Caroll Spinney

Caroll Spinney
Spinney at the 2014 Montclair Film Festival
Born	Caroll Edwin Spinney (1933-12-26) December 26, 1933 (age 83) Waltham, Massachusetts
Other names	Ed Spinney
Occupation	Puppeteer, cartoonist, author, speaker
Years active	1955–present
Known for	Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch
Spouse(s)	Janice Spinney (div. 1971) Debra Jean Gilroy (m. 1979)
Children	3
Family	4 grandchildren
Website	Official website
Signature

Caroll Edwin Spinney (born December 26, 1933) is an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author, and speaker most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street since 1969. He has sometimes been credited as Carroll Spinney or Ed Spinney.

Spinney was born Caroll Edwin Spinney in Waltham, Massachusetts on December 26, 1933. His mother, a native of Bolton, England, named him Caroll because he was born the day after Christmas. He has been drawing and painting since he was a child. He developed a love of puppeteering when his mother took him to see Punch and Judy shows in the British seaside town of Blackpool. She built him a puppet set for Christmas when he was nine.

After he graduated from Acton-Boxborough Regional High School in Acton, Massachusetts, Spinney served in the US Air Force.

While in the Air Force, Spinney wrote and illustrated Harvey, a comic strip about military life. He also animated a series of black-and-white cartoons called Crazy Crayon.

In 1955, Spinney headed to Las Vegas, where he performed in the show Rascal Rabbit. He returned to Boston, joining The Judy and Goggle Show in 1958 as a puppeteer "Goggle" to Judy Valentine's Judy. Throughout the 1960s, he performed on the Boston broadcast of Bozo's Big Top, where he played Mr. Lion, who created cartoons from the names of children participating in the show. Through that decade, he was also a commercial artist and animator.