David Smyrl

{{Infobox person |birth_name = David Langston Smyrl |birth_date = {{birth date|1935|9|13}} |birth_place = North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |death_date = {{death date and age|2016|3|22|1935|9|13}} |death_place = Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, U.S. |resting_place = West Laurel Hill Cemetery |occupation = Actor, writer |years_active = 1956–2002; 2009–2016 |children = Gianna Marie Smyrl }} '''David Langston Smyrl''' (September 13, 1935 – March 22, 2016), sometimes credited professionally as '''David L. Smyrl''', was an American actor and television writer. He was best known for his role of Mr. Handford, the fictional retired firefighter who ran Hooper's Store on ''Sesame Street'' from 1990 to 1998.<ref name=nytimes>{{cite news|title=David Smyrl Dies at 80; Played Mr. Handford on 'Sesame Street' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/26/arts/television/david-smyrl-dies-at-80-played-mr-handford-on-sesame-street.html?_r=0 |work=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=2016-03-25 |access-date=2016-04-17}}</ref><ref name=philly>{{cite news|first=Bonnie L.|last=Cook |title=David L. Smyrl, Mr. Handford on 'Sesame Street' |url=http://articles.philly.com/2016-03-26/news/71811482_1_sesame-street-north-philadelphia-delta-air-lines |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425150327/http://articles.philly.com/2016-03-26/news/71811482_1_sesame-street-north-philadelphia-delta-air-lines |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 25, 2016 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=2016-03-26 |access-date=2016-04-17}}</ref> Smyrl won eight Emmy Awards for his work on ''Sesame Street'' during his time on the show.<ref name=philly/> David Smyrl also Co-starred on The Cosby Show 1984-1992.

==Early life== Smyrl was born on September 13, 1935, in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was raised in the neighborhood.<ref name=nytimes/> He began his career as a coffeehouse poet in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, during the 1960s.<ref name=philly/> Smyrl co-founded the Gossett Academy of Dramatic Arts with his friend Louis Gossett Jr. in 1966.<ref name=":04">{{Cite book |last=Gossett Jr. |first=Louis |title=An Actor and a Gentleman |last2=Karas |first2=Phyllis |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2010 |isbn=9780470620946 |pages=127-132}}</ref> He was hired for his television acting job on a short-lived show, ''Express Yourself'', during the 1970s.<ref name=philly/> He appeared in the 1978 Broadway musical, ''Working''.<ref name=nytimes/>

Smyrl next moved to California, where he was hired as a writer for the ABC television sitcom, ''Benson'', for which he won a People's Choice Award.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name=philly/> Smyrl then joined ''The Cosby Show'', both as a gag writer and actor, playing a general contractor named Sam Lucas for a five-episode recurring role.<ref name=nytimes/><ref name=philly/>

==Career== Smyrl was best known for his role on the PBS children's show, ''Sesame Street''. In 1982, actor Will Lee, who played Mr. Hooper, the original owner of ''Sesame Street's'' fictional Hooper's Store, died during production. Mr. Hooper's death was included on the show in a 1983 episode. Northern Calloway, who played David, then took over the store, but he left the show in 1989 with psychiatric issues, and later died the following year. In 1990, Smyrl was hired by ''Sesame Street'' as Mr. Hanford, the owner of Hooper's Store. Smyrl replaced Leonard Jackson, who had played a grumpier version of Mr. Hanford during the preceding Season 21.<ref name="philly" /> By contrast, Smyrl played Mr. Hanford as a store owner who smiled and sang to the residents of ''Sesame Street''.<ref name="philly" /> Smyrl remained on ''Sesame Street'' from 1990 until 1998.<ref name="nytimes" />

An accomplished voice actor, Smyrl narrated commercials for Canada Dry, Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Levi Strauss & Co. 501 jeans, GMC, McDonald's, Pepsi, and Texaco.<ref name=philly/> His film credits included ''The Preacher's Wife'', in 1996, opposite Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston.<ref name=philly/> He also starred as Jesse B. Simple in a documentary on the life of Langston Hughes called ''The Dream Keeper''.<ref name=philly/>

==Personal life== Smyrl had lived in Connecticut before moving back to Philadelphia with his wife in 2004.<ref name=philly/> The couple then resided in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, located just outside of Philadelphia.<ref name=philly/> He worked as a volunteer performer at regional colleges, schools and prisons.<ref name=philly/>

==Death== David Smyrl died from lung cancer at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, on March 22, 2016, at the age of 80.<ref name=philly/> He was buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd on March 28, 2016.<ref name=philly/>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0810759|name=David Smyrl}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyrl, David}} Category:1935 births Category:2016 deaths Category:American male television actors Category:American male film actors Category:American male stage actors Category:American television writers Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Deaths from cancer in Pennsylvania Category:Male actors from Philadelphia Category:People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Category:Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery Category:Screenwriters from Pennsylvania Category:American male television writers Category:20th-century African-American male actors Category:20th-century American male actors Category:21st-century African-American male actors Category:21st-century American male actors