Utah

Utah is the 45th state of the United States of America.

• Robert A. Hatch, who later became the Children's Television Workshop's vice president for public affairs in 1972, was born in Salt Lake City in 1931. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Utah State University in 1952.

• Jim Henson offered Caroll Spinney to work on Sesame Street and consider taking on the parts of what would become Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch when both attended the national puppetry festival in Salt Lake City in 1969.

• Gedde Watanabe, a Japanese-American actor born in Utah, played Hiroshi on Sesame Street from 1988 until 1991.

• On January 25, 2005, The Sundance Film Festival, annualy celebrated in Park City and Salt Lake City, held premiere screenings of MirrorMask presented by Lisa Henson and Neil Gaiman.

• From September 28 to 30 2005, Brian and Heather Henson celebrated "50 years of the Jim Henson Company" at the Salt Lake City Library, screenin a selection of movies, archive material and clips of upcoming projects, while offering several Q&As and autograph opportunities.

• On January 21, 2006, The World According to Sesame Street premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City.

• Throughout 2006, a PBS commercial featuring Elmo & Utah's Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. aired locally for the Healthy Habits for Life initiative.