Skip Hinnant, who portrayed the Fargo North wordsmith, Decoder and other characters as an original cast member of The electric company and voiced the hedonistic Fritz the Cat in two animated films, has died. He was 86 years old.
Hinnant died Sunday in Denver, his family said.
Hinnant began his career with a recurring role as Ted, boyfriend of Patty’s identical twin sister Cathy, in the first two seasons of the ABC series. The Patty Duke Show from 1963 to 65.
A few years later, he played Schroeder in the original off-Broadway cast of Clark Gesner’s musical. You’re a good man, Charlie Brownin which his older brother, Bill Hinnant, played Snoopy.
Hinnant joined Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin and others in the original PBS cast. The electric companyTHE Sesame Street offshoot which was broadcast in 1971.
Hinnant hit with the program until its conclusion in 1977, and in addition to Fargo North, a detective who deciphers messages and phrases for customers, he played the boy in soap opera-style sketches “Love of Chair” and Frankenstein, among other parts.
On the children’s show, Hinnant went in another direction by voicing the left-wing, perpetually stoned feline title in Fritz the Cat (1972), based on the comic strip by Robert Crumb and directed by Ralph Bakshi. Filled with profanity, violence, sex and nudity, it was the first animated film to be rated X.
Hinnant then returned for the sequel, The nine lives of Fritz the Cat (1974); it was the first animated film to get an R rating.
From left: Karen Johnson, Bob Balaban, Skip Hinnant, Reva Rose, Bill Hinnant and Gary Burghoff in You are a good man, Charlie Brown.
Everett Collection
The youngest of three children, Joseph Howard Hinnant was born September 12, 1940 and raised on Chincoteague Island in Virginia. His sister, Jean, nicknamed him Skip, and it stuck. He followed his brother to Yale University, where he graduated in 1962.
A year later, he performed at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner for President Kennedy as part of the satirical musical revue Julius Monk. Struts and frets.
In You’re a good man, Charlie Brownbased on the Peanuts characters created by Charles M. Schulz, Hinnant and his brother opened at Theater 80 St. Marks in Greenwich Village alongside Gary Burghoff as Charlie and Bob Balaban as Linus. The show turned out to be a great success.
He then appeared in Neil Simon’s original 1968-69 Broadway production. Suite Placedirected by Mike Nichols.
After the Fritz the Cat films, Hinnant returned to the children’s arena playing the Easter Bunny in The Easter Bunny is coming to towna 1977 stop-motion ABC special from Rankin/Bass that also featured the voice of Fred Astaire.
He also did voices for Pogo Possum in the 1980 direct-to-video feature film. I’m going to PogoFor Great Spidey Stories in the 70s and for My little pony in the 80s; managed numerous radio commercials and narrations for children’s books; and appeared on screen on Kate and Allie And As the world turns.
And he served on SAG’s national board of directors from 1980 to 2003.
Survivors include her children, Chris, Jamie, Julie and Sara, and their respective spouses, Karen, Jennifer, Charles and Kevin; nine grandchildren; his longtime partner, Ruth Nerken, whom he met in 1985; and his ex-wife, Miriam Hinnant, whom he married in 1962.
His brother drowned in 1978 at the age of 42 while on vacation in the Dominican Republic.
A private celebration of life in Chincoteague is planned. Donations in his memory can be made to the Entertainment Community Fund or the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.
“Skip was known for his quick wit and never missed an opportunity to crack a joke,” his family noted. “He also loved admiring the work of his fellow artists, delighting in quality performances and perfect harmony.”
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