Beloved Star of ‘The Electric Company’ Has Passed Away at 86

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A beloved children’s show from the 1970s has lost one of its most recognizable stars.

Skip Hinnant, who was a regular on PBS educational series “The Electric Company,” has passed away.

According to an announcement shared by the late actor’s family, he passed away peacefully on November 8, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. He was 88 years old.

Fargo North, Decoder

Hinnant enjoyed a long and diverse acting career, but kids who grew up during the 1970s will particularly remember him from “The Electric Company” in the recurring role of Fargo North, Decoder.

In the ongoing sketches within the series, Hinnant portrayed the title character, a bumbling Inspector Clouseau-esque detective who was hired by clients to decipher words and phrases in which the letters had been scrambled — all in order to assist the show’s young viewers learn reading skills.

A featured player on the show, Hinnant also played a variety of other “Electric Company” characters, including Frankenstein’s monster, superhero Supper Man and a kid in a soap-opera sketch titled “Love of Chair.”

Hinnant was in good company. Other actors who appeared on “The Electric Company” included future EGOT winner Rita Moreno (as Carmela), future Oscar winner Morgan Freeman (who played motorcycle-riding Easy Reader), Broadway legend Zero Mostel (Spell Binder) and comedy icon Mel Brooks (who voiced a yellow-haired animated character who helps kids to learn to spell).

A Long and Eclectic Acting Career

Skip Hinnant landed his first major TV role long before “The Electric Company,” which aired from 1971 until 1977.

Nearly a decade earlier, he played the boyfriend of Patty Duke’s Cathy (the identical cousin of Duke’s other character, Patty) on “The Patty Duke Show,” during 1963 to 1965.

He also portrayed piano-playing Schroeder in the original Off-Broadway production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” in 1967.

While appearing on “The Electric Company,” he became involved in another project that was decidedly not for kids, voicing the title character in animated comedy “Fritz the Cat.” Based on the underground comics of Robert Crumb, the film’s depictions of violence, nudity, profanity and drug use made “Fritz” the first animated film in history to receive an X rating. He later returned for the sequel, “The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat.”

Other voice roles included Sunny the Bunny in 1977 stop-motion animated TV special “The Easter Bunny is Comin’ to Town,” along such animated series as “I Go Pogo,” “Spidey Super Stories,” “Moon Dreamers” and “My Little Pony.”

Beyond voice roles in animated projects, Hinnant’s list of screen credits also included a 1988 episode of “As the World Turns,” and a guest spot on hit sitcom “Kate & Allie” that same year.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Hinnant also served on the national board of the Screen Actors Guild from 1980 until 2003.

Per THR, a private celebration of life is being planned, to take place in his hometown of Chincoteague Island, Virginia.

The late actor’s family is requesting that donations in his memory can be made to the Entertainment Community Fund or the SAG-AFTRA Foundation.