 When Will Lee (IV) (qv) died, producers considered avoiding the  issue of death and telling the child viewers that Mr. Hooper had  moved away or possibly replacing him with another actor. After much  discussion, they decided to tell the audience that Mr. Hooper had  died and the writers created a segment in which Big Bird learns  about death. In the scene, the cast members are in tears as they are  still grieving over the loss of Will Lee. The segment was adapted  into a childrens book titled "Ill Miss You, Mr. Hooper".