Happy 45th Birthday, Sesame Street! Walk on Down to Where the Air Is Sweet

Back in 1969, Joan Ganz Cooney created Sesame Street as a way to prepare underprivileged 3- to 5-year-olds for kindergarten. From the get-go, it was a healthy mix of educational and entertaining programming that instantly appealed to tots (and their parents) partly because it featured an ethnically diverse cast of characters in a gritty New York City neighborhood.