As a young girl I had always been a fan of Sesame Street, but in 2003 when I was 12 years old, I realized that just being a fan was not enough anymore. I happened to see an A & E documentary on the beloved children’s television show that gave a behind the scenes look at the production, the people and the puppeteers involved.  It was during this documentary that I learned about Caroll Spinney; the wonderfully talented performer bringing the characters of Big Bird and Oscar to life. Suddenly, two things became apparent: I needed to write a letter to Caroll telling him how big of a fan I was and I needed to find out exactly how to get to Sesame Street.

And so, I wrote to Caroll. I told him that I saw the documentary, I bought and read his autobiography The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch), and that I was determined to one day work for the show. I asked him what advice he could give me in order to make my dream come true. I printed out my letter, attached a Big Bird sticker to the back of it and looked on as my mother put it in an envelope and sent it on its way. The letter was addressed to a Jim Henson fan mail location that I had found on the back of one of my old Sesame books. I was so excited to hear from Caroll, anxiously waiting for a response. A few weeks later, the letter was sent back, as the address I had sent it to no longer existed. Discouraged, I wanted to throw the letter away but my mother told me to save it. She thought that one day I would get to Sesame Street and that along the way, Caroll would receive my letter.

Seven years later, after graduating from high school and completing my first few years of college at Hofstra University as a public relations major, it was time to start looking for an internship. For me, there was only one option. I was determined to get to Sesame Street and I knew that interning at Sesame Workshop was the answer. The day of my interview, I walked into the workshop holding my resume in my left hand and my letter in my right.  A few weeks  later, I was offered the position of a public relations intern for the fall of 2012.

The past four months interning at Sesame Workshop have been the time of my life. I’ve got to work on so many awesome projects and be a part of an amazingly talented team. Every day I came into the office, I always carried my letter with me, hoping that I might figure out how to get it to Caroll. As my internship winded down to an end, I made peace with the fact that the letter was supposed to stay with me after all. But when I heard that I was going to get the chance to visit the set of Sesame Street and that Caroll was going to be there, I knew this was my opportunity. And I was right because earlier this week, I was introduced to Caroll Spinney as he was standing in front of Oscar’s trash can. With tears in my eyes, I finally handed him my letter.

While Caroll read over the document in his dressing room, I shared with him my story and how I got here. When he told me he wished he could have responded to my letter sooner, it got me thinking. Maybe Caroll was never supposed to receive my letter in the first place. Maybe it was destined to be sent back to me. And maybe things truly do happen for a reason, because I found my way to Sesame Street and my letter took me there.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

Big Bird in 1969, Sesame Street's inaugural year

It’s the first day of Spring. You know what that means? It’s Big Bird’s birthday! In order to celebrate Big Bird’s special day, we spoke with Caroll Spinney, who has played Big Bird, as well as Oscar the Grouch, on the show for 42 years.  During his time on Sesame Street, Mr. Spinney has touched the lives of millions of children. We want to thank him for taking the time to tell us about how he first got started on Sesame Street, how the character of Big Bird evolved and what his favorite memories from the show are.

Sesame Workshop: Tell me how you first got involved with Sesame Street.

Caroll Spinney: Jim Henson saw me doing my own puppet show and came backstage afterwards and asked if I wanted to join the Muppets. As a puppeteer I felt the Muppets were the Beatles of the puppet world. Jim said he wanted to build a goofy bird and also Oscar the Grouch, which was going to be a goofy purple thing that lived in a pile of trash.

On the very first show the writers gave a two minute period to say hello to Big Bird. I said, “What’s Big Bird like?” And Jim said, “I don’t know, what do you want him to be like?” I said I wanted him to be pretty human. As the show progressed, the writers didn’t know what he was, they hadn’t seen it. He looked like quite a different character. At first I played him like Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen’s ventriloquist dummy.  It wasn’t long before I decided that it should be a childlike character, not a goofy old guy. Since he couldn’t read or write, he was 4-years-old. By the end, he was writing little poems and stuff, so then he had to be six so he could read. He’s turning six and he always turns six. His birthday came about on a calendar on the early days of the show. Someone decided he should have a birthday and I decided it should be the first day of spring.

That’s 42 years ago.  I’d like to do it until I’ve had 50 years on the show. I’ll see if I can handle that.

SW: It sounds like you had a lot of freedom to shape Big Bird’s personality. Tell me more about how you crafted the character?

Spinney: When the script came along, it just seemed like Big Bird should be a child. He wanted to go into a daycare and couldn’t and was foot stomping. It definitely was accepted by the children at home as if he was a fellow child. I’ve got so many letters saying, “Dear Big bird, you’re my friend. Why don’t you come and play with me. How ‘bout next Thursday?”

In one way, I’m sort of a child actor. I act like a child. It’s wonderful because of the contrast between Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. I don’t think I am Big Bird. I help bring him to life. I think of him as my child.

Caroll Spinney in 1969

SW: Do you have any favorite “Big Bird” memories from your 42 years on the show? 

Spinney: It’s funny, there’s so many – 4,000 shows – it’s hard to pick out one. When I made our one movie, Follow That Bird, I worked with Waylon Jennings. I wasn’t a country fan particularly. I spent two days in a truck with him. Big Bird is hitchhiking. We just hit it off on a soul basis. He’s just the greatest guy. He became a great friend. We would go down and spend Christmas with him, or travel on his bus.

The saddest one we did was Big Bird discovering what death means when Mr. Hooper died. It used to be that Big Bird was going to be an artist when he grows up. The thing is, I am an artist. When Big Bird drew, I drew them myself. In that story, Big Bird has done a caricature of all eight humans that were active on the show. He gave one to Gordon and Susan and Luis and Maria. And I drew one of Mr. Hooper, or “Mr. Looper,” cause I couldn’t say the word.

They said, “Don’t’ you understand? Mr. Hooper has died.” And I said, “Yes, well when is he coming back?” They said, “Don’t you understand? Mr. Hooper is never coming back,” and quickly everyone is moved to tears. It was probably the most sensitive show we have ever done. When we finished there were tears on all the actors’ faces. When I came out of the suit, I had to have a towel because I had been crying.

I wouldn’t be an actor if it hadn’t been for Will Lee (Mr. Hooper).

SW: You’ve also performed as Big Bird away from the set of Sesame Street. Tell me about some of those instances.

Spinney: For 8 years, Big Bird did an introduction to the orchestra show. It started with the Boston Pops. It was strictly to bring the baton up and down. The first time I did it, it was so awesome to hear I nearly dropped the baton. I performed him in London with Julie Andrews, on the steps of the opera house in Sydney, Australia, the Great Wall of China with Bob Hope. It was very thrilling. Bob was a very charming guy. The reason why Bob Hope took us to China is that I had been a guest on one of his specials in beautiful downtown Burbank. I found out he’d never heard of Big Bird, or seen it, and the scripts weren’t right for Big Bird at all. I had to win him over. So when he came out, Big Bird said, “Boy I thought I had a funny looking beak.” I can’t tell you how fulfilling it was to see America’s greatest comedian laughing hysterically.

SW: What do you think made Big Bird and Sesame Street special?

Spinney: One of the gifts of the show was they made it as funny as it was educational. I think that’s’ one of the secrets of the huge success. They wanted to make it so grown-ups could sit there with their kids. Jokes that are aimed too low aren’t necessary — you don’t have to talk down to them — And we wanted to make it so grown-ups could sit there with their kids and enjoy it.

It’s had an awful lot of positive results. I remember the second year we did a scene, Mr. Hooper’s store had a minor fire, and Big Bird raises the alarm and gets everyone up. That week a boy saved his family because he got up to get a glass of water and got everyone up cause he saw what Big Bird did. He’s been a wonderful teaching tool. I’m so pleased to have such a chance to do something that was so positive.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

The Sesame Street Muppets^TM made their first appearance at the White House on December 20, 1970, when Big Bird, Mr. Hooper and the rest of the gang joined First Lady Pat Nixon, wife of Richard Nixon, to perform a Christmas show for an audience of excited children.

The cast of Sesame Street at Richard Nixon's White House.

That would hardly be the last time our friends from Sesame Street would stop by the president’s home. Big Bird made Christmas time appearances during both Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter’s administrations, the latter of which included a performance with Kermit the Frog and Joe Raposo, composer of the Sesame Street theme song, in the East Room of the White House. In fact, Sesame Street Muppets^TM would go on to visit the White House of every subsequent president: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama have all invited Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster and other Sesame Street Muppets^TM back to the White House for various reasons.

Big Bird appears with Betty Ford, wife of President Gerald Ford, at the White House.

Whether it be for Christmas celebrations, Easter egg hunts, to encourage literacy at the National Book Festival, or in order to teach kids lessons about healthy eating like their most recent visit, the Sesame Street Muppets^TM have been welcomed guests at the home of the president for over 40 years.

The Sesame Workshop Blog

Hollywood Squares has had countless famous guests over the years, but none quite like Big Bird. On January 19, 1976, Big Bird was a guest on the show for the first time. Plopped down next to Broadway star Carol Channing, best known for her work in Hello Dolly! and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Big Bird answered questions on birds (an expertise of his), Broadway musicals and even chimed in to help out Channing a time or two.

It would hardly be the last time Big Bird appeared on the now-defunct show: Between 1979 and 2001, Big Bird would appear on the show 14 times, most coming during the years in which Peter Marshall (whom Big Bird lovingly referred to as “Mr. Marshmallow”) was host. He also wasn’t the only Sesame Street character to appear on the show: Oscar the Grouch and Elmo have both been guests as well.

For video of Big Bird’s appearance, click here.

The Sesame Workshop Blog