Caroll Spinney (1933–2019) performed Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street for close to fifty years, from the show’s first season until his retirement in 2018.
Two opposite jobs, same performer
Big Bird is a full-body puppet worn head to toe. Oscar is a hand puppetA hand puppet is worn directly on the hand, with the perform... worked from inside a trash can. One demanded that Spinney be inside a costume with his right arm above his head for the entire take; the other required him to be crouched, hidden, and working an entirely different character. He alternated between them for decades.
The Big Bird technique
is the most instructive thing here. Spinney’s right hand, raised over his head, worked the head and beak. His left hand operated one wing while the other hung on a monofilament line. He could not see out — a small monitorThe monitor is the screen a puppeteer watches while performi... was strapped inside the costume, and his script was taped where he could read it. Everything he did was performed to a screen a few inches from his face while wearing eight feet of bird.
He was an artist first
Spinney studied at the Art Institute of Boston, drew a comic strip during military service, and created an animated series called Crazy Crayon. He had been a working puppeteer since 1955, touring with characters of his own including a pair of cats named Picklepuss and Pop.
How he got the job
Jim HensonJim Henson (1936–1990) was the puppeteer and filmmaker who... More saw him perform at the Puppeteers of AmericaPuppeteers of America is the national puppetry organisation ... festival in Salt Lake City in 1969 and asked him to join.
He described the experience of playing Big Bird as being a lot like growing up to be Mickey Mouse, only taller.