Vale: Caroll Spinney

US puppeteer Caroll Spinney, who operated and voiced Sesame Street‘s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, has died, aged 85.

He passed away at his home in Connecticut on Sunday after living with dystonia, a muscle disorder, for some time, Sesame Workshop said in a statement.

Spinney began operating and voicing the Big Bird and Oscar muppets on Sesame Street when the hit educational children’s series debuted 50 years ago. He stopped wearing the Big Bird costume in 2015 but continued to provide the voice for both characters until he retired in October 2018.

“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,” the group said in its statement. “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.

“Caroll Spinney gave something truly special to the world,” it continued. “With deepest admiration, Sesame Workshop is proud to carry his memory – and his beloved characters – into the future. Our hearts go out to Caroll’s beloved wife, Debra, and all of his children and grandchildren.”

Source: E! Online