Matt Robinson, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2002)
Matthew Thomas Robinson Jr. (January 1, 1937 – August 5, 2002) was an American actor, writer and television producer. Robinson was the first actor to portray the character of Gordon Robinson on the PBS children's TV program Sesame Street. When Sesame Street began in 1969, not only did Robinson play Gordon, but he also provided the voice of the puppet Roosevelt Franklin and also was one of the show's producers. He left the show in 1972. In later years, when producers needed a last name for the Gordon character, then played by Hal Miller and then Roscoe Orman, they used Matt's last name.
He wrote and produced the films Save the Children and Amazing Grace in the early 1970s, and authored scripts for Sanford and Son and Eight Is Enough. In 1983, he joined the staff of the NBC's The Cosby Show as a producer and staff writer. By that time, he was beginning to show symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but stayed with the show for seven seasons despite the difficulty. He ultimately died from the disease on August 5, 2002 in Los Angeles at the age of 65.
1937Jan, 1
Matt Robinson (actor)
Choose Another Date
Events on 1937
- 23Jan
Leon Trotsky
The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime. - 21Feb
Spanish Civil War
The League of Nations bans foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War. - 12May
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The Duke and Duchess of York are crowned as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Westminster Abbey. - 27May
Golden Gate Bridge
In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California. - 22Jul
Judicial Procedures Reform Bill of 1937
New Deal: The United States Senate votes down President Franklin D. Roosevelt's proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court of the United States.