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’s career inside the Big Bird costume was portrayed in the 2015 documentary “I Am Big Bird.” The film covered some of his darker moments, including suicidal thoughts after his first wife left him and took their kids, and the jealousy he felt when the character Elmo became more popular than Big Bird. The beloved Big Bird was a fluffy pear-shaped mass of yellow-dyed turkey feathers set atop spindly legs and standing more than 8 feet (2.4 meters) tall. Big Bird was often flustered but persevered with the help of his neighbors on Sesame Street, where puppet creatures and humans lived side by side. Once back in Boston, he was part of the “Bozo the Clown Show” before Henson brought him to Sesame Street.

Source: National Post December 08, 2019 19:18 UTC