When my little Bear was actually little, he loved the show “Bear in the Big Blue House.” Now my Tiger has discovered it, too. Yes, it’s aimed at preschoolers, but Muppets are ageless. Myself, I can’t stand the squeaky voice of Tutter the Mouse, but I’m utterly charmed by the big Bear and his little niece Ojo.
I’ve always loved the show’s music, too, even after logging thousands of miles with those tunes filling our car. The one that always struck a melancholy chord in me is “The Goodbye Song,” sung by the Big Bear in a duet with his lovely friend Luna the Moon at the end of each episode. Meant to help the child let go of the fantasy world and transition calmly back to reality with the promise of another day, it had an opposite effect of me, evoking fragility and impermanence and frank loss.
(Click here if you can’t see the clip.)
It’s partly the key change that would put me in a melancholy mood, but most of all it was Luna’s voice. Before googling the show yesterday to see if it’s still in reruns (apparently yes, but not where I live), I didn’t know that Luna was sung by Lynne Thigpen, an actress and singer whose career spanned the stage (Godspell), movies (Anger Management), and oversized Bear muppets.
Thigpen was struck down at age 54 when she suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage in early 2003. When she died, the show died with her. Her Wikipedia page says that “the crew’s hearts just weren’t in it anymore.” I had wondered why the show disappeared so abruptly and blamed corporate greed at the Disney channel. Wish I’d been right.
I never knew Ms. Thigpen, but I love her voice, and I love her work. I wish I’d known her name years ago. Her voice lent company and comfort in those topsy turvy, sleep deprived, sometimes lonely days of early parenthood.
Bear: Hey, this was really fun
Luna: We hope you liked it too
Bear: Seems like we’ve just begun
Both: When suddenly we’re through
Bear: Goodbye, goodbye, good friends, goodbye
Both: Cause now it’s time to go
Bear: But, hey, I say, well, that’s OK
Luna: Cause we’ll see you very soon, I know
Bear: Very soon, I know
Both: Goodbye, goodbye, good friends, goodbye
Bear: And tomorrow, just like today
Luna: (Goodbye – today)
Both:
The moon, the bear and the Big Blue House
We’ll be waiting for you to come and play
To come and play, to come and play.
She died too soon. Tomorrow is not just like today. It’s not OK.
So to Lynne: Goodbye, goodbye, good friends, goodbye. And to Luna: Thanks for the light.
(Photo of Lynne Thigpen from her tribute page at Muppet Central.)
Patron cat of Kittywampus (1985-2001)
Oh! She also used to be the chief on Where In the World is Carmen San Diego? I didn’t realize she’d died. How sad.
I never saw Where In the World is Carmen San Diego – but yeah, I noticed it in her long list of credits.
I don’t know if it’s available on DVD, but I think your kids are at the age where they’d really get a kick out of it. It’s very well done, and they worked really hard to have a diverse group of kids on the show.
I will look for them! I’m always on the alert for not-crappy kids programs, and it gets harder once they’re in school. (Which is one reason I think this revival of “Bear” is so sweet – these guys are now 7 and 11!)
She was also the Chief on the PBS game show for kids Where In the World Is Carmen Sandiego?. She was an amazing talent, and will be missed,
Oh man I remember her from the Carmen San Diego show and her role in the old Morgan Freeman movie, “Lean on Me”. Even though she was the “villain” of the movie (she was an angry parent that wanted to get right of Joe Clark, played Freeman).
What a woman.
Geez, it seems like I’ve missed some crucial chunks of American culture by being gone in the 1990s! (I did catch the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, though …)
It’s cool that so many of you remember and appreciate her. I thought I was a bit goofy to write a tribute so long after her death – seven years – but maybe not!