Musical Artist - Spinney, Caroll

Carroll Spinney is a veteran Muppeteer best known for performing the Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. By the time he joined forces with Jim Henson, Spinney was already a seasoned performer. After a stint in the U.S. Air Force, during which he wrote and illustrated the comic strip Harvey and animated a series of cartoons called Crazy Crayon, Spinney worked as a puppeteer, first creating the show Rascal Rabbit and later performing as part of the cast of The Judy and Goggle Show and Bozo's Big Top. Eventually, he crossed paths with Jim Henson, and beginning in 1969, he was a Muppeteer.

Spinney's most prominent characters are Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird, but he has performed a number of other characters, including Granny Bird and Bruno the Trash Man. He was also one of the first Muppeteers to perform Elmo, although at the time the Elmo character was not yet a named character. For his work on Sesame Street, Spinney has been given several Daytime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, among several other honors.

Musical Monday Selections:

05/13/13: It's Not Easy Being Green

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