Bill Text: IL SR0164 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of Robert McGrath of New Jersey.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-03-31 - Resolution Adopted [SR0164 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-SR0164-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | ||||||
3 | to learn of the death of Robert "Bob" Emmett McGrath of New | ||||||
4 | Jersey, who passed away on December 4, 2022 at the age of 90; | ||||||
5 | and
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6 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath was born in Ottawa, Illinois on June | ||||||
7 | 13, 1932 to Edmund Thomas McGrath and Flora Agnes (Halligan) | ||||||
8 | McGrath; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath's father, Edmund, was a farmer; his | ||||||
10 | mother, Flora, who sang and played piano, recognized his | ||||||
11 | impressive singing voice by age five; as such, he began | ||||||
12 | entering and winning competitions in Chicago and was featured | ||||||
13 | on the radio as well; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath changed his educational and | ||||||
15 | professional plans after attending a Chicagoland summer music | ||||||
16 | camp once he graduated from high school; when he became a | ||||||
17 | college student, he chose to major in voice over engineering; | ||||||
18 | and
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19 | WHEREAS, Upon graduation from the University of Michigan | ||||||
20 | in 1954, Bob McGrath served for two years in the United States | ||||||
21 | Army; he was stationed in Stuttgart, Germany; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath incorporated his passion for music | ||||||
2 | into his Armed Services experience by joining the Seventh Army | ||||||
3 | Symphony; he moved to New York City once this call to duty | ||||||
4 | ended; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath met his future wife, Ann Logan | ||||||
6 | Sperry, on his first day in the Big Apple; he later earned a | ||||||
7 | master's degree in music from the Manhattan School; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath became one of 25 male singers that | ||||||
9 | starred in the Sing Along with Mitch television show in 1961; | ||||||
10 | prior to this casting, he taught at the St. David's private | ||||||
11 | boys' school in Manhattan and performed as a freelance artist; | ||||||
12 | and
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13 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath was promoted as the feature male | ||||||
14 | soloist on Sing Along with Mitch after the host, Mitch Miller, | ||||||
15 | listened to his rendition of Mother Machree; and
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16 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath embarked on an international group | ||||||
17 | tour, including 30 performances in Japan, after the show's | ||||||
18 | final episode; before long, he developed a Japanese fan base, | ||||||
19 | which led to the recording of nine albums in the country on | ||||||
20 | Columbia Records' Japanese label, Nippon Columbia; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath transitioned to regular performances | ||||||
2 | for a younger audience by joining the debut cast of Sesame | ||||||
3 | Street in 1969; art imitated life in that his character was a | ||||||
4 | human music teacher named Bob; he was a mainstay on the show | ||||||
5 | for nearly 50 years, or 47 seasons; he was also a part of | ||||||
6 | longer Sesame Street productions, such as Elmo Saves | ||||||
7 | Christmas, Follow that Bird, and A Special Sesame Street | ||||||
8 | Christmas; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath was known for his overt acts of | ||||||
10 | kindness and accommodation for his co-performers; for example, | ||||||
11 | he learned American Sign Language to better communicate with a | ||||||
12 | fellow actor who was born deaf; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath continued to participate in public | ||||||
14 | Sesame Street-related events after his 2017 departure; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Bob McGrath is survived by his wife, Ann; his | ||||||
16 | children, Cathlin, Liam, Robert, and Lily McGrath and Alison | ||||||
17 | McGrath Osder; his older sister, Eileen Strobel; and his eight | ||||||
18 | grandchildren; therefore, be it
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19 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
20 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
21 | Robert "Bob" Emmett McGrath and extend our sincere condolences | ||||||
22 | to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be |
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1 | it further
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2 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
3 | presented to the family of Robert "Bob" Emmett McGrath as an | ||||||
4 | expression of our deepest sympathy.
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