Beloved Big Bird 'Sesame Street' puppeteer, Caroll Spinney, is dead at 85

[NelsonG]

Caroll Spinney, the beloved and renowned puppeteer who brought the original Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to life on Sesame Street for nearly 50 years, died on Dec. 8 at the age of 85. 

According to a statement from his colleagues, Spinney left this world in his Connecticut home after a long battle with the muscle disease Dystonia. He leaves behind an enduring legacy of kindness, with his loving world view having helped shape Sesame Street into the unmistakable force for good it remains to this day.

"His enormous talent and outsized heart were perfectly suited to playing the larger-than-life yellow bird who brought joy to generations of children and countless fans of all ages around the world, and his lovably cantankerous grouch gave us all permission to be cranky once in a while," the statement reads. Read more...

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