Skip Hinnant, The Electric Company Star, Dead At 86

Skip Hinnant, an original cast member of PBS' "The Electric Company" best remembered for playing Fargo North, Decoder, has died. He was 86.

Hinnant passed away on Sunday, November 8, in Denver, Colorado, surrounded by his family, according to a Legacy.com obituary. A cause of death was not disclosed.

He appeared throughout the original six-season, 780-episode run of "The Electric Company," which aired from 1971 to 1977. The Emmy-winning educational series used sketch comedy, music, and animation to teach reading skills to young viewers, with a cast that also included Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno (pictured above).

Among Hinnant's many characters was Fargo North, Decoder, an Inspector Clouseau-style detective who deciphered scrambled words and phrases for clients. He also played Frankenstein's monster in recurring sketches alongside Jim Boyd's Werewolf and Morgan Freeman's Dracula, as well as J.J., Supper Man, and the boy in "Love of Chair," a parody of the daytime soap opera "Love of Life."

Prior to "The Electric Company," Hinnant had a recurring role as Ted on "The Patty Duke Show." His other television credits included "Sesame Street," "3-2-1 Contact," "Kate & Allie," and "As the World Turns."

Voice acting credits included the title character in the 1972 adult animated film "Fritz the Cat" and its 1974 sequel, "The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat." He later voiced the Easter Bunny in the 1977 Rankin/Bass television special "The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town," as well as Pogo Possum in the 1980 animated film "I Go Pogo."

His stage credits included originating the role of Schroeder in the 1967 Off-Broadway production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown."