Caroll Spinney

For its second online installment of the 2020 Fall Puppet Forum Series, the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut will host a?oeThe Renaissance of African American Object Performancea?? with noted puppeteers, artists, scholars Edna Bland, Paulette Richards, Schroeder Cherry, and Anwar Floyd-Pruitt on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. ET.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Sesame Street puppeteer Caroll Spinney has died at age 85. Spinney was the puppeteer behind characters Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch. He died at his home in Connecticut, after a battle with Dystonia, according to SesameWorkshop.org.

Sesame Street got its start at the height of the civil rights movement and the war on poverty, in answer to a simple but powerful question: could television help prepare less advantaged children for school? In 1969, the show's founders tapped researchers, entertainers, and other visionaries to create a “street” like no other, where colorful monsters, humans, and even grouches lived side by side. Today, Sesame Workshop – the nonprofit organization behind the iconic show, which has grown to reach kids and families in more than 150 countries and 70 languages – is proud to announce the start of Sesame Street's landmark 50th season.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts today announced the selection of five Honorees who will receive the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime artistic achievements.

Taking on the role of Big Bird requires some filling some very large shoes, but Brandon Wagner couldn't be more excited to be spreading the magic of Big Bird and Sesame Street around the country in Sesame Street Live! Make Your Magic.

Focus Features is in negotiations to acquire rights to 'Street Gang,' Marilyn Agrelo's documentary exploring the 'Sesame Street' phenomenon, according to Variety.

MISTER ROGERS: IT'S YOU I LIKE, a celebrity-filled, hour-long special that premieres on PBS stations in March 2018(check local listings), celebrates Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the pioneering PBS series that premiered nationally 50 years ago and became an iconic and enduring landmark in the world of children's television and beyond. Cast members from the groundbreaking series share their personal perspectives and insights in this new production, which pays tribute to television's longest-running children's series, still broadcast on many PBS stations today. The program also features interviews with numerous celebrities who have been influenced and inspired by Fred Rogers, a modest man who always said, “I am not a teacher, I simply help children learn.”

MISTER ROGERS: IT'S YOU I LIKE Premieres March 2018 on PBS

 At its third annual Eight Over Eighty benefit gala last night, The New Jewish Home(formerly, Jewish Home Lifecare), one of the country's largest and most diversified nonprofit eldercare systems, honored eight trailblazing New Yorkers over 80. The event, at the Mandarin Oriental New York,attracted 440 guests and raised $1.2 million for The New Jewish Home's rehabilitation, skilled nursing, and home health care programs, which together serve 12,000 older New Yorkers each year. BroadwayWorld brings you coverage below!

At its third annual Eight Over Eighty benefit gala, The New Jewish Home (formerly, Jewish Home Lifecare) will pay tribute to eight New Yorkers who, in their ninth and tenth decades, continue to live lives of remarkable achievement, vitality and civic engagement.

UtahPresents brings a beloved Sesame Street character to Salt Lake, with a screening of the acclaimed feature-length documentary I AM BIG BIRD. The film chronicles the life of Caroll Spinney, who has been Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969... and at 80 years old, he has no intention of stopping. After the film, Spinney will be live on stage in conversation with KUED's Ken Verdoia.

CHANDLER, Ariz., Sept. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ With over 300 million copies of his books sold worldwide, James Patterson is one of the most prolific and successful authors on the planet. While he continues to write the suspenseful thriller novels his devotees clamor for as well as the children's books that have gained him a whole new fan base, he's also become a major champion for literacy. He recently pledged to donate $1.75 million to school libraries through a grant program with Scholastic Reading Club. 'I'm really passionate about getting kids reading,' said Patterson in a recent interview with Story Monsters Ink magazine. 'If kids aren't competent readers in middle school, they're going to have a really hard time getting through high school and getting through life.' Patterson also discussed his career, his newest books and how he instilled a love of reading in his own son.

SOMETHING ROTTEN! is Broadway's newest hit musical, based on the premise that two playwright brothers in William Shakespeare's time learn that the 'next big thing' in the theatre business will be the musical. Tinabeth Pina interviews the production's Shakespeare, Christian Borle, and one of its brothers, Brian d'Arcy James, at Sardi's.

Whether you're in the mood for comedy, a thriller, a tearjerker or something more educational, September ushers in a huge new collection of movie and TV titles available for instant streaming, rental and purchase for Amazon customers.

CHANDLER, Ariz., June 22, 2015 /PRNewswire-iReach/ As the man behind Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch characters, Caroll Spinney has delivered lasting education lessons to millions of children. 'We had a lot of doubters who didn't believe that television could be a teaching tool,' Spinney recently said in an interview with Story Monsters Ink magazine. 'I think we proved them wrong.'

Since 2001, Kingsbury Hall Presents has offered an eclectic season of performing artists at Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus. As part of an expanded mission that reaches beyond the boundaries of the Kingsbury Hall stage into other venues and spaces on campus and in the community, the performing arts series has become UtahPresents. This evolution and expansion will infuse the campus and community with unique arts experiences through both live performances and community engagement activities.

For 45 years, Caroll Spinney has been beloved by generations of children as the man behind Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch -- and at 80 years old, he has no intention of stopping. At Museum of the Moving Image's Spring Family Day, Spinney will make an appearance and pose for photos before a preview screening of the new documentary about his life and career I Am Big Bird: The Story of Caroll Spinney on Sunday, May 3, 2015. After the film, he and his wife Debi Spinney will participate in a Q&A moderated by Craig Shemin, President of the Jim Henson Legacy.

In the video below, Caroll Spinney (playing himself and the voice of Big Bird) brings a SESAME STREET twist to the Oscar-nominated film BIRDMAN in the parody 'BIG BIRDMAN, described as: 'A veteran puppeteer, who plays an avian icon, battles his ego and attempts to find his way back to a certain furry and friendly street. This is 'Big Birdman.' Click below!

SiriusXM today announced that original cast members fromSesame Street,the groundbreaking children's television series, will participate in an exclusive installment of SiriusXM's 'Town Hall' commemorating the 45 th anniversary of the show's debut on public television.