Nearly 25 years ago Kalamazoo was treated to a very special visit from an amazing puppeteer who was a part of so many people's lives growing up.

Caroll Spinney may not be a name that jumps out at you, but he was a puppeteer, cartoonist, author, artist, and public speaker. You most likely know him as playing both Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street from 1969 up until 2018.

Spinney passed away sadly in 2019, but back in 2008, he was doing a public speaking tour that took him to Chenery Auditorium on S. Westnedge Ave.

During the speech, Spinney recalled his time with Sesame Street and how the characters Ernie & Bert were created and shared other stories about Jim Henson. During the performance, he shared how he was approached to play Oscar, which is when he leaned down saying he brought someone with him.

He then pulled up Oscar and he started going into character:

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I thought you'd never stop talking. Well, I hope that you're all having a rotten day. Let me tell you about myself. I like to be grouchy, I totally put rocks under my sheets when I go to bed because when I get too comfortable, I get up on the right side.

He then goes into song and explains the never-ending struggle of being happy being miserable and being miserable to be happy. One commenter on the video also expressed their heartbreak having to miss the show.

Darn, I really wanted to go see this- I would have traveled 5 hours there to see Carroll. Hope it was good.

Human Counterparts of Famous Cartoon Characters

 

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