Longtime "Sesame Street" puppeteer Caroll Spinney has died. He was 85.
The Sesame Workshop said in a statement he died in his home in Connecticut. He had lived with dystonia, a neurological movement disorder, for some time.
Spinney was a part of "Sesame Street" for 50 years. He was best known for playing the giant yellow Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. *nat pop* In 2015, he stopped doing the puppeteering for Big Bird because of physical constraints.
In October 2018, Spinney announced he was retiring. At the time, a "Sesame Street" spokeswoman told The New York Times that Spinney had most likely appeared in thousands of episodes.
Spinney is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.
