On April 19, 2012, Blackstone Group's Pete Peterson and his wife Sesame Workshop's Joan Ganz Cooney received the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Medal of the Municipal Art Society of New York.

At an event held at the New York Public Library, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby, along with Diane Sawyer and Lesley Stahl, sang "As Time Goes By" to Peterson and Cooney. Sawyer dubbed the group "Muppets and Harlots."

At the event Peterson said that he used to "take credit for being the inspiration for Oscar the Grouch, but I was dismayed people actually believed it."

Gallery

Joan Ganz Cooney and Pete Peterson with the Muppets and crew, including Kevin Clash, David Rudman and Leslie Carrara-Rudolph. Joel Schumacher is at far left, Michael Hoffman, far right.

Jonathan Gray, Blackstone Group senior managing director, Mindy Gray, Cookie Monster and David Rudman, Cookie Monster performer.

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