Emilio Delgado death: Sesame Street actor dies aged 81

Actor played ‘Luis’ on the long-running children’s show for 40 years

‘Sesame Street’ cast member Emilio Delgado attending a screening for the documentary ‘Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street’ in December 2021. (Getty Images for HBO)

Emilio Delgado, the actor who played ‘Luis’ on Sesame Street for 40 years has died at the age of 81.

His wife Carole told TMZ that he passed away on Thursday (10 March) surrounded by family at his home in New York City.

The TV star had recently been in hospice care after being diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma in December 2020.

Delgado joined the cast of Sesame Street in 1971, winning the role of Luis the Fix-it Shop owner on the popular and long-running children’s show. He became a familiar onscreen presence over the next four decades, until his contract was not renewed in 2016 as the show underwent a revamp.

As well as his long stint on Sesame Street, Delgado also appeared on many other television shows. He played a news editor on Lou Grant, a spin-off of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, which starred Ed Asner in the titular role.

Other credits included appearances in House of Cards, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Outside of acting, Delgado and his wife served on the Board of Directors at the Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice, an LGBTQ+ safe-space and community activist center dedicated to preserving the memory and work of African American civil rights leader Bayard Rustin.