A Famous Sesame Street Clip Is Unearthed

A rare and relatively controversial clip from Sesame Street in 1976 is available for widespread viewing for the first time since it aired. As Mashable reports, it features none other than Margaret Hamilton reprising her role from the Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West. In the 15-minute segment—which has been uploaded to YouTube—the witch loses her broom while flying over the street and sets about trying to get it back. The problem? Kids (and their parents) apparently found the segment too scary, reports USA Today, citing Muppet Wiki.

"The episode prompted an unusually large amount of mail responses from parents, almost entirely negative, within a short time frame," according to the Wiki page. The show decided not to rerun it, and while it has surfaced now and again over the years, it had largely been confined to the archives of the Library of Congress. Now, however, a pretty clear version is available thanks to the efforts of "some intrepid Muppet archivist," per the AV Club. The site adds some context: Hamilton was always happy to reprise her famous role provided it was for an educational show, and she did so multiple times on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. (More Sesame Street stories.)