Caroll was behind characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch.
Caroll Spinney, the legendary puppeteer behind Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch passed away on Sunday December 8.
In a statement, Sesame Workshop said that Caroll – who was 85 – passed away at his home in Connecticut, after living with Dystonia for some time.
The statement said: “Caroll was an artistic genius whose kind and loving view of the world helped shape and define Sesame Street from its earliest days in 1969 through five decades, and his legacy here at Sesame Workshop and in the cultural firmament will be unending.
“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.”
Sesame Street co-founder Joan Ganz Cooney said of her longtime colleague and friend: “Caroll Spinney’s contributions to Sesame Street are countless. He not only gave us Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, he gave so much of himself as well. We at Sesame Workshop mourn his passing and feel an immense gratitude for all he has given to Sesame Street and to children around the world.”
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