--- title: Photos: Behind the Scenes With Sesame Street's Big Bird description: Caroll Spinney is the legendary puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch canonical: https://time.com/3848558/sesame-street-big-bird-caroll-spinney/ author: Joseph C. Lin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-06T16:06:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:08.077Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Meet the Man Behind Sesame Street's Big Bird og:description: Caroll Spinney is the legendary puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch og:url: https://time.com/3848558/sesame-street-big-bird-caroll-spinney/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc9cd7ccfb7dfaac/6987ee9855a859d1d9a89f84/big-bird-caroll-spinney-17.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: big-bird-caroll-spinney-17 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Meet the Man Behind Sesame Street's Big Bird twitter:description: Caroll Spinney is the legendary puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdc9cd7ccfb7dfaac/6987ee9855a859d1d9a89f84/big-bird-caroll-spinney-17.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meet the Man Behind _Sesame Street_'s Big Bird by [Joseph C. Lin](https://time.com/author/joseph-c-lin/) ## Joseph C. Lin May 6, 2015 4:06 PM UTC  Caroll Spinney takes a break from shooting a cameo in The Muppet Movie. Caroll Spinney takes a break from shooting a cameo in The Muppet Movie.Courtesy Debra Spinney by [Joseph C. Lin](https://time.com/author/joseph-c-lin/) ## Joseph C. Lin May 6, 2015 4:06 PM UTC The documentary [_I Am Big Bird_](http://www.iambigbird.com/)_,_ out on May 6 in theaters, VOD and iTunes, takes a look at the life of Caroll Spinney, the man who has brought life to _Sesame Street_‘s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since the first season of the show in 1969. Take a look back at the legendary puppeteer’s career playing these iconic characters.  Caroll Spinney joined Sesame Street in its inaugural 1969 season playing both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. Courtesy Robert Fuhring  In the first year of Sesame Street, Oscar the Grouch was orange. Courtesy Debra Spinney  Caroll Spinney and Jim Henson are seen on the set of Sesame Street in 1969, the first year of the show. Courtesy Bill Pierce  Caroll Spinney with Oscar the Grouch and Picklepuss, one of his first puppet creations. Courtesy Debra Spinney  Caroll Spinney tests a puppet in the concept stage. Courtesy Debra Spinney  Caroll Spinney filming Big Bird in China with Lisa Ouyang. Courtesy Debra Spinney  Caroll Spinney with his children and Oscar the Grouch at his child's birthday party. Courtesy Debra Spinney  Caroll Spinney and Oscar the Grouch shooting Sesame Street in Hawaii. Courtesy Gary Miller  Caroll Spinney takes a break from shooting a cameo in The Muppet Movie. Courtesy Debra Spinney  Caroll Spinney with First Lady Hillary Clinton on Sesame Street. Spinney has worked with all the first ladies since the Nixon administration. Courtesy Sesame Workshop  Caroll Spinney is seen with First Lady Michelle Obama. Spinney is a distant cousin of President Barack Obama. Courtesy Richard Termine—Sesame Workshop  Caroll Spinney performs on a recent season of Sesame Street and continues to perform as Big Bird and Oscar to this day. 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