He was 81 years old.
“We are saddened by the news of Emilio’s passing. Emilio was a huge talent who brought so much joy and smiles to his fans. Many will miss him and we know his legacy will live on. Our thoughts are with his loved ones, including his wife Carole,” Robert Attermann, CEO of A3 Artists Agency, told CNN.
The actor died on Thursday at his home in New York. According to a TMZ report citing his wife, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, in 2020.
Delgado continued to be active in theatre, starring in Nouvelle Quixote, a version of Don Quixote, before the pandemic struck in early 2020. His extensive stage work included serving as Artistic Director of the Barrio Theater Ensemble in East Los Angeles.
However, he will be best remembered for the popular children’s program. Delgado has mentioned the importance of the PBS show as a cultural touchstone in how people of color are portrayed on television.
“For the first time on television, Hispanics were shown as real people,” Delgado told the Houston Chronicle in 2020. “We were not drug addicts. We were not maids or prostitutes, as we were shown in TV and movies. Here on Sesame Street, there were different people who spoke different languages and ate interesting food, and they were all Americans.”
“A beloved member of the Sesame family for over 50 years, his warmth and humor invited children to share a friendship that has been passed down through the generations,” Sesame Workshop said of Delgado in a statement to CNN. “Being at the forefront of the show, Emilio proudly claims “the record for the longest running Mexican-American in a television series.” We are so grateful that he shared his talents with us and with the world.”
In addition to Sesame Street, Delgado appeared on TV series such as Law & Order and, early in his career, on the dramas Lou Grant and Falcon Crest. He also starred in the 1975 TV movie I Won’t Fight Forever No More, a true story about Nez Perce Native American leader Chief Joseph.
Delgado was born in Calexico, California but grew up with his grandparents across the US-Mexico border in Mexicali.