Posted by Wayne G. Barber
I had the great privilege of meeting Carroll Spinney of PBS Big Bird/ Oscar the Grouch fame and ordering replacement parts for his Buick in the late 80's when I was the GM parts manager at PLAZA Pontiac/ Buick in Putman, Conn. Real nice friend who hung his shingle in nearby Woodstock, Conn. and loved his 1985 Buick
. I found him to be a quiet, endless imaginative character. Along with millions of other fans around the world, I mourned his passing in December.
Spinney was born in 1933 in nearby Massachusetts. He told me that he got his start with hand puppets with nine characters on "The Bozo Show" a Boston television program. During a 1968 festival , Sesame Street founder Jim Henson saw his show, "Picklepuss and Friends", and offered him the role of Big Bird. He had to hold up the 8 foot two inch bird with his right arm straight overhold for sometimes twelve hours a day. I got a chance to relive my childhood when I play Big Bird. Somehow his life and heart gets across to children, Spinney told me.
I believe he said, he was the shortest kid in his class and was always picked on.
Oscar the Grouch was a great challenge to him that he perfected also. He gave all the credit to his lovely wife Debra who also just loved local grown apples.
After 50 years Spinney was inducted by being named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress. Another person I will never forget in my journey and thankfully he will become immortal through his performances on Sesame Street
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