FLYING THE COOP

VOICE OF BIG BIRD TO RETIRE

Caroll Spinney is saying byebye to Big Bird.

The longtime “Sesame Street” puppeteer, who also brought Oscar the Grouch to life, announced Wednesday that he is stepping down from his roles after nearly five decades on the job.

“Before I came to Sesame Street, I didn’t feel like what I was doing was very important,” Spinney said in a statement. “Big Bird helped me find my purpose. Even as I step down from my roles, I feel I will always be Big Bird. And even Oscar, once in a while! They have given me great joy, led me to my true calling and created a lifetime of memories that I will cherish forever.”

He added that he will stick around as a Sesame Workshop ambassador “for many years to come.”

Spinney, 84, joined the beloved children’s show in 1969, its inaugural season. Even by then he was a seasoned puppeteer, as he’d been working in the field since the 1950s after a stint in the Air Force.

Fate aligned in 1962, when he met Jim Henson, who would go on to create many of the beloved "Sesame Street" characters," at a puppetry festival.

Spinney (photo) and his iconic feathered friend have appeared in more than 300 episodes of “Sesame Street,” and have traveled the world together, even visiting China with Bob Hope in 1979.

In 1994, his legacy was cemented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2006 he earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Emmys.

Spinney, who is also an author and visual artist, also met his wife, Debra, on the show’s set in 1973.

“Sesame Street” puppet captain Matt Vogel, who also performs Count von Count and Kermit the Frog, will take over the role of Big Bird, while Oscar the Grouch will be handled by Eric Jacobson, the man behind Grover, Bert, Guy Smiley, Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy.