R.I.P. Legendary Sesame Street Puppeteer, Caroll Spinney

Caroll Spinney, the legendary puppeteer behind Sesame Street icons Big Bird and Oscar The Grouch, has died aged 85.

Spinney died at his Connecticut home on December 8, just hours before Sesame Street was given Kennedy Center Honours for its contribution to the arts.

His death was announced via his Facebook page. “With extreme sadness and grief we share that Caroll Spinney passed away on Sunday, December 8th, from complications of Dystonia,” the statement read. “He was at home surrounded by family, friends, and side-by-side with the love of his life, Debra Spinney.”

The Sesame Street Workshop issued a moving statement on its official website, saying “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.”

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Yellow Feather Fund.

Well wishes can be received at:
Caroll Spinney
PO Box 18033
500 Regis Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15236

In 2015 he was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary I Am Big Bird.