --> 00:34:49,760 Speaker 1: It was written and produced by a Chinese team, featured 516 00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:54,200 Speaker 1: Chinese actors, and was tailored to the lives of Chinese children. 517 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:58,360 Speaker 11: My name's Cooper Wright. I worked at Sesame Street for 518 00:34:58,719 --> 00:35:02,120 Speaker 11: about twenty five years so on China. I was the 519 00:35:02,320 --> 00:35:06,520 Speaker 11: executive producer in charge of the Chinese co production. 520 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,759 Speaker 1: When the groundwork for the series was first laid in 521 00:35:10,920 --> 00:35:14,800 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety four, some Chinese officials were worried that the 522 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:18,320 Speaker 1: show would assert too strong an American influence. 523 00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:22,960 Speaker 11: We were so concerned about cultural imperialism. That's something that 524 00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:25,719 Speaker 11: Sesame Workshop has, you know, going way away from the 525 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:28,400 Speaker 11: very beginning, been concerned about with co productions. 526 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:31,480 Speaker 1: But the show had a champion on the inside that 527 00:35:31,560 --> 00:35:36,319 Speaker 1: the network Sesame Street was collaborating with in Shanghai, Yei Chow, 528 00:35:36,880 --> 00:35:40,880 Speaker 1: the director of the Children's department. He was convinced a 529 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:44,640 Speaker 1: Chinese co production was a smart move, that it would 530 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:45,760 Speaker 1: be good for the country. 531 00:35:50,000 --> 00:35:53,360 Speaker 12: You wanted to use it for the Chinese children for 532 00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:56,680 Speaker 12: an educational purpose, and so it was very appealing to me. 533 00:35:56,920 --> 00:35:57,600 Speaker 12: Because of this. 534 00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:01,640 Speaker 1: It took four years to develop the idea and get 535 00:36:01,719 --> 00:36:05,640 Speaker 1: through red tape, but a deal was struck between Shanghai TV, 536 00:36:06,200 --> 00:36:11,960 Speaker 1: Sesame Street, and the show's sponsor, General Electric, the hybrid 537 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:16,440 Speaker 1: Chinese American leadership found a studio and set the show's 538 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:21,680 Speaker 1: educational agenda. For example, between nineteen eighty and twenty sixteen, 539 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,480 Speaker 1: the Chinese government imposed a policy that restricted most families 540 00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:30,600 Speaker 1: to having one child as a means of population control, 541 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:35,240 Speaker 1: so the Jim and Jay team prioritized lessons like sharing 542 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:39,560 Speaker 1: and social skills for only children. A team was hired 543 00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:44,240 Speaker 1: to work on handwritten scripts that got translated and faxed 544 00:36:44,640 --> 00:36:47,479 Speaker 1: back and forth between Shanghai and New York. 545 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:48,520 Speaker 3: For edits. 546 00:36:50,040 --> 00:36:55,080 Speaker 12: Down, and we broke two fax machines throughout the production process. 547 00:36:57,440 --> 00:36:59,880 Speaker 1: A lot of the show's material came from the arc 548 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:05,439 Speaker 1: hives of American Sesame Street, dubbed in Chinese. Cooper says 549 00:37:05,560 --> 00:37:08,480 Speaker 1: a third of the show was made locally and was 550 00:37:08,560 --> 00:37:14,080 Speaker 1: totally original. The team invented new Muppet characters like a 551 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:19,120 Speaker 1: blue furry pig named hhoo Zoo and Shoe Metzi, a 552 00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:23,000 Speaker 1: three year old monster with pigtails who takes after Almo. 553 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:25,880 Speaker 11: She's the same color red as Elmo. But they wanted 554 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:27,160 Speaker 11: a strong female. 555 00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:35,480 Speaker 1: Character Yea, and there was space for a third Muppet 556 00:37:35,640 --> 00:37:36,920 Speaker 1: in the Chinese cast. 557 00:37:39,320 --> 00:37:42,360 Speaker 12: The first one we thought about was Pandas because that 558 00:37:42,560 --> 00:37:44,520 Speaker 12: was the most popular figures in China. 559 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:48,440 Speaker 1: Jim and Jay's team ran focus groups with kids and 560 00:37:48,640 --> 00:37:53,440 Speaker 1: showed them photos to see who they liked. Pandas, Monkey Kings, 561 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:58,680 Speaker 1: and another more institutional character in the mix, Big Bird. 562 00:37:59,160 --> 00:38:01,640 Speaker 11: We weren't sure if that would think that was too American, 563 00:38:01,719 --> 00:38:02,879 Speaker 11: and we said, what do you want? 564 00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:05,920 Speaker 1: The kid's response told a different story. 565 00:38:06,520 --> 00:38:10,279 Speaker 11: They wanted Big Bird because they considered Big Bird to be, 566 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:14,000 Speaker 11: as they called it, the best. They loved Big Bird. 567 00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:19,520 Speaker 1: While other co productions had large avian characters, none had 568 00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:23,400 Speaker 1: their own Big Bird, and adding a new one to 569 00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:28,160 Speaker 1: Jimmy Jay would mean getting special permission from Sesame Street Brass. 570 00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:32,680 Speaker 1: But it worked out, and the last resident to move 571 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:36,879 Speaker 1: onto China's Sesame Street would be an eight foot tall 572 00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:40,520 Speaker 1: yellow feathered friend named Daniell. 573 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:46,880 Speaker 12: The Big Bird. Daniell is actually the same age as them, 574 00:38:47,000 --> 00:38:52,000 Speaker 12: and Danielle is like very cute, very childlike. It's like 575 00:38:52,200 --> 00:38:53,840 Speaker 12: very relatable for children. 576 00:38:54,960 --> 00:38:58,800 Speaker 1: Spinney couldn't be in two countries at once, though, the 577 00:38:58,880 --> 00:39:02,240 Speaker 1: team needed to find someone who could fill his large 578 00:39:02,440 --> 00:39:04,239 Speaker 1: orange three toed slippers. 579 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:09,640 Speaker 11: Carol Spinney was Big Bird and Kevin Klash who is Elmo? 580 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:14,239 Speaker 11: They came over to China to audition to help them 581 00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:20,200 Speaker 11: audition those puppets, and that was incredible, and we auditioned 582 00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:21,200 Speaker 11: hundreds of people. 583 00:39:22,200 --> 00:39:26,920 Speaker 1: About four hundred Chinese actors showed up to audition. Eventually 584 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:30,719 Speaker 1: that number got whittled down and a smaller group of 585 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:35,000 Speaker 1: actors tried to follow Spinney's movements, put their own spin 586 00:39:35,120 --> 00:39:38,640 Speaker 1: on them, and embody the essence of Big Bird in 587 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:40,440 Speaker 1: front of the man who invented him. 588 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,279 Speaker 11: There had never been another Big Bird before, and he 589 00:39:43,320 --> 00:39:48,560 Speaker 11: hadn't done international casting, so he was really excited to 590 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:52,120 Speaker 11: be in China. He loved being there. But he said, 591 00:39:53,080 --> 00:39:54,719 Speaker 11: well what do I do? And I said, well, you 592 00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:57,080 Speaker 11: have to You've got to tell them who Big Bird is. 593 00:39:58,320 --> 00:39:59,919 Speaker 11: You've got to explain Big Bird. 594 00:40:00,040 --> 00:40:05,640 Speaker 1: When the auditions first started, the actors did some puppeteering 595 00:40:05,880 --> 00:40:09,320 Speaker 1: one oh one. They used their hands to mimic talking, 596 00:40:09,840 --> 00:40:13,200 Speaker 1: They put ping pong balls on their fingers to imitate eyes. 597 00:40:14,280 --> 00:40:17,000 Speaker 1: But as they got farther into the audition process, they 598 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:20,640 Speaker 1: also had to try to capture something else, something that 599 00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:26,880 Speaker 1: went beyond hand movements and arm placements. Cooper remembers how 600 00:40:26,920 --> 00:40:30,800 Speaker 1: Spinny opened up to the group, sharing what he believed 601 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:35,120 Speaker 1: made Big Bird Big Bird. There was an intense level 602 00:40:35,239 --> 00:40:41,280 Speaker 1: of specificity and care. While Spinny spoke, the room went silent. 603 00:40:41,960 --> 00:40:46,880 Speaker 1: He talked about Big Bird's sweetness and generosity, his soft 604 00:40:47,280 --> 00:40:52,120 Speaker 1: high voice, how he's naive but also curious and gentle, 605 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:55,840 Speaker 1: how he moves slowly but doesn't lumber. 606 00:40:56,440 --> 00:40:59,080 Speaker 11: I looked around. My jaw dropped. I looked around and 607 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:03,400 Speaker 11: everyone else was just including Kevin. We were like mes Mauriza, 608 00:41:03,719 --> 00:41:08,160 Speaker 11: Oh wow, So I mean we all knew Big Bird. 609 00:41:08,280 --> 00:41:10,359 Speaker 11: Of course we know Big Bird, but we had never 610 00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:16,760 Speaker 11: heard Carol describing Big Bird. And it translated beautifully because 611 00:41:17,040 --> 00:41:19,160 Speaker 11: you could see the puppeteers understood it. 612 00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:24,440 Speaker 1: One puppeteer nailed it. A twenty one year old man 613 00:41:24,520 --> 00:41:27,799 Speaker 1: who was working in Shanghai as a mechanic while going 614 00:41:27,880 --> 00:41:29,239 Speaker 1: to acting school at night. 615 00:41:29,840 --> 00:41:30,360 Speaker 2: We nig. 616 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,800 Speaker 12: And I still remember Caro Spinny at that time. I 617 00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,399 Speaker 12: remember when he talked to me. He said, I really 618 00:41:38,640 --> 00:41:41,440 Speaker 12: like you because I knew that you were a mechanic. 619 00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:44,120 Speaker 12: I used to be a mechanic as well. 620 00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,080 Speaker 1: That's right. The little boy who watched Big Bird in 621 00:41:48,239 --> 00:41:53,560 Speaker 1: China as a kid in Shanghai, Chuming when he first 622 00:41:53,800 --> 00:41:57,280 Speaker 1: showed up to audition with that group of four hundred actors. 623 00:41:57,719 --> 00:42:01,400 Speaker 1: Chuming didn't know that this was an audition for the 624 00:42:01,520 --> 00:42:04,720 Speaker 1: character he watched in black and white in his family 625 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:09,200 Speaker 1: living room years before. It was just an open casting call. 626 00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:13,360 Speaker 1: He was an aspiring performer trying to get his face 627 00:42:13,520 --> 00:42:16,920 Speaker 1: and his name out there. But when he met Spinney 628 00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:20,320 Speaker 1: face to face and saw him doing the movement that 629 00:42:20,440 --> 00:42:23,799 Speaker 1: brought the character to life, he knew he wanted the job. 630 00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:30,920 Speaker 12: I was really really really excited to see him, and 631 00:42:31,120 --> 00:42:35,040 Speaker 12: when he was performing, I remember thinking to myself that 632 00:42:35,719 --> 00:42:38,600 Speaker 12: I am going to be the big Bird. I must 633 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:46,279 Speaker 12: be the big Bird. The last day they announced that 634 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:51,160 Speaker 12: I got the role, I was in shock. And I 635 00:42:51,239 --> 00:42:54,560 Speaker 12: still remember because the translator at that time was a 636 00:42:54,680 --> 00:42:59,400 Speaker 12: famous female director from a famous show in China. And 637 00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:04,200 Speaker 12: remember she ran to me and she forgot to speak 638 00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:07,880 Speaker 12: Chinese with me because she was so excited, and she 639 00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:10,920 Speaker 12: just like throw at me a bunch of English words. 640 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:15,320 Speaker 12: But she was crying, and I figured that I probably 641 00:43:15,360 --> 00:43:18,560 Speaker 12: got the role. It was in all a very very 642 00:43:19,040 --> 00:43:22,840 Speaker 12: unforgettable memory and experience for me. 643 00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:27,600 Speaker 1: Ju Meng got fitted for his own yellow feathered costume 644 00:43:27,960 --> 00:43:31,600 Speaker 1: and worked on strengthening his arm. At last, he began 645 00:43:31,719 --> 00:43:35,120 Speaker 1: to play the role that changed his life trajectory and 646 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:36,560 Speaker 1: defined his career. 647 00:43:39,680 --> 00:43:43,520 Speaker 12: Just like Carol Spinney, I would love to perform Big 648 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:45,399 Speaker 12: Bird for the rest of my life. 649 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:51,759 Speaker 1: Big Bird first touchdown in China at a tense time, 650 00:43:52,560 --> 00:43:56,799 Speaker 1: just months after the US embassy reopened in nineteen seventy nine, 651 00:43:57,280 --> 00:44:01,920 Speaker 1: after decades of isolation. Maybe things were so touchy that 652 00:44:02,080 --> 00:44:06,640 Speaker 1: the moment called for an ambassador, so harmless that nothing 653 00:44:06,800 --> 00:44:10,400 Speaker 1: could go wrong. But to reduce Big Bird to a 654 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:15,440 Speaker 1: non threatening bundle of yellow feathers would be to underestimate him. 655 00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:19,879 Speaker 1: When he walked down the street, he drew crowds. When 656 00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:23,640 Speaker 1: he's saying with kids, they smiled, And when he showed 657 00:44:23,719 --> 00:44:28,560 Speaker 1: up on TV screens, he inspired awe. Big Bird had 658 00:44:28,640 --> 00:44:32,799 Speaker 1: the power to bring people together and he still does. 659 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:36,120 Speaker 1: Just take a visit to his home at one twenty 660 00:44:36,200 --> 00:44:39,719 Speaker 1: three and a half Sesame Street, you'll see that two 661 00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:42,640 Speaker 1: friends don't have to be the same to get along. 662 00:44:43,280 --> 00:44:46,840 Speaker 1: Some friends are furry, others are feathered. Some are tall, 663 00:44:47,080 --> 00:44:51,400 Speaker 1: and some are tiny. Their colors span the rainbow. They 664 00:44:51,600 --> 00:44:56,560 Speaker 1: thrive in their differences and find common ground in community. 665 00:44:57,160 --> 00:44:59,759 Speaker 11: It is about sharing something that we think is really 666 00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:05,759 Speaker 11: a wonderful invention and that highlights the best of America 667 00:45:06,800 --> 00:45:10,440 Speaker 11: at the same time, being generous and allowing another country 668 00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:14,040 Speaker 11: to take it and make it bears rather than shoving 669 00:45:14,080 --> 00:45:17,200 Speaker 11: it down their throat as an American thing. It is 670 00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:19,759 Speaker 11: a lot more about sharing than anything else. 671 00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:24,759 Speaker 1: Cooper never expected that her work in China would lead 672 00:45:24,920 --> 00:45:28,560 Speaker 1: to the creation of another Big Bird, but when it did, 673 00:45:28,880 --> 00:45:32,399 Speaker 1: she also couldn't confine Dan Yao to live in Big 674 00:45:32,480 --> 00:45:36,160 Speaker 1: Bird's shadow. He was always going to find his own 675 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:38,440 Speaker 1: light for the workshop. 676 00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:42,400 Speaker 11: It does fulfill their mission. I'm not there now obviously, 677 00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:45,680 Speaker 11: but you know they're working in refugee camps now, they're 678 00:45:45,719 --> 00:45:48,880 Speaker 11: doing all kinds of work with in International Rescue Committee. 679 00:45:49,239 --> 00:45:52,719 Speaker 11: And before I left, we were working in Pakistan, we 680 00:45:52,800 --> 00:45:58,880 Speaker 11: were working in Afghanistan. That's not for monetary reward. That's 681 00:45:58,960 --> 00:46:01,360 Speaker 11: to expand the mission. But you know, when you say that, 682 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:05,040 Speaker 11: you have to be careful because it's not pushing out 683 00:46:05,760 --> 00:46:10,800 Speaker 11: an American mission. It's more sharing with the world what 684 00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:15,839 Speaker 11: we all value, what everybody values, helping children reach their 685 00:46:15,880 --> 00:46:16,800 Speaker 11: highest potential. 686 00:46:18,080 --> 00:46:31,400 Speaker 1: No, Hi, what's your band, y'all? This story is everything 687 00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:35,520 Speaker 1: I love about Sesame straight because it's it's curious, it's heartwarming, 688 00:46:35,600 --> 00:46:37,000 Speaker 1: and at the end of the day, it's just like 689 00:46:37,280 --> 00:46:40,080 Speaker 1: it warms your heart. I mean that's what heartwarming means. 690 00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:42,800 Speaker 6: But also I agree with you, it's the whole sharing 691 00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:45,759 Speaker 6: of human values. It really does. I felt better after 692 00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:48,560 Speaker 6: listening to this episode. It did literally warm the heart. 693 00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:51,160 Speaker 1: I read this episode and I was just like, people 694 00:46:51,280 --> 00:46:55,120 Speaker 1: aren't so different. We can connect this world. 695 00:46:55,360 --> 00:46:58,480 Speaker 3: We need it now bring it back. Speaking of Saron, 696 00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:01,120 Speaker 3: did you do any casting if we wanted to redo 697 00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:02,200 Speaker 3: this one revisit? 698 00:47:02,360 --> 00:47:02,480 Speaker 4: Yes? 699 00:47:02,560 --> 00:47:04,560 Speaker 7: I did, actually, and this one had a lot of Bob's. 700 00:47:04,600 --> 00:47:06,680 Speaker 7: There was Bob Mills, the writer for Bob Hope. There 701 00:47:06,760 --> 00:47:09,040 Speaker 7: was Bob Hope. There was Bob Meal for Barkley. I 702 00:47:09,080 --> 00:47:11,640 Speaker 7: was just like so many Bobs. But okay, I got 703 00:47:11,719 --> 00:47:13,680 Speaker 7: it down to this. For Bob Hope, I thought you 704 00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:16,600 Speaker 7: could either do one of two directions. Either shrink down 705 00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:19,920 Speaker 7: Vince Vaughan because he's got the right energy, or you 706 00:47:20,040 --> 00:47:22,040 Speaker 7: go with Bill Murray, who's more size accurate. 707 00:47:22,280 --> 00:47:24,440 Speaker 1: I had a pitch for Bob Hope, which all do 708 00:47:24,560 --> 00:47:28,680 Speaker 1: you Let's have a career resurgence for zach Alifanakis. Oh, 709 00:47:30,440 --> 00:47:33,399 Speaker 1: it's sort of a serious role because he know soon 710 00:47:33,440 --> 00:47:34,400 Speaker 1: as what he's capable of. 711 00:47:34,800 --> 00:47:36,600 Speaker 7: I think he's got the range and he's got the 712 00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:38,600 Speaker 7: right energy. We also, once again he likes people the 713 00:47:38,600 --> 00:47:39,719 Speaker 7: way Bob Hope likes people. 714 00:47:40,440 --> 00:47:42,000 Speaker 1: You can start of turn it on, but there's sort 715 00:47:42,000 --> 00:47:44,080 Speaker 1: of a darkness underneath it where you're like, what's going 716 00:47:44,120 --> 00:47:44,440 Speaker 1: on there? 717 00:47:44,719 --> 00:47:47,759 Speaker 7: Exactly a little of aggression almost in his comedy. As 718 00:47:47,840 --> 00:47:50,840 Speaker 7: for Big Bird, obviously Carol Spinney is Big Bird, but 719 00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:52,880 Speaker 7: I thought, Okay, for this, we need someone who can 720 00:47:53,000 --> 00:47:56,000 Speaker 7: do it, and I turned to forgetting Sarah and Marshall's 721 00:47:56,000 --> 00:47:57,840 Speaker 7: puppet show master Jason Segal. 722 00:47:58,440 --> 00:48:00,839 Speaker 6: He's got the bona fidees I mean, good one. 723 00:48:01,200 --> 00:48:04,120 Speaker 1: Jason Siegel loves the Muppets famous They also. 724 00:48:04,000 --> 00:48:06,040 Speaker 7: Exactly right, I mean like, how do we skip over 725 00:48:06,160 --> 00:48:08,480 Speaker 7: him for this role? So boom, he's got it. And 726 00:48:09,000 --> 00:48:11,680 Speaker 7: that's pretty much for the Bob Mills writer for Bob Hope. 727 00:48:11,719 --> 00:48:13,600 Speaker 7: I kept trying to think about this. I couldn't get 728 00:48:14,000 --> 00:48:16,480 Speaker 7: somebody who felt like the writer. I was like, I 729 00:48:16,520 --> 00:48:18,920 Speaker 7: don't know, man, you may have to play yourself. So 730 00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:21,239 Speaker 7: that's all I got for the casting. But I really 731 00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:24,520 Speaker 7: enjoyed this one because that all of my interests Bob Hope, Nixon, Chairman, 732 00:48:24,640 --> 00:48:26,319 Speaker 7: Mao Disco, and Big Bird. 733 00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:27,799 Speaker 6: I mean like him as a grab bag. 734 00:48:28,120 --> 00:48:31,800 Speaker 3: Nixon is a sneaks his way into most of our episodes. 735 00:48:32,040 --> 00:48:38,319 Speaker 3: Socity that guy's everywhere have about very special characters, Jason. 736 00:48:38,080 --> 00:48:41,480 Speaker 1: Don't be ridiculous. There truly is only one very special 737 00:48:41,560 --> 00:48:43,759 Speaker 1: character in this episode, and it is Big Bird. 738 00:48:44,200 --> 00:48:44,399 Speaker 2: Yeah. 739 00:48:44,800 --> 00:48:47,880 Speaker 1: It would be a disservice to anyone to try to 740 00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:49,400 Speaker 1: compare them to Big Bird. 741 00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:51,600 Speaker 7: Totally, and the effort that it takes. I had no 742 00:48:51,800 --> 00:48:54,160 Speaker 7: idea that he was holding his hand up the whole time. 743 00:48:54,239 --> 00:48:57,680 Speaker 7: That blew me away strength to play Big Bird. 744 00:48:58,200 --> 00:49:00,440 Speaker 1: I mean, that's a fun lie that they tell us 745 00:49:00,560 --> 00:49:04,520 Speaker 1: that someone is inside because obviously it's just Big Bird 746 00:49:04,560 --> 00:49:06,800 Speaker 1: doing it. But that's like a cute cover story. 747 00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,000 Speaker 6: Yeah it is. Yeah, way to pull that one. 748 00:49:09,200 --> 00:49:09,520 Speaker 4: I like that. 749 00:49:09,719 --> 00:49:10,720 Speaker 6: Sesame Street Workshop. 750 00:49:10,800 --> 00:49:13,200 Speaker 3: I'm going to end with a call to action here. 751 00:49:13,520 --> 00:49:17,480 Speaker 3: We've covered some good children's books and programming. We had 752 00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:20,400 Speaker 3: a Nancy Drew last year. We've got a Good Night 753 00:49:20,520 --> 00:49:24,920 Speaker 3: Moon episode coming up Sesame Street today. E t If 754 00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:29,680 Speaker 3: there's some beloved book or show or movie from your 755 00:49:29,840 --> 00:49:32,520 Speaker 3: childhood you want us to cover, shoot us an email 756 00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:35,960 Speaker 3: Very Special Episodes at gmail dot com. And you know 757 00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:37,800 Speaker 3: we're always looking for story ideas. 758 00:49:37,960 --> 00:49:39,479 Speaker 6: Yeah, hit us up, our ears are open. 759 00:49:41,320 --> 00:49:44,120 Speaker 3: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 760 00:49:44,719 --> 00:49:47,279 Speaker 3: Today's episode was written by Dylan Hoyer. It's good to 761 00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:49,520 Speaker 3: have Dylan back in the mix. Last year she wrote 762 00:49:49,560 --> 00:49:52,840 Speaker 3: The joy Ride about the time Amelia Earhart and Eleanor 763 00:49:52,920 --> 00:49:55,320 Speaker 3: Roosevelt snuck out of the White House for an impromptu 764 00:49:55,440 --> 00:49:59,040 Speaker 3: flight and very special thanks to our translator is Shao Ren. 765 00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:01,680 Speaker 3: Couldn't have done without her. Our show is hosted by 766 00:50:01,760 --> 00:50:05,239 Speaker 3: Danias Schwartz, Saren Burnett, and Jason English. Our producer is 767 00:50:05,320 --> 00:50:09,600 Speaker 3: Josh Fisher. Story editor is Aaron Edwards. Editing and sound 768 00:50:09,680 --> 00:50:13,440 Speaker 3: designed by Chris Childs, Mixing and mastering by Beheath Fraser. 769 00:50:13,960 --> 00:50:18,080 Speaker 3: Additional editing by Mary Doo, Original music by Alice McCoy, 770 00:50:18,719 --> 00:50:22,920 Speaker 3: Show logo by Lucy Quintania. Our executive producer is Jason English. 771 00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:25,399 Speaker 3: Like I mentioned during our banter, if you ever want 772 00:50:25,440 --> 00:50:27,480 Speaker 3: to email the show, hit us up at Very Special 773 00:50:27,520 --> 00:50:30,880 Speaker 3: Episodes at gmail dot com. Very Special Episodes is a 774 00:50:30,920 --> 00:50:32,640 Speaker 3: production of iHeart Podcasts.