David Langston Smyrl

David Langston Smyrl (September 13, 1935 – March 22, 2016) was an American actor, television writer, and Broadway performer born and raised in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is perhaps best remembered for portraying Mr. Handford, a retired firefighter who operated Hooper's Store on the PBS children's series Sesame Street from 1990 to 1998, a role for which he earned eight Emmy Awards.

Smyrl began his professional life as a coffeehouse poet in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, during the 1960s. His early television work included a role on the short-lived series Express Yourself in the 1970s. In 1978, he appeared on Broadway in the musical Working. He subsequently relocated to California, where he joined the writing staff of the ABC sitcom Benson, earning a People's Choice Award for that work. He also contributed to The Cosby Show as both a gag writer and a performer, playing a general contractor named Sam Lucas in a five-episode recurring role from 1984 to 1992.

Smyrl's tenure on Sesame Street began in 1990, when he was cast as Mr. Handford following a period of transition for the Hooper's Store character. Actor Will Lee, who originated the role of store owner Mr. Hooper, died in 1982, and his character's death was depicted on the show in 1983. Northern Calloway, who played David and subsequently ran the store, departed in 1989. Leonard Jackson had portrayed a version of Mr. Handford during Season 21 before Smyrl took over the role, playing the character as a warm, singing presence among the street's residents. Smyrl remained with the series through 1998.

Beyond his stage and television work, Smyrl was an active voice actor, lending his voice to commercial campaigns for brands including Coca-Cola, Pepsi, McDonald's, Delta Air Lines, GMC, Texaco, Canada Dry, and Levi Strauss & Co. His film credits included the 1996 feature The Preacher's Wife, alongside Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston. He also portrayed Jesse B. Simple in The Dream Keeper, a documentary about the life of Langston Hughes.

In his personal life, Smyrl had resided in Connecticut before returning to the Philadelphia area with his wife in 2004, settling in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. He volunteered as a performer at regional colleges, schools, and prisons. He died of lung cancer on March 22, 2016, at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, at the age of 80, and was buried at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd on March 28, 2016.