Cracks aka "Crack Master" (found animated "Sesame Street" short; 1975): Difference between revisions

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{{InfoboxFound
{{InfoboxFound
|title=<center>Cracks (Sesame Street short)</center>
|title=<center>Cracks (Sesame Street short)</center>
|image=Crack master opening.jpg
|image=SesameStreetCracks-OpeningSequence.jpg
|imagecaption=The short's opening shot.
|imagecaption=The short's opening shot.
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>  
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>  
|datefound=24 Dec '13 (English) / 15 Mar '17 (Spanish)
|datefound=24 Dec 2013 (English) / 15 Mar 2017 (Spanish) / 28 April 2019 (Hebrew)
|foundby=English: Anonymous and [[User:Dycaite|Dycaite]]
|foundby=Anonymous and [[User:Dycaite|Dycaite]] (English) /
Spanish: [[User:Patriot712|Patriot712]]
Patriot712 (Spanish)
}}
}}
'''''Cracks''''' (also known as '''''Crack Master''''') was an animated ''Sesame Street'' short that aired for its first time on December 31, 1975.  The short gained notoriety in the late 2000s due to its unavailability, having aired a total of only 11 times over the course of 3 and a half years in the U.S. The short's initial popularity came from when numerous recounts of the short began emerging online.
'''''Cracks''''' (also known as '''''Crack Master''''') was an animated ''Sesame Street'' short that aired for its first time on December 31st, 1975.  The short gained notoriety in the late 2000s due to its unavailability, having aired a total of only 11 times over the course of 3 and a half years in the U.S. The short's initial popularity came from when numerous recounts of the short began emerging online.


==Plot Synopsis==
==Plot Synopsis==
The 1 and a half minute short tells the story of a young girl making friends with imaginary crack creatures (ie. a camel, a hen, and a monkey), formed by cracks in her bedroom wall, before encountering the unnerving "Crack Master", a large, distorted face that proceeds to bellow at the group, moments before crumbling to the ground; the short is narrated (partially in song form) by Dorothy Moskowitz. An official description of the short (as found in documentation sourced from the Children's Television Workshop archives at the University of Maryland, College Park) reads "A girl lying in bed imagines she sees a crack in the wall (DIVERGENT THINKING) (TIME 1:29)".<ref>[http://lostmediawiki.com/images/5/50/CTW_archive_crack_master.jpg Rundown of Episode 979 (February 10, 1977), as found in the Children's Television Workshop archives.] Retrieved 04 Mar '15</ref>
The one and a half minute short tells the story of a young girl making friends with imaginary crack creatures (i.e. a camel, a hen, and a monkey), formed by cracks in her bedroom wall, before encountering the unnerving "Crack Master", a large, distorted face that proceeds to bellow at the group, moments before crumbling to the ground; the short is narrated (partially in song form) by Dorothy Moskowitz. An official description of the short (as found in documentation sourced from the Children's Television Workshop archives at the University of Maryland, College Park) reads "A girl lying in bed imagines she sees a crack in the wall (DIVERGENT THINKING) (TIME 1:29)".<ref>[http://lostmediawiki.com/images/5/50/CTW_archive_crack_master.jpg Rundown of Episode 979 (February 10th, 1977), as found in the Children's Television Workshop archives.] Retrieved 04 Mar '15</ref>


==Search Efforts==
==Search Efforts==
In late 2008, a man by the name of Jon Armond came into possession of a copy of the short after conducting a search effort for it, though he was ultimately contractually forbidden from sharing it with anyone and was, under no circumstances, to reproduce the short. While Armond offered people the chance to view the short in his home (and, on a select few occasions, actually traveled to an audience to show it to them), he upheld his contractual obligations and refrained from putting the short online (despite the huge demand for it), much to the dismay of many. On top of his aforementioned agreement to keep the animation under wraps, Armond was also forbidden from even publicizing the short's title or the names of those involved in its creation; the identities of the short's creators are still, to this day, completely unknown (for a time, animator Cosmo Anzilotti was rumored to have had a hand in its creation, though he would later go on to deny any involvement).<ref>[http://lostmediawiki.com/images/e/ee/Cosmo_anzilotti_letter_dycaite.jpg Cosmo Anzilotti's response to a letter from Dycaite regarding the short.] Retrieved 04 Mar '15</ref> Armond did, however, record a 9 minute 'audio documentary' on the short in 2009, including a word-for-word reading of the script, which he shared with a handful of users that he'd previously been in contact with (with the recording eventually finding its way to YouTube).
In late 2008, a man by the name of Jon Armond came into possession of a copy of the short after conducting a search effort for it, though he was ultimately contractually forbidden from sharing it with anyone and was, under no circumstances, to reproduce the short. While Armond offered people the chance to view the short in his home (and, on a select few occasions, actually travelled to an audience to show it to them), he upheld his contractual obligations and refrained from putting the short online (despite the huge demand for it), much to the dismay of many. On top of his aforementioned agreement to keep the animation under wraps, Armond was also forbidden from even publicizing the short's title or the names of those involved in its creation; the identities of the short's creators are still, to this day, completely unknown (for a time, animator Cosmo Anzilotti was rumoured to have had a hand in its creation, though he would later go on to deny any involvement).<ref>[http://lostmediawiki.com/images/e/ee/Cosmo_anzilotti_letter_dycaite.jpg Cosmo Anzilotti's response to a letter from Dycaite regarding the short.] Retrieved 04 Mar '15</ref> Armond did, however, record a 9 minute 'audio documentary' on the short in 2009, including a word-for-word reading of the script, which he shared with a handful of users that he'd previously been in contact with (with the recording eventually finding its way to YouTube).


Notably, in the years following Armond's successful acquisition of the clip, several Latin American users came forward with claims that the short had aired in the 1990s and 2000s during the Spanish dub of ''Sesame Street'', ''Plaza Sesamo''. Said version was uploaded to YouTube by user AT Productions (Patriot712 on the Lost Media Wiki) on March 15th, 2017, with his higher quality VHS recording being released on March 31st, 2017.
Notably, in the years following Armond's successful acquisition of the clip, several Latin American users came forward with claims that the short had aired in the 1990s and 2000s during the Spanish dub of ''Sesame Street'', ''Plaza Sesamo''. Said version was uploaded to YouTube by user AT Productions (Patriot712 on the Lost Media Wiki) on March 15th, 2017, with his higher quality VHS recording being released on March 31st, 2017.


==Release==
==Release==
After conducting an extensive search effort of his own (involving letters and emails to both Sesame Workshop and the aforementioned Children's Television Workshop archives, plus petitions and the like), Lost Media Wiki founder Dycaite was sent a copy of the once-elusive short by a generous anonymous source on December 24th, 2013; it was uploaded to YouTube shortly thereafter, and has since garnered over 200,000 views. It has been confirmed by blogger Jennifer Bourne, aka Namowal (who was privately screened Armond's copy) that the version sent to Dycaite is not the same one that Armond had been provided with, as the latter was taken from an actual episode of ''Sesame Street'' and began with a brief glimpse of a previous skit, whereas the former appears to have been sourced from an archive of some kind, instead beginning with a title card (complete with production code and runtime).<ref>[http://tailotherat.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/come-visit-cracks.html Blog post by Namowal on the short's unearthing.] Retrieved 04 Mar '15</ref>
After conducting an extensive search effort of his own (involving letters and emails to both Sesame Workshop and the aforementioned Children's Television Workshop archives, plus petitions and the like), Lost Media Wiki founder Dycaite was sent a copy of the once-elusive short by a generous anonymous source on December 24th, 2013; it was uploaded to YouTube shortly thereafter and has since garnered over 300,000 views. It has been confirmed by blogger Jennifer Bourne, aka Namowal (who was privately screened Armond's copy) that the version sent to Dycaite is not the same one that Armond had been provided with, as the latter was taken from an actual episode of ''Sesame Street'' and began with a brief glimpse of a previous skit, whereas the former appears to have been sourced from an archive of some kind, instead beginning with a title card (complete with production code and runtime).<ref>[http://tailotherat.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/come-visit-cracks.html Blog post by Namowal on the short's unearthing.] Retrieved 04 Mar '15</ref>
 
==Reception==
===''The Huffington Post''===
The short's release caused a spark on numerous media outlets, most notably being ''The Huffington Post'', who described it as "eerie" and "haunting".<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2014/12/12/crack-sesame-street_n_6312138.html ''The Huffington Post'' article on the discovery of ''Cracks''.] Retrieved 20 Feb '19</ref>
 
===''Studio 360''===
On February 19th, 2019, ''Studio 360'' released another episode of their podcast. In an attempt to track down ''Cracks'''s origins, Kurt Andersen discovered that it was produced by "P Imagination" and narrated by Dorothy Moskowitz. Mel Martin composed the saxophone portion, and Peter Scott was the radio producer.<ref>[https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/1975-sesame-street-short-cracks.html ''Studio 360'' podcast on ''Cracks''.] Retrieved 20 Feb '19</ref>
 
===Airdates===
"Cracks" was aired only 11 times over the course of 5 years. It was also aired in the mid 90s (probably 1993-1995) on the Mexican Spanish version of Sesame Street, Plaza Sesamo.
 
The Sesame Street English airdates are here:
 
Episode 0818 - December 31st, 1975 - Season 7
 
Episode 0848 - February 11th, 1976 - Season 7
 
Episode 0903 - April 28th, 1976 - Season 7
 
Episode 0979 - February 10th, 1977 - Season 8
 
Episode 1016 - April 4th, 1977 - Season 8
 
Episode 1067 - December 13th, 1977 - Season 9
 
Episode 1140 - March 24th, 1978- Season 9
 
Episode 1239 - February 8th, 1979 - Season 10
 
Episode 1323 - December 5th, 1979 - Season 11
 
Episode 1386 - March 3rd, 1980 - Season 11
 
Episode 1430 - May 2nd, 1980 - Season 11


==Videos==
==Videos==
{{Video|perrow  =2
{{Video|perrow  =3
   |service1    =youtube
   |service1    =youtube
   |id1          =0y0ffj__R4g
   |id1          =0y0ffj__R4g
   |description1 =''Crack Master'' short.
   |description1 =The ''Crack Master'' short.
   |service2    =youtube
   |service2    =youtube
   |id2          =vSqDV4h-prY
   |id2          =vSqDV4h-prY
   |description2 =''Crack Master'' Spanish dub.
   |description2 =The ''Crack Master'' Spanish dub.
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =E9UWrdVpims
  |description3 =The ''Crack Master'' Hebrew dub.
}}
{{Video|perrow  =1
  |service1    =youtube
  |id1          =PSFY4k7KeQI
  |description1 =Blameitonjorge's video on the subject.
}}
}}
==Reception==
===''The Huffington Post''===
The short's release caused a spark on numerous media outlets, most notably being ''The Huffington Post'', who described it as "eerie" and "haunting".<ref>[https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2014/12/12/crack-sesame-street_n_6312138.html ''The Huffington Post'' article on the discovery of ''Cracks''.] Retrieved 20 Feb '19</ref>
===''Studio 360''===
On February 19, 2019, ''Studio 360'' released another episode of their podcast. In an attempt to track down ''Cracks'''s origins, Kurt Andersen discovered that it was produced by "P Imagination" and narrated by Dorothy Moskowitz. Mel Martin composed the saxophone portion, and Peter Scott was the radio producer.<ref>[https://slate.com/culture/2019/02/1975-sesame-street-short-cracks.html ''Studio 360'' podcast on ''Cracks''.] Retrieved 20 Feb '19</ref>
==See Also==
==See Also==
*[https://lostmediawiki.com/Sesame_Street_(partially_lost_children%27s_educational_TV_series;_1969-present) Sesame Street (partially lost children's educational TV series; 1969-present)]
*[https://lostmediawiki.com/Sesame_Street_(partially_lost_children%27s_educational_TV_series;_1969-present) Sesame Street (partially lost children's educational TV series; 1969-present)]


==External Links==
==External Links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccv6-qAyZsg Jon Armond's 2009 audio documentary on the short.]
*[https://youtu.be/Ccv6-qAyZsg Jon Armond's 2009 audio documentary on the short.] Retrieved 04 Mar '15
*[https://mega.nz/#!PAAQDYiJ!YZ8zm1vmyaVtIeizJ6vVSzNdXqoenVjiUtrYIHffkSU MEGA mirror of the anonymous source's original file.]
*[https://mega.nz/#!PAAQDYiJ!YZ8zm1vmyaVtIeizJ6vVSzNdXqoenVjiUtrYIHffkSU MEGA mirror of the anonymous source's original file.] Retrieved 09 Feb '16


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 12:26, 18 October 2020

SesameStreetCracks-OpeningSequence.jpg

The short's opening shot.

Status: Found

Date found: 24 Dec 2013 (English) / 15 Mar 2017 (Spanish) / 28 April 2019 (Hebrew)

Found by: Anonymous and Dycaite (English) / Patriot712 (Spanish)

Cracks (also known as Crack Master) was an animated Sesame Street short that aired for its first time on December 31st, 1975. The short gained notoriety in the late 2000s due to its unavailability, having aired a total of only 11 times over the course of 3 and a half years in the U.S. The short's initial popularity came from when numerous recounts of the short began emerging online.

Plot Synopsis

The one and a half minute short tells the story of a young girl making friends with imaginary crack creatures (i.e. a camel, a hen, and a monkey), formed by cracks in her bedroom wall, before encountering the unnerving "Crack Master", a large, distorted face that proceeds to bellow at the group, moments before crumbling to the ground; the short is narrated (partially in song form) by Dorothy Moskowitz. An official description of the short (as found in documentation sourced from the Children's Television Workshop archives at the University of Maryland, College Park) reads "A girl lying in bed imagines she sees a crack in the wall (DIVERGENT THINKING) (TIME 1:29)".[1]

Search Efforts

In late 2008, a man by the name of Jon Armond came into possession of a copy of the short after conducting a search effort for it, though he was ultimately contractually forbidden from sharing it with anyone and was, under no circumstances, to reproduce the short. While Armond offered people the chance to view the short in his home (and, on a select few occasions, actually travelled to an audience to show it to them), he upheld his contractual obligations and refrained from putting the short online (despite the huge demand for it), much to the dismay of many. On top of his aforementioned agreement to keep the animation under wraps, Armond was also forbidden from even publicizing the short's title or the names of those involved in its creation; the identities of the short's creators are still, to this day, completely unknown (for a time, animator Cosmo Anzilotti was rumoured to have had a hand in its creation, though he would later go on to deny any involvement).[2] Armond did, however, record a 9 minute 'audio documentary' on the short in 2009, including a word-for-word reading of the script, which he shared with a handful of users that he'd previously been in contact with (with the recording eventually finding its way to YouTube).

Notably, in the years following Armond's successful acquisition of the clip, several Latin American users came forward with claims that the short had aired in the 1990s and 2000s during the Spanish dub of Sesame Street, Plaza Sesamo. Said version was uploaded to YouTube by user AT Productions (Patriot712 on the Lost Media Wiki) on March 15th, 2017, with his higher quality VHS recording being released on March 31st, 2017.

Release

After conducting an extensive search effort of his own (involving letters and emails to both Sesame Workshop and the aforementioned Children's Television Workshop archives, plus petitions and the like), Lost Media Wiki founder Dycaite was sent a copy of the once-elusive short by a generous anonymous source on December 24th, 2013; it was uploaded to YouTube shortly thereafter and has since garnered over 300,000 views. It has been confirmed by blogger Jennifer Bourne, aka Namowal (who was privately screened Armond's copy) that the version sent to Dycaite is not the same one that Armond had been provided with, as the latter was taken from an actual episode of Sesame Street and began with a brief glimpse of a previous skit, whereas the former appears to have been sourced from an archive of some kind, instead beginning with a title card (complete with production code and runtime).[3]

Reception

The Huffington Post

The short's release caused a spark on numerous media outlets, most notably being The Huffington Post, who described it as "eerie" and "haunting".[4]

Studio 360

On February 19th, 2019, Studio 360 released another episode of their podcast. In an attempt to track down Cracks's origins, Kurt Andersen discovered that it was produced by "P Imagination" and narrated by Dorothy Moskowitz. Mel Martin composed the saxophone portion, and Peter Scott was the radio producer.[5]

Airdates

"Cracks" was aired only 11 times over the course of 5 years. It was also aired in the mid 90s (probably 1993-1995) on the Mexican Spanish version of Sesame Street, Plaza Sesamo.

The Sesame Street English airdates are here:

Episode 0818 - December 31st, 1975 - Season 7

Episode 0848 - February 11th, 1976 - Season 7

Episode 0903 - April 28th, 1976 - Season 7

Episode 0979 - February 10th, 1977 - Season 8

Episode 1016 - April 4th, 1977 - Season 8

Episode 1067 - December 13th, 1977 - Season 9

Episode 1140 - March 24th, 1978- Season 9

Episode 1239 - February 8th, 1979 - Season 10

Episode 1323 - December 5th, 1979 - Season 11

Episode 1386 - March 3rd, 1980 - Season 11

Episode 1430 - May 2nd, 1980 - Season 11

Videos

The Crack Master short.

The Crack Master Spanish dub.

The Crack Master Hebrew dub.

Blameitonjorge's video on the subject.

See Also

External Links

References