Before They Were Stars: Gordon from “Sesame Street” Plays a Pimp!

Most of you may not be familiar with the name Roscoe Orman, but I’d say the chances are good that you’ll remember him well from your childhood. Mr. Orman is known for portraying Gordon, the friendly bald neighbour on Sesame Street, a role he has played for over 35 years now! But right before he took that part, Orman played the title role in the 1974 blaxploitation flick, Willie Dynamite, a movie that couldn’t have been any more of a 180-degree difference from Sesame Street. That’s right, the lovable Gordon started out his acting career by playing a jive-talking, woman-beating pimp! He actually gives a genuinely good performance in the film, showing that he had a lot of range as an actor, and I may cover Willie Dynamite in one of my “Underrated Gems” columns sometime in the future. Until then, today’s episode of Sesame Street is brought to you by the letters “H” and “O”.