Caroll Spinney, Big Bird Actor, Leaving Sesame Street & # 39; after nearly 50 years

Caroll Spinney, veteran performer of "Sesame Street", who has starred iconic characters like Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, bids farewell to the most famous block in the area.

After a nearly 50-year career in the beloved children's program, the puppeteer announced Wednesday that he would hand over the reins – or rather the strings – to his long-time apprentice Matt Vogel.

"Before coming to Sesame Street, I did not think that what I was doing was very important. Big Bird has helped me find my goal, "Spinney said in a statement," Even though I'm leaving my roles, I feel like I'll always be Big Bird. And even Oscar, from time to time! They gave me great joy, led me to my true calling – and to my wonderful wife! – and created a life of memories that I will cherish forever. "

Spinney, 84, began his career in the program's inaugural season in 1969 after being recruited by Jim Henson, the Muppets' brain, into a puppeteer festival. He has since appeared in "thousands of more than 4,400 episodes," according to a spokesman for Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind the TV show.

While Big Bird was originally conceived as a "funny dumb country," Spinney encouraged producers to allow him to play the character as "he was a child, a substitute."

"It can be all that children are. He can learn with children, "Spinney said in an interview published Wednesday by The New York Times.

Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch have become essential elements of American pop culture. They launched Spinney's career and gave him the opportunity to introduce the characters to audiences around the world. Roles also featured Bob Hope, Barack Obama and Jerry Seinfeld.

He was also featured in the critically acclaimed 2014 documentary "I Am Big Bird" about his life as a master puppeteer.

Since 2015, Spinney has only voiced the characters, for reasons of balance and health issues, while others operated the puppets. The actor said he planned to spend the rest of his life as Sesame Workshop's ambassador at conventions and other public appearances.

"Big Bird has brought me to many places, opened my mind and nourished my soul," he added. "Now is the time for two artists I work with and whom I respect – and whom I have chosen for the tutelage of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch – to take my alter-egos between them and continue to give them life."

Spinney will make his last trip to the studio "Sesame Street" in Astoria, Queens, Thursday to record the votes one last time for the 50th anniversary of the series in 2019 on HBO and the following year on PBS.

"I've always thought, what luck for me to be able to play the two best Muppets?" Spinney told The Times. "Playing Big Bird is one of the happiest things in my life.