Puppeteer who performed Sesame Street's Big Bird, Oscar, dies at 85

Caroll Spinney died on Sunday at the age of 85, the Sesame Workshop said on Sunday. Spinney is the puppeteer who brought boyish vulnerability to Big Bird, the towering yellow-plumed character, during 50 years on the groundbreaking children's television show "Sesame Street" and even made garbage-loving Oscar the Grouch loveable. Spinney, who suffered from the movement disorder dystonia, had provided only Big Bird's voice since 2015 while another puppeteer was in the costume.

Spinney gave life to Big Bird's antithesis, Oscar the Grouch, the furry green creature who offered his curmudgeonly views on the goings-on on Sesame Street. Oscar lived in a garbage can and sang about his love of trash.