Vincent E. Egan

Vincent E. Egan is the entrepreneur who created VEE Corporation, which presents productions like Sesame Street Live.

Egan started his career as a District Sales Manager at General Motors. He moved to Ice Follies as a marketing executive, eventually moving on to Holiday on Ice. Following eight years of marketing ice shows, he returned to his 100-acre farm, outside of Minneapolis.

Egan founded VEE Corporation in 1980, eighteen months after moving back home. He convinced a venture capital company to finance his ambitions; his farm was his collateral. Meeting with executives of Children's Television Workshop and Muppets-creator Jim Henson, he struck a long-term deal to be the exclusive creator of life-size replicas of the Sesame Street Muppets for touring stage shows.

The first Sesame Street Live opened at the Metropolitan Sports Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, September 1980. It played that Christmas for four weeks at Madison Square Gardens, and has been a popular production ever since. It is the longest running stage tour for children.

Since then, VEE has presented shows based on other Muppet properties like Bear in the Big Blue House and the Muppet Babies, and other CTW (now Sesame Workshop) productions like Dragon Tales. VEE itself expanded to add Costumes and Creatures, and VEE Production Services.

Egan is currently the corporation's President and CEO.

References and footnotes

VEE Corporation's Costumes & Creatures division creates Sesame Street costumes for all Sesame Workshop licensees, including Sesame Place; VEE also produces the stage shows at various amusement parks and Beaches resorts.

• VEE Corporation publicity materials. Minneapolis