1. Will Lee was one of the four original human characters on Sesame Street, from the show's debut in November 1969 until his death on December 7,1982, at the age of 74.
16 Facts About Will Lee
1. 2.
Will Lee worked odd jobs in New York City and absorbed the intellectual atmosphere of Greenwich Village, an enclave of avant-garde culture where small presses, art galleries, and experimental theater thrived.
3.
Will Lee began his career as a character actor on stage.
4.
Will Lee was a member of the Group Theater in the 1930s and appeared in Johnny Johnson, Night Music, Boy Meets Girl, The Time of Your Life and other Broadway plays.
5.
Will Lee succeeded John Garfield as the lead in Golden Boy.
6.
Will Lee was involved in the Workers Lab Theatre, by presenting plays that supported the labor movement and social justice.
7.
Will Lee was co-founder of the Theater of Action and a member of the Federal Theatre Project.
8.
Will Lee began appearing in movies, including bit parts in Casbah, A Song Is Born, Little Fugitive, and Saboteur.
9.
Will Lee was blacklisted as an alleged communist and barred from movies and TV for five years during the era of McCarthyism, according to members of his family.
10.
Will Lee had been active in the Actor's Workshop and had been an unfriendly witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee hearings in 1950 investigating Communist elements in show business.
11.
Will Lee taught at the American Theatre Wing for nine years, as well as at the New School for Social Research, Boston University, and the Uta Hagen-Herbert Berghof Studio.
12.
Will Lee worked in commercials, including a spot for Atari, as a grandfather learning to play Pac-Man from his granddaughter and spots for Ocean Spray juice.
13.
Will Lee taped his final segments as Mr Hooper on Wednesday November 24,1982, two weeks prior to his death.
14.
Caroll Spinney said that the last time he saw Will Lee alive was during the taping of the last episode involving Mr Hooper in November 1982.
15.
Will Lee felt ill that day and barely spoke to the cast.
16.
Will Lee died on December 7,1982, at the age of 74, from a heart attack at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.