Caroll Spinney: “I Am Big Bird”

A resident of Woodstock, Conn., Caroll Spinney also spends time on the Upper West Side of New York when he films “Sesame Street.” Since 1969, he has been the puppeteer inside the Big Bird costume. Spinney, 81, said it has been fun playing such a famous character without being recognized himself.

Big Bird flies high with new book of wisdom

Like many Americans, Caroll Spinney remembers watching the tragic Challenger shuttle mission in 1986. Had it not been for Big Bird, it could’ve been him on the mission instead of school teacher Christa McAuliffe.