{"id":88535,"date":"2018-10-17T23:01:45","date_gmt":"2018-10-17T20:01:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ngradio.gr\/?p=88535\/"},"modified":"2020-06-18T00:18:20","modified_gmt":"2020-06-17T21:18:20","slug":"50-years-sesame-street-voice-big-bird-oscar-retiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ngradio.gr\/en\/news-el\/entertainment\/50-years-sesame-street-voice-big-bird-oscar-retiring\/","title":{"rendered":"After 50 Years On ‘Sesame Street,’ The Voice Of Big Bird And Oscar Is Retiring"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s the end of an era on\u00a0Sesame Street<\/em>: The man who has given voice and life to Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for nearly 50 years is hanging up his big orange legs.<\/p>\n

Caroll Spinney, 84, has performed the roles since the show’s very first episode in 1969. He had met Jim Henson at a puppetry festival in 1962, and Henson invited him to be a part of this new show he was creating.<\/p>\n

“He said, ‘Why don’t you come down to New York and talk about the Muppets?’ ” Spinney recounted to NPR in 2003. ” ‘I have some characters I want to build. One is a tall, funny-looking bird and the other’s going to be this grouchy character who’s going to live in a pile of trash in the gutter.’ ”<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/p>\n
Caroll Spinney (left) with Jim Henson and Oscar in the 1970s.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Bill Pierce\/Sesame Workshop<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Playing Big Bird all these years has been a big job, in part because of the beloved creature’s oversized stature: 8 feet, 2 inches. The role requires its puppeteer to hold his arm high in the air throughout, in order to maneuver Big Bird’s head.<\/p>\n