Christopher Cerf (born August 19, 1941) is an author, composer-lyricist, and record and television producer. He is perhaps best known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous articles and books. August 19 is the 231st day of the year (232nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... Sesame Street is an educational television program designed for preschoolers, and is recognized as a pioneer of the contemporary standard which combines education and entertainment in childrens television shows. ... Between the Lions is a PBS childrens puppet show designed to promote reading. ...

Musical Compositions

Since its first season in 1970, Cerf has played a significant role in the creation and production of the Sesame Street television program, most notably as a regular contributor of music and lyrics, and as the producer of many of its music albums. In the process, he has won two Grammy Awards and three Emmy Awards for songwriting and music production. Since writing and performing his first song for Sesame Street, "Count It Higher" (1972), Cerf has written or co-written over 200 songs featured on the program, including "Put Down the Duckie," "The Word Is No," "Dance Myself to Sleep," "Monster in the Mirror," and such notable parody songs as "Born To Add," "Letter B," and "Furry Happy Monsters." Cerf also played a pivotal role in the ongoing funding of Sesame Street, founding and serving as the original editor-in-chief of Sesame Workshop's books, records, and toys division. Sesame Street is an educational television program designed for preschoolers, and is recognized as a pioneer of the contemporary standard which combines education and entertainment in childrens television shows. ... Grammy Award statuette The Grammy Awards, presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music Awards, the American Music... An Emmy Award. ... Hoots the Owl is a character on the childrens television program, Sesame Street, performed by Kevin Clash. ... Wubba Wubba Wubba is the chorus of a sing-along The Monster in the Mirror written by Christopher Cerf and Norman Stiles in 1989 for the childrens television series Sesame Street. ... Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Childrens Television Workshop (or CTW), is a non-profit organization behind the production of several educational childrens programs that have run on public broadcasting around the world (including PBS in the United States), as well as Noggin. ...

In addition to his contributions to Sesame Street, Cerf’s musical material has appeared on Saturday Night Live, The National Lampoon Radio Hour, The Electric Company, Square One Television, Between the Lions, and in numerous Muppet productions, and his songs have been performed by such stars as Paul Simon, Ray Charles, Johnny Cash, R.E.M., James Taylor, Tony Bennett, The Dixie Chicks, Tracy Chapman, Carol Channing, Randy Travis, The Four Tops, Melissa Etheridge, Smokey Robinson, Bonnie Raitt, Wynton Marsalis, Little Richard, B.B. King, Jimmy Buffett, Bart Simpson, and the Metropolitan Opera's José Carreras -- not to mention the blond, curly-haired Muppet character from Sesame Street who is his namesake and the lead singer of the rock group "Chrissy and the Alphabeats." Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. ... National Lampoon is a humor magazine that began in 1970 as an offshoot of the Harvard Lampoon. ... Opening title The Electric Company was an educational childrens television program produced by the Childrens Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) for PBS in the United States. ... Square One, also known as Square One Television, was a television show produced by the Childrens Television Workshop to teach mathematics and abstract mathematical concepts to young viewers. ... Between the Lions is a PBS childrens puppet show designed to promote reading. ... John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together The Muppets are a group of puppets and costume characters created by Jim Henson and the company he created. ... Publicity still for Youre the One, released in 2000 This article is about the musician; for other Paul Simons, see Paul Simon (disambiguation). ... Ray Charles was the stage name of Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004). ... John R Cash (February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a vastly influential American country music and rock music singer, guitarist and songwriter. ... REM or R.E.M. is an acronym for: Rapid Eye Movement, a phase during sleep U.S. rock music band R.E.M., formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 Roentgen equivalent man, a unit for measuring levels of exposure to radiation. ... The Best of James Taylor album cover James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Tony Bennett, 2000 Tony Bennett (born August 3, 1926) is an American popular music, standards, and jazz singer who is widely considered to be one of the best interpretive singers in these genres. ... The Dixie Chicks: Martie, Natalie and Emily The Dixie Chicks is a country music group, formed in 1989 in Dallas, Texas. ... Tracy Chapman on the cover of her self-titled album Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for legendary singles Fast Car, Talkin Bout a Revolution, and Baby can I hold you She is a multi platinum and multi grammy award winning artist Born... Carol Channing photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1956 Carol Channing (born January 31, 1921 in Seattle, Washington) is a United States actress whose career was built largely on two roles, Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello Dolly!. She is easily recognized by her distinctive... Randy Travis sings his chart-topping song Three Wooden Crosses, at the DoD-sponsored salute to Korean War veterans at the MCI Center in Washington, July 26, 2003. ... The Four Tops circa 1966. ... Melissa Etheridge on the cover of her album Breakdown Melissa Lou Etheridge (born May 29, 1961 in Leavenworth, Kansas) is an American rock musician. ... William Smokey Robinson, Jr. ... Bonnie Raitt on the cover of her album Silver Lining Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitar virtuoso who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. ... New Orleans-born jazz and classical artist and composer Wynton Marsalis Wynton Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter and composer. ... Little Richard on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, (issue RS 58, May 28, 1970) Little Richard (born Richard Wayne Penniman, December 5, 1935 in Macon, Georgia) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist, and an early African-American pioneer of rock and roll. ... Riley B. King aka B. B. King (b. ... In License to Chill, Buffett paired with several famous country music stars on the albums songs. ... Bartholomew Jo-Jo Simpson, generally referred to as Bart, (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) is a fictional character featured in the animated television series The Simpsons. ... The Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, seen from Lincoln Center Plaza A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Józef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... José Carreras The Catalan tenor Josep Carreras (born December 5, 1946) is a famous Spanish opera singer much admired for his Verdi and Puccini roles. ...

1963—70: Cerf at Random House

Before joining Sesame Street, Cerf spent eight years as a senior editor at Random House (co-founded by his father, the noted publisher, editor, and TV panelist Bennett Cerf, in 1927), where he worked with such diverse authors as George Plimpton, Andy Warhol, Abbie Hoffman, Ray Bradbury, and Dr. Seuss. In 1993, Cerf renewed his ties to Random House when he assumed the role of Chairman of the Modern Library's Board of Advisors. Random House is a publishing division of the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann based in New York City. ... Bennett Cerf photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1932 Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 - August 27, 1971) was a publisher and co-founder of Random House, also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearances lecturing across the United States, and for his television appearances... George Ames Plimpton (March 18, 1927 – September 25, 2003) was an American journalist, writer and actor. ... Andy Warhol, photographed by Helmut Newton. ... Abbie Hoffman, New York City, 1970. ... Ray Bradbury in 1945. ... Postage stamp honoring Dr. Seuss and depicting him along with several of his creations, such as The Cat in the Hat and (courtesy of the United States Postal Service) Theodor Seuss Geisel (March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991), better known by his pen name, Dr. Seuss, was a famous American... The Modern Library, a current division of Random House publishers, was founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. ...

Collaborations with Marlo Thomas

One of Christopher Cerf's best-known projects was the editing and production of Marlo Thomas & Friends' Free To Be...A Family book, album and TV special. The book reached #1 on The New York Times bestseller list within a week of its publication in 1987, and the show received a prime-time Emmy as the year's outstanding children's special. Marlo Thomas was born Margaret Julia Thomas on November 21, 1937 (although most sources indicate 1938) and is an American actress, first appearing on the TV series That Girl in the 1960s. ... The New York Times is a newspaper published in New York City by Arthur O. Sulzberger Jr. ...

Cerf and Thomas recently collaborated again, co-editing and co-producing Thanks & Giving: All Year Long, a book and CD about generosity and sharing (and their polar opposites, selfishness and thoughtlessness). Royalties from the project, for which Thomas and Cerf won a 2006 Grammy Award, go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, founded by Ms. Thomas’s father, Danny Thomas, in 1962. Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards), presented by the Recording Academy (an association of Americans professionally involved in the recorded music industry) for outstanding achievements in the recording industry, is one of four major music awards shows held annually in the United States (the Billboard Music... St Jude Childrens Research Hospital is a world class hospital and medical research facility in Memphis Tennessee. ... Danny Thomas (January 6, 1914 - February 6, 1991) was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor of Lebanese Maronite descent. ...

Between the Lions

Currently, Cerf serves as Executive Producer, and Music and Audio Producer, of Between the Lions, the children's literacy series that his company, Sirius Thinking, Ltd., created for PBS. Between the Lions has twice won the Television Critics’ Award as the nation’s outstanding children’s television program, and, in its six seasons on the air, the show has amassed six Emmy Awards. (In 2006, Between the Lions was nominated for three more Emmys, including Outstanding Children’s Show.) In two independent studies, conducted by the University of Kansas and Mississippi State University, the program has also demonstrated success in helping kids – including those at the highest risk of literacy failure – to learn how to read. Between the Lions is a PBS childrens puppet show designed to promote reading. ... An Emmy Award. ... Main Campus The University of Kansas (often referred to as just KU or Kansas) is an institution of learning located in Lawrence, Kansas. ... Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi in the town of Starkville and is situated 125 miles northeast of Jackson and 23 miles west of Columbus. ...

Humorous Writings

Christopher Cerf is perhaps best known to the general public for his work as an author and satirist. In 1970, he helped launch the National Lampoon, serving as a Contributing Editor from its first issue until the mid-1970s, and in 1978, he co-conceived and co-edited the journalistic parody Not the New York Times. The Experts Speak, the "compendium of authoritative misinformation" that Cerf co-authored with Victor Navasky in 1984, has recently been reissued. In 1986, Cerf collaborated with National Lampoon colleague Henry Beard on The Pentagon Catalog: Ordinary Products at Extraordinary Prices, which offered readers the historic opportunity to obtain a free hex nut – valued at $2,043 by the McDonnell Douglas Corporation -- with every copy they purchased. The Official Politically Correct Dictionary, also written with Beard, first appeared in 1992. National Lampoon is a humor magazine that began in 1970 as an offshoot of the Harvard Lampoon. ... Victor Navasky (born July 5, 1932, New York) was editor of The Nation 1978-95, and its publisher and editorial director since January 1995. ... DC-10, retired from American Airlines fleet at gate McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ...

External links

• Official Between the Lions Web Site
• Profile of Christopher Cerf in The New York Times, February 1, 2004
• A selection of songs and music videos from Between the Lions
• The '"Chrissy and the Alphabeats" page on the Muppet Wiki"
• Christopher Cerf at Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site"
• Audio interview of Christopher Cerf by Linda Wertheimer of NPR about The Iraq War Reader and the U.S. military's use of Sesame Street songs as a psychological weapon during the interrogation of Iraqi prisoners, June 7, 2003
• Audio interview of Christopher Cerf and Victor Navasky by Noah Adams of All Things Considered about The Experts Speak, October 9, 1998
• Four audio interviews of Christopher Cerf by Don Swaim of CBS Radio, RealAudio (1992, about The Modern Library; 1991, about The Book of Sequels; 1988, about Free To Be...A Family; 1986, about The Pentagon Catalog)
• "Americans United to Beat the Dutch" pages at the official National Lampoon Web Site

Christopher Cerf: Selected Bibliography

• Not the New York Times (Co-editor, with Larry Durocher, Josh Feigenbaum, Tony Hendra, George Plimpton, and Rusty Unger), 1978

• The 80s: A Look Back at the Tumultuous Decade, 1980-1989 (Co-editor, with Tony Hendra and Peter Elbling), 1979

• The Experts Speak: The Definitive Compendium of Authoritative Misinformation (with Victor Navasky), 1984, 1990, 1998

• The Pentagon Catalog: Ordinary Products at Extraordinary Prices (with Henry Beard), 1986

• Marlo Thomas & Friends: Free To Be… A Family (Co-editor, with Marlo Thomas), 1987

• The Book of Sequels (with Henry Beard, Sarah Durkee, and Sean Kelly), 1990

• Small Fires: Letters From the Soviet People to Ogonyok Magazine, 1987-1990 (Co-editor, with Marina Albee), 1990

• The Gulf War Reader: History, Documents, Opinions (Co-editor, with Micah L. Sifry), 1991

• The Official Politically Correct Dictionary and Handbook (with Henry Beard), 1992, 1993

• The Official Sexually Correct Dictionary and Handbook (with Henry Beard), 1995

• The Iraq War Reader: History, Documents, Opinions (Co-editor, with Micah L. Sifry), 2003

• Marlo Thomas & Friends: Thanks and Giving: All Year Long (Co-editor, with Marlo Thomas), 2004