Robert Townsend (b. 1957) is an actor who starred in the TV series The Parent 'Hood as well as the films The Meteor Man (with Bill Cosby) and A Soldier's Story (with Denzel Washington and David Alan Grier).
In Episode 2923 of Sesame Street, Townsend played a character named Speedy Van Go who was commissioned to paint the mural on the side of Hooper's Store. Everyone had a different opinion on what it should be about, so he combined everyone's ideas to create the final piece.