Bob McGrath

Robert Emmet "Bob" McGrath (born June 13, 1932) is an American singer and actor best known for playing the human character "Bob" on "Sesame Street". He was born in in Ottawa, Illinois.

Along with Susan, played by Loretta Long, Bob has been one of the two longest lasting human characters on the series. A Noggin segment proclaimed "the four decades of Bob" when promoting "Sesame Street" on that network.

McGrath has said that his two favorite moments on "Sesame Street" were a spoof of "The Gift of the Magi" on a Christmas special, and the 1983 sequence that candidly addressed the death of longtime character Mr. Hooper, played by actor Will Lee who had died the previous year. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8052123968899136558]

Bob's character has a long-lost brother named Minneapolis, an Indiana Jones-like action hero (played by Jeff Goldblum) who took Bob on a search for the golden cabbage of "Snuffertiti" with Big Bird and Snuffleupagus.

Early career

McGrath is a 1954 graduate of the University of Michigan's School of Music. While attending Michigan, he was a member of the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club. He worked with Mitch Miller and was the featured tenor on Miller's television singalong series for five seasons, from 1959-1964.

In the mid-1960s, McGrath became a well-known recording artist in Japan, releasing a series of successful albums of Irish songs and ballads sung in Japanese. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F4081FFF3E5C107B93C7A9178CD85F438685F9 "Irish Tenor From Teaneck Is the Toast of Tokyo; Bob McGrath Specializes in Japanese Folk Ballads to Flute Accompaniment"] , "The New York Times", July 5, 1967. Accessed December 30, 2007.] [http://www.bobmcgrath.com/mcgrath.htm Bob McGrath's Official Website ] ] McGrath's Japanese fanbase refers to him as Bobu Magurasu (ボブ・マグラス). This aspect of his career was the basis of his secret when he appeared on the game show "I've Got A Secret" (20 February 1967).

For over 30 years, McGrath has been a regular fixture on Telemiracle, a Saskatchewan telethon. On March 3, 2006 McGrath was awarded the Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan for this work by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan. [ [http://www.gov.sk.ca/newsrel/releases/2006/03/03-119.html News Releases - Government of Saskatchewan ] ]

McGrath was named for Irish patriot Robert Emmet. He wrote many childrens books including Uh Oh! Gotta Go! and OOPS! Excuse Me Please! He and his wife Ann have five children together, as well as five granddaughters and two grandsons. The couple reside in Teaneck, New Jersey.

References

External links

* [http://www.bobmcgrath.com/ Bob McGrath's official website]
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