Caroll Edwin Spinney was an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist and speaker, most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street from its inception in 1969 until 2018.
29 Facts About Caroll Spinney
2.
Caroll Spinney's mother, a native of Bolton, England, named him Caroll despite him being male because he was born the day after Christmas.
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Caroll Spinney drew and painted from childhood, and developed a love of puppeteering when he saw a performance of "Three Little Kittens" at the age of five.
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Caroll Spinney continued puppeteering throughout his childhood and adolescence and used his performances to raise money for college tuition.
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In 1955, Caroll Spinney relocated to Las Vegas, where he performed in the show Rascal Rabbit.
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Caroll Spinney returned to Boston, joining The Judy and Goggle Show in 1958 as a puppeteer "Goggle" to Judy Valentine's Judy.
7.
Caroll Spinney created a puppet duo consisting of two cats named Picklepuss and Pop, which he utilized throughout the 1960s.
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Caroll Spinney first met Jim Henson in 1962 at a puppeteering festival, where Henson asked if he would like to "talk about the Muppets".
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In 1969, Caroll Spinney performed at a Puppeteers of America festival in Utah.
10.
Caroll Spinney's show was a mixture of live actors and puppets but was ruined by an errant spotlight that washed out the animated backgrounds.
11.
Caroll Spinney joined Sesame Street for the inaugural season in 1969.
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Caroll Spinney performed Big Bird and Oscar in Australia, China, Japan, and across Europe.
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Caroll Spinney provided the characters' voices on dozens of albums.
14.
Caroll Spinney narrated the audiobook Street Gang: The Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis.
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Caroll Spinney's work has been studied by other international puppeteers who structure their performance styles after his, most evidently with full-body puppet costumes.
16.
The puppet used for Granny Bird was actually a spare Big Bird puppet, and Caroll Spinney provided her voice.
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Caroll Spinney reprised his role as Oscar the Grouch in Night at the Museum sequel, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in a cameo appearance next to Darth Vader.
18.
On October 17,2018, Caroll Spinney officially announced his retirement from Sesame Street after 49 years.
19.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Caroll Spinney was earning over $300,000 per year at the time of his retirement.
20.
Some of Caroll Spinney's artwork includes the 1996 painting called Luna Bird, showing Big Bird walking on the moon, and the 1997 painting Autumn, showing him playing in autumn leaves.
21.
Caroll Spinney drew the drawing of Mr Hooper that sits near Big Bird's nest.
22.
Caroll Spinney had three children from his first marriage to Janice Caroll Spinney, whom he married in 1960.
23.
Caroll Spinney was married to his second wife, Debra Jean Gilroy, from 1979 until his death.
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In 2015, Caroll Spinney was diagnosed with dystonia, a neurological movement disorder that causes muscle contractions.
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Caroll Spinney died at his home in Woodstock, Connecticut, on December 8,2019, at the age of 85.
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Caroll Spinney was surrounded by his wife Debra and three children.
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Caroll Spinney was honored with four Daytime Emmy Awards for his portrayals on the series and two Grammy Awards for his related recordings.
28.
At the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards in 2006, Caroll Spinney received the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Lifetime Achievement Award.
29.
Caroll Spinney was named one of The New Jewish Home's Eight Over Eighty Gala 2016 honorees.