Lutrelle Horne is a producer who worked for Children’s Television Workshop (now Sesame Shop). He was one-time Executive Vice-President of Children’s Television Workshop and Executive Producer and Director of its International Division.
Horne was born in Newport News, Virginia in the late 1930s. He attended Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) in Hampton, Virginia where he earned a B.A. in English. Horne continued his education earning an M.A. degree in Communications at New York University in 1963. He then earned an Ed.D. in Education and Television from the University of Massachusetts.
In 1963, Horne started his television career with CBS in New York when he became Associate Director of the Captain Kangaroo program, a children’s television series that aired from 1955 to 1984. After working with the Captain Kangaroo show for a decade, he returned to Hampton Institute in 1967 to become an instructor in their new Mass Media Department.
Horne returned to New York in 1969 to join a new children’s television series, Sesame Street. He directed the day to day studio production of Sesame Street. He also served as Associate Producer during the first season and studio producer for its second season, making him at the time, one of a handful of studio television producers either in New York or Los Angeles, California. Horne’s involvement with Sesame Street earned him two Emmys, in 1970 and 1971.
When Sesame Street was expanded internationally, Horne was promoted to Executive Vice-President of the International Productions Department of Children’s Television Workshop. He worked closely with many foreign broadcasters which allowed Sesame Street to be seen in The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Sweden.
Horne founded his own production company called Frantrelle Productions, Inc. He also has written feature film scripts for movies and lectured at several universities and institutions across the United States. He was a member of the Director’s Guild of America and Writer’s Guild of America. Lutrelle Horne retired from the Children’s Television Workshop in 1990.