Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch (Caroll Spinney)
Today, my guest is Caroll Spinney, who has performed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street since the show's inception in 1969, after meeting Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets.
Caroll Spinney has been honored with 4 Daytime Emmy Awards and 2 Grammy Awards and has received both a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Library of Congress' Living Legend award.
Caroll Spinney is the author of The Wisdom of Big Bird and was the subject of the critically acclaimed full-length documentary I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story (2014). It was such a thrill to interview a childhood icon and living legend!
In this candid conversation, Caroll shared the real stories behind his iconic career as a puppeteer, the creation of Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, and life on the set of Sesame Street.
1. A Disastrous Audition Turns into Destiny. Caroll revealed that he met Jim Henson at a puppet festival in Salt Lake City where Caroll's own performance was a complete disaster. Despite everything going wrong, Henson approached him afterward, saying he liked what Caroll was trying to do, and invited him to join a brand-new show that had not even been made yet.
2. Reimagining Big Bird as a Child. Originally, Henson wanted Big Bird to be a silly, "goofy guy". However, Caroll decided to play the character as an innocent child with complex problems, hopes, and desires. The physical puppet was actually built around Caroll while they were on the air, starting out looking "messy" before gradually evolving into the iconic bird known today.
3. The Perks of Being an Anonymous Star. Despite playing one of the most famous characters in the world, Caroll enjoys relative anonymity in his daily life. He counts his favorite moments on the show as working with admired celebrities like Pete Seeger, unexpectedly winning gold records and two Grammys for singing, and meeting his wife of 46 years on the set.
4. Embracing the Grouch and Shifting Spotlights. Caroll noted that he loves playing Oscar the Grouch because he is the "coolest dude on television," taking care to make him irritable but never truly cruel or mean. He also discussed the transition in the 1980s when Kevin Clash's Elmo was introduced and became the show's number one character, requiring Caroll to adjust to the fact that Big Bird was no longer the central focus.
