Hollywood’s lights dimmed a bit this weekend. Not only did we lose two incredible actors, but we lost their lovable characters as well.
On Sunday, December 8th, Mr. Caroll Spinney and René Auberjonois both left our world.
Spinney was the comfortably anonymous whole-body puppeteer who, since the 1969 inception of the public television show Sesame Street had portrayed the sweet-natured, canary-yellow giant bird and the misanthropic, furry-green bellyacher in the trash can outside 123 Sesame Street.
Spinney’s death was announced by Sesame Workshop. It was said in a statement that he had lived for some time with dystonia, which causes involuntary muscle contractions. It has been reported that Caroll died on Sunday at his home in Woodstock, Connetticut at 85 years old.
And at 79 years old, and also on Sunday, actor René Auberjonois also passed away. The news was confirmed by his son, Remy Auberjonois. His son said the cause of death was metastatic lung cancer in a recent statement.
Auberjonois was known for his myriad television roles on shows like “Benson,” “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine” and “Boston Legal.” But he acted in theater and film, notably as Army chaplain Father John Mulcahy in Robert Altman’s 1970 “MASH.”
“He was married to my mother for 56 years,” Remy said. “He was a dedicated father and grandfather and he had a fantastic sense of humor.” Despite it being a dark day in Hollywood, these two men’s iconic characters are gifts to our world, and will live on in our memories and hearts forever.