Who made “Cracks”?

This mystery remains unsolved, but I am confident I made new progress on a years-long case that could be—I’m so sorry—cracked.

A piece of lost media, a Sesame Street animated short known as “Cracks” had long been sought after. It surfaced, mysteriously, in 2008. A copy was sent anonymously to Jon Armond, who had been searching for '“Cracks” for years and posting about it on the internet.

Eventually, thanks to the work of other investigators, Sesame Street (Children’s Television Workshop) was able to divulge what documentation it had in their archives: that the production company that made the short was “P Imagination” and the singer on the short was Dorothy Moskowitz. Moskowitz confirmed that the producer was Peter Scott and the saxophonist was Mel Martin. P Imagination was likely Imagination, Inc, an animation studio run by Jeff Hale.

I picked up where the Studio 360 investigation left off. First, I was able to confirm using archival sources that Peter Scott, the producer worked for Imagination, Inc. That solved the question as to whether “P Imagination” could have been some other studio. There’s no question that it was this studio. Then, I set about looking for who else might have worked there at the time “Cracks” was produced.

Searching old Polk Directories, I found a number of people listed who worked at Imagination, Inc and expanded my web of sources to include other prominent animators of the time. Geraldine Clarke (who continued working in animation and produced one of my favorite shows, Aaaah! Real Monsters); an artist named Michelle Abrams; animation legend Vince Collins. None of them knew who made “Cracks.”

However, each person I spoke with had, crucially, not yet been approached to talk about “Cracks.” As I have time, I’m continuing to research and interview people who might know more.