Edward L. Palmer, a media consultant who fused education with entertainment, and helped in the early development of ''Sesame Street,'' died on Aug. 1 at a hospice in Ithaca, N.Y.. He was 66.

The cause was complications from prostate cancer, said his wife, Vera B. Bauer-Palmer.

Mr. Palmer was among the first people hired in 1968 by Children's Television Workshop, the parent company of ''Sesame Street.'' The workshop was impressed by his research at the University of Michigan into the responses of preschool children to television.

Mr. Palmer's findings indicated that children took delight in watching other children and animals, that they liked music and slapstick, wanted characters to be kind to one another and were bored by talking adults.

These insights contributed to the development of characters like Big Bird and Grover when ''Sesame Street'' made its debut in 1969.