(WAND) - Caroll Spinney, the man behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for nearly 50 years on Sesame Street, died at age 85 in his Connecticut home, according to the Sesame Workshop.
Spinney had been living with Dystonia for some time, according to officials.
Sesame Street posted on Facebook that "since 1969, Caroll's kind and loving view of the world help shape and define Sesame Street."
"His enormous talent and outsized heart were perfectly suited to playing the larger-than-life yellow bird who brought joy to countless fans of all ages around the world, and his lovably cantankerous grouch gave us all permission to be cranky once in a while. In these characters, Caroll Spinney gave something truly special to the world," the post continued.
Spinney started voicing and operating the two major Muppets at the time of their inception and did so into his 80's.
"Before I came to ‘Sesame Street,’ I didn’t feel like what I was doing was very important,” Spinney said when he announced his retirement in 2018. “Big Bird helped me find my purpose.”
Through his performance of the two characters, Spinney gained international fame that brought on tours, record albums, movie roles and White House visits.
In 2018 Spinney said he developed problems with his balance that made performing the characters difficult. He stopped work as a puppeteer for Big Bird in 2015 and only provided Oscar's voice until he retired.
