Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for 50 years at “Sesame Street,” died in Connecticut after living with dystonia. He was 85.
Sesame Workshop announced his death on their site, calling him an “artistic genius” whose “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,” the announcement continued, “and his lovably cantankerous grouch gave us all permission to be cranky once in a while.”
More to come…
This article was originally published by Variety.com. Read the original article here.