Big Bird And The Boy Who Smiled At Last

You know those stories that always promise you’ll bawl like a baby?

Yeah, this one just may do it.

On Reddit, Caroll Spinney, the puppeteer behind “Sesame Street’s” Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird for the last 46 years, was doing an AMA (Ask Me Anything) to promote a new documentary about him called, “I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story.”

He said this about the movie:

If you like the Muppets – it’s a movie for anybody. It does have a few words that puts it into not suitable for children, but I don’t think it would hurt any children. It’s for children old enough to know that Big Bird isn’t a real bird, just me.

But everybody has loved the movie. The music is particularly beautiful in the movie. And I urge you to see it, if you like what we do. It’s really quite a love story in there, about somebody I love very much.

Thank you!

He was asked this question:

man_mayo2600 points2 days ago

What has been your most meaningful interaction with a child during filming? Or maybe from someone who grew up watching you and relayed a poignant story?

And here’s the answer:

Okay, here’s one.

This is a very sad story, but it’s real.

I got a letter from a fan who said his little boy, who was 5 years old, his name was Joey, he was dying of cancer.

And he was so ill, the little boy knew he was dying.

So the man, in his letter, asked if I would call the little boy. He said the only thing that cheered him at all in his fading state was to see Big Bird on television.

So once in a while, he wouldn’t see Big Bird on some days, because he wasn’t necessarily in every show. So he asked could I telephone him, and talk to the boy, tell him what a good boy he’s been.

So I took a while to look up a phone, because this was before cell phones. And they got a long cord to bring a phone to the boy.

And I had Big Bird say “Hello! Hello Joey! It’s me, Big Bird!”

So he said “Is it really you, Big Bird?”

“Yes, it is.”

I chatted a while with him, about ten minutes, and he said “I’m glad you’re my friend Big Bird.”

And I said “I’d better let you go now.”

He said “Thank you for calling me Big Bird. You’re my friend. You make me happy.”

And it turns out that his father and mother were sitting with him when the phone call came. And he was very, very ill that day. And they called the parents in, because they weren’t sure how long he’d last.

And so his father wrote to me right away, and said “Thank you, thank you” – he hadn’t seen him smile since October, and this was in March – and when the phone was hung up, he said “Big Bird called me! He’s my friend.”

And he closed his eyes. And he passed away.

And I could see that what I say to children can be very important.

And he said “We haven’t seen our little boy smile in MONTHS. He smiled, as he passed away. It was a gift to us. Thank you.”

Click here to read the rest.

Here’s the film’s trailer:

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Big Bird and the Boy Who Smiled at Last