Tony Geiss (November 16, 1924 - January 21, 2011) was a staff writer and songwriter for Sesame Street and related productions, often teamed with Judy Freudberg. Geiss conceptualized the Honkers (based on his own childhood habit of honking his nose)[1] and Abby Cadabby.[2]
Geiss' early TV career was spent in London scripting The David Frost Show and worked on one entry in the Experiment in Television series for NBC. He first joined Children's Television Workshop as a writer on the health series Feelin' Good. He also scripted television specials and revues for the likes of Dick Cavett and Bill Cosby. In the 1980s, after scripting Follow That Bird as his cinematic debut, Geiss and Freudberg co-wrote the Don Bluth animated features An American Tail and The Land Before Time. He was also credited as head writer for several Sesame Street home videos. He also scripted several sketches involving Mount Rushmore for the unrealized "Muppet Minute" segment for 60 Minutes in 1983.
Geiss' father Alexander Geiss was a painter and an animator/story man (working stints for Max Fleischer, at Terrytoons, and for Walt Disney, notably Ferdinand the Bull).[3] His mother Marjorie Thirer was a press agent.[4] Geiss grew up in Greenwich Village, spending two years as a radar technician for the US Navy during World War II. Geiss attended Cornell University and graduated in 1946. He began acting in theatre productions in his freshman year, and met his wife Phyllis Eisen on campus.
Composer Credits[]
- Unfinished songs
- "Follow the Arrows"
- "Hello-Quack-Quack"
- "How Do You Do?"
- "How Porridge Was Born"
- "I Draw a Line"
- "I Love You, Love You, Love You"
- "If There Was No Water"
- "It's a Mistake to Throw Trash in a Lake"
- "The Pigeons of Paris"
- "Rowing Down the Nile"
- "Rubbadubba"
- "Sleeping Gypsy Lullaby"
- "Stringbeans"
- "Sweet Little Fifteen"
- "That's What's Important To Me"
- "We're Going to the Museum and We're Late"
Writing Credits[]
- Sesame Street
- Don't Eat the Pictures
- Follow That Bird (co-written with Judy Freudberg)
- Sesame Street: 20 and Still Counting (co-written with Judy Freudberg)
- Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music (co-written with Jon Stone, also producer)
- Dance Along!
- Sing-Along Earth Songs
- Elmo Saves Christmas (co-written with Christine Ferraro)
- The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street
- CinderElmo
- A Celebration of Me, Grover
- Elmo's World segments: Dinosaurs, Doctors, Ears, Fish, Jumping, Penguins, Skin, Weather, Wild Animals
Episodes[]
Sesame Street episodes written by Geiss include:
Segments[]
- Ernie and Bert: Get Moving (First: Episode 1025)
- Ernie and Bert: Ernie's Disguise Kit (with Judy Freudberg and Herbert Hartig) (First: Episode 1170)
- Ernie and Bert: Sharing a Newspaper (First: Episode 1193)
- Two-Headed Monster: Feet (First: Episode 1289)
- Camp Wannagohoma: The Tree (First: Episode 1486)
- Ernie and Jennifer Discuss Same and Different (First: Episode 1515)
- Ernie and Bert: Follow the Arrows (First: Episode 1697)
- Sesame Street News Flash: Alice in Wonderland (First: Episode 1765)
- Grover and Mr. Johnson: Telegram Messenger (First: Episode 1828)
- Sesame Street News Flash: Mary and Her Little Lamb (First: Episode 1943)
- Grover: Newspaper Salesman (First: Episode 1966)
- Letter of the Day Pageant (First: Episode 2212)
- Sesame Street News Flash: Seven Emotional Dwarves (First: Episode 2415)
- What's My Job? (First: Episode 2573)
- Grover and Mr. Johnson: O'Brien's Fast Food (First: Episode 2582)
- Audience Lunch Game Show (First: Episode 2646)
- Camp Wannagohoma: Lake Yoohoo (First: Episode 2656)
- Monsterpiece Theater: The Postman Always Rings Twice (First: Episode 2729)
- Sneak Peek Previews: Siskel & Ebert (First: Episode 2791)
- Super Grover: Super Elmo Takes Off (First: Episode 2857)
- Monster on the Spot: Here and There (First: Episode 2864)
- Grover and Mr. Johnson: Taxi Stand (First: Episode 2984)
- Monsterpiece Theater: Cyranose de Bergerac (First: Episode 3000)
- Waiter Grover: Al Fresco (First: Episode 3105)
- Colambo: The Missing Pig (First: Episode 3112)
- Monsterpiece Theater: Little Red Riding Cookie (First: Episode 3231)
- Waiter Grover: More Spaghetti (First: Episode 3233)
- Grover: Chair Delivery (First: Episode 3256)
- Grover and Mr. Johnson: Wig Salesman (First: Episode 3407)
- Cookie Monster: Cookie Painting (First: Episode 3746)
- Waiter Grover: Tomato Surprise (First: Episode 3756)
- Ernie and Bert: Sleeping Beauty (First: Episode 3777)
- Elmo's World: Shoes (co-writer) (First: Episode 3791)
- Grover and Mr. Johnson: Car Rental (First: Episode 3850)
- Elmo's World: Babies (First: Episode 3854)
- Ernie and Bert: Ernie Plans (First: Episode 3882)
- Grover and Mr. Johnson: Telegram Trainee (First: Episode 3891)
- Elmo's World: Families (First: Episode 3975)
- Elmo's World: Fish (First: Episode 3981)
- Hero Guy: Snowman (First: Episode 3991)
- Journey to Ernie: In The Jungle (co-writer) (First: Episode 4033)
- Journey to Ernie: Dancing (First: Episode 4063)
- Elmo's World: Dinosaurs (First: Episode 4082)
- Elmo's World: Cats (First: Episode 4095)
- Dinner Theatre: Omelet, Prince of Dinner (First: Episode 4111)
- Waiter Grover: Russian Restaurant (First: Episode 4111)
- Elmo's World: Penguins (First: Episode 4114)
- RSI: Rhyme Scene Investigation (First: Episode 4135)
- Elmo's World: Noses (First: Episode 4143)
Books[]
- The Count Counts a Party
- Elmo Saves Christmas
- The Four Seasons
- Honk If You Like Honkers
- The Sesame Street Bedtime Storybook
- The Sesame Street Treasury Volume 4
- The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures
- Susan and Gordon Adopt a Baby
- Vegetable Soup
Interviews[]
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation interviewed Geiss in 2004 for the Archive of American Television. The hour and a half interview was posted on YouTube in 2008.
See also[]
Sources[]
- ↑ Children's Television Workshop. Biographical Sketches. 1983
- ↑ Susan Dominus, "A Girly-Girl Joins the 'Sesame' Boys", The New York Times, 6 August 2006.
- ↑ Television Academy interview, part 1. 01:45.
- ↑ ibid. 03:25.
External links[]
- Joseph Berger, "Tony Geiss, 86, Writer for ‘Sesame Street,’ Dies", The New York Times, January 30, 2011.