Mr. Handford

{{character|image=|performer=[[Leonard Jackson]]|note=1989-1990|performer2=[[David L. Smyrl]]|note2=1990-1998|debut=1989}}

'''Mr. David Handford''' owned and operated [[Hooper's Store]] on [[Sesame Street (location)|Sesame Street]] from [[1989]] to [[1998]]. Mr. Handford was a retired firefighter, who bought the store from [[David]] in order to keep active. In his earliest appearances, he often offered fire safety messages. In [[Episode 2791]], he reveals that he worked in a library through high school, then moved onto the fire department for twenty years until retirement, using his savings to buy the store. In [[Episode 3688]], he also revealed was also a part of a doo-wop group called "The Handford Five" in his youth.

Mr. Handford also appeared in the specials ''[[Elmo Saves Christmas (special)|Elmo Saves Christmas]]'' and ''[[Elmopalooza]]''. [[Mr. Snuffleupagus]] occasionally had trouble pronouncing his name, calling him Mr. Handfoot, similar to how Big Bird often pronounced [[Mr. Hooper]]'s name as Mr. Looper.

No specific explanation was given, on screen, for Mr. Handford's departure - [[Season 29 (1997-1998)|Season 29]] simply ended with him running Hooper's, and [[Season 30 (1998-1999)|Season 30]] began with [[Alan]] taking over; Sesame Workshop's official website cited that Mr. Handford had simply sold the store to Alan in 1998.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081121104548/http://www.sesamestreet.org/onair/cast/david_smyrl Sesamestreet.org character page] (archive link): "Mr. Handford ran the store until he sold it to Alan in 1998."</ref>

<gallery orientation=landscape widths=250>
Image:LeonardJackson.jpg|[[Leonard Jackson]] as Mr. Handford
CanRead1.jpg|[[David Smyrl]] as Mr. Handford
</gallery>

==Book appearances==
*''[[Elmo Saves Christmas (book)|Elmo Saves Christmas]]'' (1997)

==Sources==
<references />

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