Vale: David Smyrl

US actor David Smyrl, best known for Sesame Street, has died aged 80.

He died on Tuesday near Philadelphia after battling lung cancer, having been diagnosed with cancer at the beginning of the year.

Smyrl played Mr. Handford on Sesame Street, the the cheerful, retired firefighter who ran Hooper’s Store on Sesame Street from 1990 to 1998.

“You get to act stupid,” Smyrl told the Record-Journal about what drew him to the role. “It’s fun! I get to do fun things like dance with Gloria Estefan.”

He began his television career in the 1970s on the show Express Yourself. He also worked as a writer and played contractor Sam Lucas on The Cosby Show.

Smyrl won a People’s Choice Award for his work on the ’70s sitcom Benson.

“He was loved by so many people,” his wife Cheryl told press. “He was a mentor to a lot of children. He was a family man, loyal, true and faithful.”

Source: Variety