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

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{{InfoboxFound
{{InfoboxFound
|image = Crack master opening.jpg
|title=<center>Cracks (Sesame Street short)</center>
|title = <center>Cracks</center>
|image=Crack master opening.jpg
|status = <span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>  
|imagecaption=The short's opening shot.
|imagecaption = The short's opening shot
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>  
|datefound = Dec 24 2013 / Mar 15 2017
|datefound=24 Dec '13 (English) / 15 Mar '17 (Spanish)
|foundby =English: Anonymous and [[User:Dycaite|dycaite]]
|foundby=Anonymous and [[User:Dycaite|Dycaite]] (English) /
Spanish: [[User:Patriot712|Patriot712]]}}
Patriot712 (Spanish)
 
}}
'''Cracks''' 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 US. Its 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 an, as of now, unidentified woman. An official description of the short (as found in documentation sourced from the CTW 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 CTW archives.] Last retrieved 04 Mar 2015.</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 for 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 publicising 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; 27 Jul 2013.] Last retrieved 04 Mar 2015.</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 LMW)' on March 15, 2017, with his higher quality VHS recording being released on March 31, 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 CTW archives, plus petitions and the like), Lost Media Wiki founder Dycaite was miraculously sent a copy of the once-elusive short by a generous anonymous source, in late December of 2013; it was uploaded to YouTube shortly thereafter, and his since garnered over 100,000 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; 27 Dec 2013.] Last retrieved 04 Mar 2015.</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>


<br/>
===''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>


{{#evt:
==Videos==
service=youtube
{{Video|perrow  =3
|id=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y0ffj__R4g
  |service1    =youtube
|alignment=center
  |id1          =0y0ffj__R4g
|container=frame
  |description1 =The ''Crack Master'' short.
  |service2    =youtube
  |id2          =vSqDV4h-prY
  |description2 =The ''Crack Master'' Spanish dub.
  |service3    =youtube
  |id3          =PSFY4k7KeQI
  |description3 =Blameitonjorge's video on the subject.
}}
}}
{{#ev: youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSqDV4h-prY|640x480|center|The Spanish dub|frame}}
==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)]
==Reception==
The short's release caused a spark on numerous media outlets, most notably being ''The Huffington Post'', who described it as 'eerie' and 'haunting.'
 
== References ==
<references />


== External links ==
==External Links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ccv6-qAyZsg Jon Armond's 2009 audio documentary on the short, via YouTube; 29 Aug 2013.] Last retrieved 04 Mar 2015.
*[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.] Last retrieved 09 Feb 2016.
*[https://mega.nz/#!PAAQDYiJ!YZ8zm1vmyaVtIeizJ6vVSzNdXqoenVjiUtrYIHffkSU MEGA mirror of the anonymous source's original file.] Retrieved 09 Feb '16


==References==
{{reflist}}


[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Historic]]
[[Category:Historic]]

Revision as of 23:21, 18 January 2020

The short's opening shot.

Status: Found

Date found: 24 Dec '13 (English) / 15 Mar '17 (Spanish)

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]

Videos

The Crack Master short.

The Crack Master Spanish dub.

Blameitonjorge's video on the subject.

See Also

External Links

References