Longtime 'Sesame Street' Director Emily Squires Dies at 71

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Emily Squires, 71, longtime Emmy award-winning director (six of them) for Sesame Street, died Friday (Nov. 23). Cause of death is pending.

Squires directed and wrote for the iconic noncommercial kids show from 1982 to 2007. She was also director of PBS kids show Between the Lions. Squires also wrote for soap operas Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow, Secret Storm and As the World Turns.

Her credits included Sesame Street specials (Elmo Saves Christmas), and The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss for Nickelodeon, as well as a number of documentaries including The Art of Being Human and Visions of Perfect Worlds.

Squires was born Aug. 23, 1941, in Alexandria, Va. She graduated from the University of North Carolina with a degree in English.

Survivors include her husband, Len Belzer; a sister, Sara, and stepsister, Carol.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.