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Caroll Spinney To Share His Adventures As Part Of ‘I Am Big Bird’ Screening At Real Art Ways

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A new documentary about “Sesame Street” puppeteer Caroll Spinney, “I Am Big Bird,” tells many well-known and loved stories about Spinney’s adventures in the big yellow suit. It also tells one story so frightening that editors of Spinney’s memoirs refused to publish it: Big Bird was supposed to have been on the Space Shuttle Challenger as an outer-space ambassador to children all over the world.

In the end, NASA decided that Big Bird’s 8-foot-2 suit was too large to fit into the Challenger’s limited storage spaces, Spinney said. He was removed from the passenger list and replaced with teacher Christa McAuliffe. McAuliffe and six others on board were killed instantly when the shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after takeoff on Jan. 28, 1986.

“Nobody knew I was supposed to be on that ship,” said Spinney, of Woodstock. “None of the journalists knew about my involvement. It was preferred that it not be mentioned. The story never got told.”

“I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story” opens Friday, June 12, at Real Art Ways in Hartford, when Spinney will do a question and answer session. He won’t be alone.

“I’m bringing a friend,” he said. “Do you supposed he’ll be green?” (Spinney also is the puppeteer of Oscar the Grouch. He would not confirm that Oscar will be his companion Friday.)

Spinney said NASA approached him because all kids loved Big Bird, but not all kids loved NASA.

“Kids weren’t interested in the NASA program. It’s not as exciting as ‘Star Wars’,” Spinney said. “But the space shuttle was like being in two vans put together. There’s not a lot of room.”

Dave LaMattina and Chad N. Walker’s documentary also discusses a sillier episode in Spinney’s life: When GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, in a debate on Oct. 3, 2012, proposed cutting funds to PBS, while stating nonetheless “I like PBS, I like Big Bird.” That statement put the big yellow guy, very briefly, at the forefront of an American political debate and landed him on “Saturday Night Live”‘s “Weekend Update.”

“I didn’t stay up and watch it. I heard about it the next day on ‘The Today Show’.” He said. “I called ‘Sesame Street’ and they said ‘Do us a favor and don’t answer the phone’.” Muppets, he said, are not supposed to talk politics because children don’t care about politics.

Spinney has played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch in every episode since the show made its debut on PBS on Nov. 10, 1969. Oscar was named after a grouchy waiter at a seafood restaurant called Oscar’s near the TV show’s studio. “Jim [Henson] thought he was hilarious, he was so irritable and grouchy,” Spinney said. “I don’t think he ever knew Oscar was named after him.”

In the first year, Oscar was orange. “I’d still be orange if I took a bath,” Spinney said in the Oscar-voice.

The movie follows Spinney through his troubled childhood, his failed first marriage and almost idyllic second marriage, through his career as a puppeteer, the highs and lows of his years on “Sesame Street,” his trip to China, his song performance at Jim Henson’s funeral and other noteworthy moments in his career.

“Sesame Street,” in one form or another, is shown in about 150 countries. Big Bird is beloved worldwide, but not all versions of “Sesame Street” have Big Bird and Oscar in them. “There used to be an alligator equivalent of Big Bird in the Brazilian version of ‘Sesame Street’,” Spinney said.

In most countries, though, seeing Big Bird as anyone other than Big Bird can be quite upsetting to a child. Spinney recalls his first movie, “Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird,” which came out in 1985. In the movie, Big Bird is painted blue by two con artists.

“My nephew, Josh, when he saw blue Big Bird, he started to cry. He cried so hard and bitterly we had to turn off the TV. He cried for another half hour even though the show wasn’t on anymore,” Spinney said. “I remember a job took me to Australia and the movie was still in theaters. We went to see it. The audience was full of little Aussie children. When Big Bird ended up blue, I heard the whole theater go “wah-wah-wah-wah-wah.”

“I AM BIG BIRD: THE CAROLL SPINNEY STORY” will be at Real Art Ways, 56 Arbor St. in Hartford, opening Friday, June 12, with screenings at 5 and 7:40 p.m. with Caroll Spinney talking after each. For tickets and information: realartways.org; 860-232-1006.