After 50 years on "Sesame Street", the voice of Big Bird and Oscar is retiring: NPR

It's the end of an era Sesame Street: The man who gave voice and life to Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for nearly 50 years hangs his big orange legs.

Caroll Spinney, 84, has been playing the roles since the very first episode of the series in 1969. He had met Jim Henson at a puppet festival in 1962, and Henson invited him to be part of the new series that he was creating.

He said, "Why do not you come to New York to talk about the Muppets? "Spinney told NPR in 2003." "I want to build some characters. One is a big and funny bird, and the other will be that grumpy character who will live in a pile of garbage in the gutter. & # 39; "

Playing Big Bird for all these years was a big job, partly because of the oversized stature of the beloved creature: 8 feet, 2 inches. The role requires the puppeteer to hold his arm high in the air so he can maneuver Big Bird's head.

"I can not see outside," Spinney explained in the 2003 interview. "I'm wearing a tiny TV attached to my chest and I'm looking to see if Big Bird is looking at Maria, who he's talking to, or looking at them. And if we have a complex walking for me To do this, we can remove two velcro feathers, but we try not to do it because sometimes you see this little dark spot in his chest where I throw a eye – but I have to do it, so I won t come in the door. "

Henson's initial vision for Big Bird was only a "clumsy big guy," Spinney told NPR in 2015. It was Spinney's idea to give this character his trademark, curiosity and innocence. "I said:" I think Big Bird could be more useful for the series if he was a kid who learns everything we teach in the series. " And so, he did not even know the alphabet, for example. "

A few years ago, Spinney stopped making the Big Bird Theater, The New York Times notes, but continued to express him and Oscar. He has appeared in thousands of episodes. Although he is retiring this week, his latest performances will be broadcast on HBO the next year in the 50th season of the show.

"Since 1969, Caroll's caring and loving worldview has helped shape and define this institution," said Sesame Workshop President and CEO Jeffrey Dunn in a statement. "Throughout his career, Caroll Spinney has given something truly special to the world and with deep admiration Sesame Workshop is proud to continue his legacy – and his beloved characters – into the future."

Spinney is one of the few people working on the series since the beginning. In retirement, Big Bird will be interpreted by Matt Vogel, apprentice in the role since 1996 and already behind the chains of Kermit the Frog and Count von Count. Eric Jacobson, who already plays Grover, Bert and Miss Piggy, will take over as Oscar.

Spinney has been puppet since a young age. But it is in the public TV show that he has flourished.

"Before I come to Sesame StreetI did not think that what I was doing was very important. Big Bird has helped me to find my goal, "said Spinney in a statement from the Sesame workshop. Even if I leave my roles, I feel that I will always be Big Bird. And even Oscar, from time to time! "