Jon Arthur Stone (April 13, 1931 – March 30, 1997) was an American writer, director, and producer who was best known as an original crewmember on the children's television show Sesame Street and is credited with helping to develop characters such as Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird.

[1] Stone's became associated with Jim Henson in the early 1960s,[3] working on fairy-tale projects with writer Tom Whedon, such as a proposed Snow White series.

to the attention of Children's Television Workshop president Joan Ganz Cooney as she was planning the show that would become Sesame Street.

[citation needed] Stone wrote the pilot script at the request of Cooney, despite his initial reluctance as he had intended to leave television.

[citation needed] In Stone's New York Times obituary, Joan Ganz Cooney described him as "probably the most brilliant writer of children's television material in America.