who was the first character on sesame street
Sesame Street characters The first Muppet to appear on the show[11] was Big Bird, an 8-foot-tall yellow bird believed by writer Shalom M. Fisch and Dr. Lewis Bernstein to be a canary,[9] who resides in a large nest alongside the "123 Sesame Street" building[11] and represents the 6-year-old child with his tendency to question everything.[12][13] Also living outside of the building is Oscar the Grouch, a trash can-dwelling creature belonging to his own unique species, who is portrayed as a habitual pessimist[14] and was designed to give children "permission to feel grouchy—and to demonstrate differing opinions".[15] Oscar and Big Bird were specifically created for the reshooting of the "Street" scenes with the idea that they would be able to interact with the human characters.[16] Big Bird's best friend is Aloysius Snuffleupagus (better known as "Snuffy"), who was portrayed as the bird's imaginary friend until revealed to the human cast in 1985.[17][18] For his part, Oscar has several friends of his own despite his pessimism; these include the Grouch's pet worm, Slimey,[14] and his girlfriend Grundgetta.[19] Two other Muppets who have appeared on the show since its beginning are Ernie and Bert, a pair of best friends with contrasting personalities; Ernie is portrayed as a free-spirited trickster who loves his rubber duck,[20][21] while Bert is the world-weary foil to his friend's naïve trouble-making, and shows himself to be obsessed with things like pigeons and paper clips.[22]
Caroll Spinney Caroll Edwin Spinney (born December 26, 1933) is an American puppeteer, cartoonist, author and speaker most famous for playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street since 1969. He is usually credited as Caroll Spinney but has sometimes been credited using the alternate spelling Carroll Spinney or under the name Ed Spinney.