Yesterday it was announced that Carroll Spinney, the voice and puppeteer for Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird of Sesame Street had passed away. It’s hard to believe that it was only a year ago that Spinney announced his retirement from Sesame Street, where he had been an integral part since the beginning in 1969. In fact, many of the performances of Big Bird and Oscar that aired this year (during an incredible 50th season!) were recorded before Spinney retired. Unfortunately, retirement was kind of a ‘forced’ thing for Mr. Spinney as he was suffering from Dystonia, a neurological disorder that was effecting his ability to operate his Muppets. As both a child and an adult, I always loved both Big Bird and Oscar, though admittedly I have always been more of a Grover fan. My oldest has always been my little Oscar, he’s the biggest grouch I’ve ever met in my life sometimes, and he has a fantastic drawing that a friend of ours did, depicting Oscar as a Jedi (my oldest is also a HUGE Star Wars fan). Oscar and Big Bird have been part of my life in various ways for years, and by default so has Carroll Spinney. While I never met him in person, I felt like he would have been that really cool ‘great uncle’ I never had. He seemed like a really nice man and he created some incredible memories for thousands of kids.
Thank you for all of the memories and lessons Mr. Spinney!
Be kind to others, and to yourself.
