Jessica Max Stein

Sometimes, writing a biography can send you on a social scavenger hunt. That’s how I discovered Judy Freudberg, a longtime Sesame Street writer who died on Monday at the age of 63.

Judy Freudberg worked at Sesame Street for nearly forty years – from 1971 to 2010. She began as a production assistant, then became a Sesame writer in 1975, going on to write countless Muppet sketches, Sesame’s anniversary special 20 And Still Counting and many segments of “Elmo’s World”, of which she was head writer. Outside of the Muppets, she and Tony Geiss co-wrote the Steven Spielberg animated movies A Land Before Time and An American Tail.

I interviewed Freudberg for the Richard Hunt biography in August 2010, at a Greek diner near Manhattan’s Columbus Circle. She looked classy and casual, cheerful and quick to laugh. She had a Peter Pan youthfulness despite having just turned 60. Here are excerpts from our talk. Continue reading →