Samuel Y. Gibbon Jr. ’53

Sam was born in Philadelphia and came to Princeton after studying at Episcopal Academy. He joined Cottage Club and majored in the Special Program in the Humanities. His thesis topic was “The Towneley Cycle of Mystery Plays Seen as the Culmination of the Development of the English Drama from its Origin in Medieval Church Ritual.”

He became a producer, known for The Electric Company (1971), Sesame Street (1969), and The Voyage of the Mimi (1984). In 2006, Gibbon received the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Fred Rogers Award for excellence in educational media.

Sam died Feb. 16, 2026. He is survived by his wife, Carol, and their two children.