A Tribute to Caroll Spinney, The Man Behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch

"Sesame Street" legend CAROLL SPINNEY died yesterday. He was 85.There's no word on the cause of death, but his family says he'd been living with a "movement disorder" called dystonia for some time. Spinney was the "Muppeteer" behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch for almost HALF A CENTURY.He was with the show when it started in 1969, and only retired last year. He actually stopped getting inside the Big Bird costume in 2015, because it was so physically demanding.The head weighs five pounds, and he had to hold it up with his right arm, while working the mouth and facial expressions with his hand. But he continued providing the voice until his retirement. He won five Daytime Emmys and a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.He was also the subject of a documentary in 2014, called "I Am Big Bird". If you get a chance, watch that documentary, it's fantastic!!! He will definitely be missed and Sesame Street is a little sadder today. Check out the two tribute videos below to the man who essentially "was" Big Bird from the very beginning!