--- title: Emmy-winning Sesame Street Producer Lisa Simon Dies at 64 description: Lisa Simon, a woman who was part of the children’s program Sesame Street from its inception, died in New York City on April 4 on... canonical: https://time.com/3816825/lisa-simon-sesame-street-dead-obituary-emmy-elmo-zoe-big-bird/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-10T07:26:16.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T06:18:02.797Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Emmy-Winning 'Sesame Street' Producer Lisa Simon Dies at 64 og:description: The longtime producer and director won 20 Daytime Emmys over her 40 year career og:url: https://time.com/3816825/lisa-simon-sesame-street-dead-obituary-emmy-elmo-zoe-big-bird/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc83652b7bd156054/6987ea7a8e0601402345e0e1/494222207.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 12th Annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Emmy-Winning 'Sesame Street' Producer Lisa Simon Dies at 64 twitter:description: The longtime producer and director won 20 Daytime Emmys over her 40 year career twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc83652b7bd156054/6987ea7a8e0601402345e0e1/494222207.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Emmy-winning _Sesame Street_ Producer Lisa Simon Dies at 64 > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Jennifer Maas / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jennifer Maas / Entertainment Weekly Apr 10, 2015 7:26 AM UTC  General view of atmosphere at the 12th annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on May 28, 2014 General view of atmosphere at the 12th annual Sesame Workshop Benefit Gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City on May 28, 2014Robin Marchant—Getty Images by [Jennifer Maas / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jennifer Maas / Entertainment Weekly Apr 10, 2015 7:26 AM UTC Lisa Simon, a woman who was part of the children’s program _Sesame Street_ from its inception, died in New York City on April 4 on her 64th birthday. Jodi Lefkowitz of the New York-based Sesame Workshop confirmed to EW. The longtime producer and director won 20 Daytime Emmys over her 40 year career. Her time at _Sesame Street_ began during its early days with a summer job, after which she stayed on permanently, all while taking night classes at Hunter College to finish her B.A. in communications. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Program for _Don’t Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,_ a one-hour special that aired on PBS in 1983. She also produced several _Sesame Str_eet home videos including _Elmocize, Zoe’s Dance Moves_ and _Big Bird Sings_! Apart from _Sesame Street_, Simon produced and directed the children’s programs _Between the Lions, Big Bag, Bear in the Big Blue House, Oobi_ and _Wonder Pets!_ Simon’s volunteer work included setting up a tour of _Sesame Street_ performers to visit those children and families affected by Hurricane Katrina and leading a relief team in Sri Lanka after the 2004 tsunami. Simon recently consulted on the new _Sesame Street_ co-production planned for Abu Dhabi. 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