William Lee (August 6, 1908 â€" December 7, 1982) was an American
actor, who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was
best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of
the eponymous Hooper's Store. He was one of the four original human
characters on Sesame Street, from the show's debut in November 1969
until his death in December 1982.Lee was born to a Jewish family in
Brooklyn, New York. His father, a bookbinder, lost his job due to
economic changes. Will Lee came to adulthood during the Great
Depression. He 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. He began his career as a character actor
on stage. He 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 (as Willie the pinball machine addict) and other Broadway
plays. He succeeded John Garfield as the lead in Golden Boy. He also
was involved in the Workers Lab Theatre , by presenting plays that
supported the labor movement and social justice. Lee was co-founder of
the Theater of Action and a member of the Federal Theatre Project.
During World War II, he served in Army Special Services in Australia
and Manila and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for
troops overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he
appeared Off Broadway in Norman Mailer's The Deer Park (as movie mogul
Teppis) and on Broadway in The Shrike, Once Upon a Mattress,
Carnival!, Incident At Vichy and The World of Sholom Aleichem.Lee also
began appearing in movies, including bit parts in Casbah, A Song Is
Born, Little Fugitive, and Saboteur. He was blacklisted as an alleged
communist and barred from movies and on TV for five years during the
Red Scare, according to members of his family. He 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
show business. At the end of that period, in 1956, he landed the role
of Grandpa Hughes in As the World Turns; however, the role was later
recast with Santos Ortega.
actor, who appeared in numerous television and film roles, but was
best known for playing Mr. Hooper, the original store proprietor of
the eponymous Hooper's Store. He was one of the four original human
characters on Sesame Street, from the show's debut in November 1969
until his death in December 1982.Lee was born to a Jewish family in
Brooklyn, New York. His father, a bookbinder, lost his job due to
economic changes. Will Lee came to adulthood during the Great
Depression. He 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. He began his career as a character actor
on stage. He 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 (as Willie the pinball machine addict) and other Broadway
plays. He succeeded John Garfield as the lead in Golden Boy. He also
was involved in the Workers Lab Theatre , by presenting plays that
supported the labor movement and social justice. Lee was co-founder of
the Theater of Action and a member of the Federal Theatre Project.
During World War II, he served in Army Special Services in Australia
and Manila and was cited twice for directing and staging shows for
troops overseas, as well as teaching acting classes. After the war, he
appeared Off Broadway in Norman Mailer's The Deer Park (as movie mogul
Teppis) and on Broadway in The Shrike, Once Upon a Mattress,
Carnival!, Incident At Vichy and The World of Sholom Aleichem.Lee also
began appearing in movies, including bit parts in Casbah, A Song Is
Born, Little Fugitive, and Saboteur. He was blacklisted as an alleged
communist and barred from movies and on TV for five years during the
Red Scare, according to members of his family. He 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
show business. At the end of that period, in 1956, he landed the role
of Grandpa Hughes in As the World Turns; however, the role was later
recast with Santos Ortega.
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