Carroll Spinney retiring from Sesame Street

After 50 Years On 'Sesame Street,' The Voice Of Big Bird And Oscar Is Retiring

 

Respect.

 

It's astonishing he's done it for so long. Such a humane and modest role model for millions -- probably billions -- of kids.

 

Two of my young daughters favorites, and mine when I was her age. Thanks for the memories that span generations.

 

That he could perform a pair of characters as disparate as Big Bird and Oscar to begin with, let alone for half a century, speaks to his talent. Well done, sir.

 

Yes indeed, he has earned it and is a legend. Archival footage or a replacement voice would be used in the future.

 

They already have a replacement voice.

 

At least they took care of that.

 

Caroll is definitely a legend and will be remembered by the general public as well as the Sesame Workshop forever.

 

Sesame Street was brought to you today by the letters C and S and by the number 50. If he's not in the television hall of fame between Jim Henson and Frank Oz then there is something wrong with the industry.

Also, is there a DVD/BR of "Follow That Bird"?

 

Follow That Bird is on DVD in a widescreen print if you get the Anniversary Edition DVD in print. Early DVD issues are pan and scan.

This is the DVD to get: https://www.amazon.com/Follow-That-Bird-Ken-Kwapis/dp/B001MYIQMW/

Jim Henson is in the Television Hall of Fame. Caroll and also Frank Oz are not inducted into it yet.

 

You don’t see too many males getting named Carroll these days.

 

No you don't and at least we have his legacy to remember.

 

And to this day, I still love trash!

 

50 years of holding one arm above his head deserves respect on it's own, let alone creating one of the most beloved characters ever to appear on TV. This sort of puppetry is incredibly physically taxing, let alone doing it while in a full body costume.

At 84, the poor man deserves a nice retirement.

 

The only other ones I can think of are also of his generation (or older). Caroll Shelby and Caroll O'Conner.

 

Director Carroll Ballard. The Black Stallion, Wind, Fly Away Home and one of my all-time favorite films Never Cry Wolf. Sadly, his last film Duma bombed. It was the sort of "family friendly" film people claim "they don't make anymore", but the sad truth is when they do make them, people stay away in droves.

 

Nor are there many named Tracy or Marion, either.

 

More apropos for this thread are the names that have been pushed out due to the success of Sesame Street. My wife's grandfather's name was Kermit. Ernie, Bert, Oscar, Grover and Cookie Monster have all, likewise, pretty much ceased being used due to the notoriety of these muppet characters.

 

Dunno how many people named their kids "Cookie Monster" even before Sesame Street.

 

That was sort of my homage to this skit.

 

That was adorable.

 

We took my daughter to Sesame Place a few months ago and at the entry point of the park it seemed like they played the song I Love Trash on a loop. Two days at the park and being near the entrance several times my wife hated that it kept playing, I absolutely love the song.

 

I enjoyed that recent documentary, "I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story", on Netflix a while back. Very informative and watchable.

 

Sesame Place looks like an absolute blast, and I'm pretty sad I never got to go when I was a kid. I would have loved every second of it.