Caroll Spinney, best known for his decades of work on the educational PBS series Sesame Street, has died. Best known as the man behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, Spinney had portrayed the characters since the show’s inception in 1969 until his retirement last year. With his death confirmed by the Sesame Workshop, Spinney passed away today in his Connecticut home after a long battle with dystonia. He was 85 years old. Spinney’s survivors include his wife, Debra Jean Gilroy, with whom he’d been married to since 1979.