Article clipped from Pacific Daily News

P Puppeteer plays Big Bird character LOS ANGELES (AP) - Not long ago Carroll Spinney was browsing in a bookstore and came across a Golden Book with this string of characters on the back cover: Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, Snow White and a few Dwarfs, Bugs Bunny and Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch of "Sesame Street.' "Imagine being in that company!" Spinney marveled. "Why, they were my idols. The first movie I remember seeing was 'Snow White' when I was 4 years old. It had a profound influence on my life." Carroll Spinney is Big Bird, and the reverse may also be true. This is somewhat confusing, since Spinney is 51 years old and the Bird is 6, having aged from 4½ during the 16 years that "Sesame Street" has been entertaining and enlightening pre-schoolers on PBS. Spinney-Bird recently flew into town to celebrate his-its most impressive production so far: "Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird." It's a bigscreen movie released by Warner Bros. this summer in defiance of the law that G-rated attractions no longer sell. "We think our picture might change that, at least we hope so," said Spinney, a friendly, trim-bearded puppeteer. "For a long time people didn't take their children to the theater. Maybe we can help draw them back. We have the SCTV guys (Second City Television, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Dave Thomas) who might attract an older audience. But we've made no compromise with the children.' Chevy Chase, Waylon Jennings and comedian Sandra Bernhard also make appearances in "Follow That Bird." But the real stars are Big Bird, Mr. Snuggle-Upagus, Oscar, Grover, Count Von Count and that maestro of gluttony, the Cookie Monster. Carroll Spinney, who plays both Big Bird and his gloomridden friend Oscar, seemed destined for a lifetime of portraying outlandish characters. Inspired by "Snow White" and other Disney characters, he began giving puppet shows as a youngster, attended art school in Boston to provide a better basis for his career in puppetry. From a "Rascal Rabbit" kids' TV show in Las Vegas, Nev., to the "Judy and Goggle Show"' in Boston, he plied his trade. Jim Hensen, the Muppets man, discovered Spinney at a puppet show and enlisted him for new program being devised by the Children's Television "Jim Workshop had for pre idea that he wanted a large bird," Spinney recalled. "Then came the question of what the bird sounded like. Jim suggested Goofy, Mickey Mouse's friend, but that turned out to be a slightly wrong lead. What came out was a drawl that was hard for children to understand. So we decided since the character was 4½ years old, he should talk like a child, one who couldn't read." Big Bird was an immediate star, and he has appeared with the Boston Pops, the Ice Follies and on his own TV special, "Big Bird in China." Spinney had found himself a steady, if somewhat tiring job. "I lift weights. for weeks before I start back with the show," he remarked. "I have to hold my hand up to work the mechanism, and after 10 minutes my arm starts to get tired. Last year, I appeared in two parades in Australia, and I had to keep my arm up for an hour and a half. It was tough, but I'd do it again to get a trip to Australia.' He works on "Sesame Street" four months a year, spending much of the rest of his time at home working on his own puppets. How do his three teen-agers react to his fame? "They first went through the stage of being thrilled," he said. "'Then came the period of saying, 'I'm so tired of hearing all my friends say oh, your father's Big Bird. GO OKURA GUAM HOTEL HOTEL OKURA . GUAM 3 URA HOTEL OK HOTEL OKURA GUAM * GUAM Francisco 2 HOTEL