The puppeteer who has played Big Bird since 1969, is hanging up the yellow suit this week.

Caroll Spinney, who has played Big Bird, as well as Oscar the Grouch is retiring after nearly 50 years on the show.

Spinney will record some of his voices for his colorful characters on Thursday, and then he will retire from the program. His roles will be passed on to new performers, as his amazing run with Sesame Street comes to an end.

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There is no exact number of episodes of Sesame Street spinney appeared in, but it's in the neighborhood of 4,400, according to the New York Times.

Being 84-years-old, the physical requirements of performing the characters had become difficult for Spinney in recent years. He stopped doing the puppeteering for Big Bird in 2015, and has only provided the voices for Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since then.

 

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