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Caroll Spinney, a puppeteer who brought the beloved Sesame Street characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to life, died today at his Connecticut home. He was 85 and died from Dystonia, a movement disorder. His death was announced by the Sesame Workshop, a nonprofit focused on helping preschool-age children reach their potential. Spinney was described by Sesame Workshop as “an artistic genius whose kind and loving view of the world helped shape and define Sesame Street from its earliest days in 1969.” Spinney joined Jim Henson and developed a huge career using the Muppets characters. Big Bird visited China...

Big Bird Tells All, Ruffles FeathersApril 29, 2003STEPHEN M. SILVERMANNot surprisingly, Big Bird has a big mouth. Actually, it's the man behind the "Sesame Street" Bird -- Caroll Spinney, 69, who's been the overgrown fine, yellow-feathered friend for the past 34 years on the children's show, which is an institution on PBS. Now, Spinney's autobiography, "The Wisdom of Big Bird," is hitting book stores Tuesday. It's anything but feather-brained, and Spinney -- sensitive to what his young fans might think -- is entering the tell-all arena carefully. "For years I've kind of hidden from the public because I've seen disappointed...