Caroll Spinney



Caroll Spinney (b. December 26, 1933) has performed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street for over 40 years. In a 2008 Washington Times article, Spinney said that even though performing Big Bird is physically demanding work, the 74-year-old has no intention of stopping, saying, "I can't imagine willingly walking away from Big Bird and Oscar." He has described his experience as Big Bird as "a lot like growing up to be Mickey Mouse... only taller!"

Spinney was born in Waltham, Massachusetts and was an accomplished artist before he started working as a live performer. He attended The Art Institute of Boston's College of Art & Design. While in the military, he created a comic strip under the name Ed Spinney. In the early 1960s, he created an animated cartoon series called Crazy Crayon under the same name.

In 1955, Spinney headed to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he created the show Rascal Rabbit. He returned to Boston in 1958, joining The Judy and Goggle Show as a puppeteer, performing Goggle.

In the 1960s, Spinney created two puppet cats, Picklepuss and Pop, who he performed on the Boston broadcast of Bozo's Big Top. (Picklepuss and Pop would later go on to perform with the Muppets just once, in the 1988 Jim Henson Play-Along video Wow, You're a Cartoonist!)

In the late '60s after a stage performance that didn't go too well Spinney met Jim Henson who told him that he liked "what he was trying to do." Henson then asked Spinney if he was interested in working on a new children's show they were developing. Spinney went on to star as the man behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch.

As Big Bird, Spinney traveled the world -- in the TV specials Big Bird in China and Big Bird in Japan, and in special Sesame Street episodes that took him to New Mexico and Hawaii. He has also starred in a feature film, Follow That Bird.

Spinney has guest starred as his characters on many other programs, including The Flip Wilson Show, Scrubs, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, 1 vs 100, The Muppet Show, and over 141 episodes of Hollywood Squares.

Spinney wrote an autobiography in 2003 titled The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers. Caroll Spinney also wrote and illustrated How to Be a Grouch, a 1976 picture book that explains the world from Oscar's point of view. Spinney also drew the picture of Mr. Hooper that Big Bird drew after Mr. Hooper died, and designed one of his characters, Bruno the Trashman.

Puppetry Credits

 * Sesame Characters: Baby Monster, Bennett Snerf (Anything Muppet version), Big Bird, Bruno the Trashman, Granny Bird, Hippie, Lefty the Salesman (occasional), Oscar the Grouch, Shivers the Penguin (early 80s), Squeaky the Elf, Yellow Submarine Pumpkin pilot, various Anything Muppet characters


 * Wow, You're a Cartoonist!: Picklepuss and Pop

Interviews
The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation interviewed Spinney in 2001 for the Archive of American Television. The three-hour interview was posted on YouTube in 2008.

Video:Carroll Spinney - Archive Interview Part 1 of 6|part 1

Video:Carroll Spinney - Archive Interview Part 2 of 6|part 2

Video:Carroll Spinney - Archive Interview Part 3 of 6|part 3

Video:Carroll Spinney - Archive Interview Part 4 of 6|part 4 Video:Carroll Spinney - Archive Interview Part 5 of 6|part 5 Video:Carroll Spinney - Archive Interview Part 6 of 6|part 6

Awards & Honors
Dates Unknown 1994 2000 2006 2007
 * Spinney has earned four Daytime Emmy Awards, two Gold Records, and two Grammy Awards.
 * As Big Bird, Spinney was honored with a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame.
 * As Big Bird, Spinney was awarded the Library of Congress Living Legend Award in April 2000. According to the Library of Congress website, "the award is selected by the Library's curators and subject specialists to honor artists, writers, activists, filmmakers, physicians, entertainers, sports figures and public servants who have made significant contributions to America's diverse cultural, scientific and social heritage."
 * Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award
 * Outstanding Performer In A Children's Series (tie): Kevin Clash as Elmo, and Caroll Spinney as Oscar the Grouch (transcipt)