Big Bird

**Big Bird** is an 8'2" yellow bird who lives on Sesame Street. Since *Sesame Street* premiered in 1969, Big Bird has entertained millions of preschool children and their parents with his wide-eyed wondering at the world.

The world-famous bird has been a central character on *Sesame Street* for the program's run, debuting in the first episode. The big yellow bird can roller skate, ice skate, dance, sing, write poetry, draw and even ride a unicycle — pretty talented for a character described in the TV show's writer's guide as a 6-year-old. But despite this wide array of talents, he's prone to frequent misunderstandings, like thinking that the alphabet is one long word.

Big Bird lives in a large nest behind 123 Sesame Street and next to Oscar's trash can, and he has a teddy bear named Radar.

Big Bird helps children feel all right about not knowing everything because he himself does not know everything, and encourages them to inquire: a common Big Bird phrase has been "Asking questions is a good way of finding things out!" He also teaches other life, alphabet, and numerical lessons: "I guess it's better to be who you are. Turns out people like you best that way, anyway."

Big Bird is also known to make friends easily. As a central character, Big Bird historically has been the first to welcome a new visitor or resident to Sesame Street in several storylines, often guiding them around the neighborhood and introducing them to the locals. One famous example is Episode 4109, which introduces Abby Cadabby to the cast. Big Bird commented on his amiability in a 2019 interview with *Time*, saying "Maybe people see big 8-ft. birds a lot and they just feel comfortable. I don't know. I think it's just because I'm a friendly bird."

For many years, his best friend Mr. Snuffleupagus (who Big Bird calls Snuffy) was deemed as imaginary by the adults on Sesame Street. Every time Snuffy would visit, he would coincidentally leave just before the adults arrived. Despite not being believed by the adults, Big Bird continued to assert that Snuffy was real. In the early 1980s, a string of high-profile child sexual abuse cases caused Sesame Workshop (then Children's Television Workshop) to eliminate this running gag, fearing that children would take to heart the message that, if adults don't believe something out of the ordinary even when they are telling the truth, they'd be just as well off to remain silent.

Big Bird's closest human friendship, however, for many years was with storekeeper Mr. Hooper, who made his birdseed milkshakes. Big Bird's inability to say the storekeeper's name correctly (most often rendered as "Mr. Looper") was a source of frustration, but they remained close. Big Bird took center stage on *Sesame Street* in the early 1980s, when the show dealt with the death of Mr. Hooper (necessitated by the death of Will Lee, the actor who played the role). Big Bird got confused when he tried to go into Hooper's Store to give Mr. Hooper his drawing Big Bird made of and for him. The adults, including Maria, David, Bob, Susan, Gordon, Olivia and Luis tell Big Bird that Mr. Hooper is not coming back because he's dead, and when people die, they don't come back. ("Ever?" "No, never.") Big Bird's realization that Mr. Hooper wasn't just gone temporarily, and Big Bird's acceptance of Mr. Hooper's death, have been hailed as a milestone in children's programming.

Big Bird starred on the big screen in the 1985 film *Follow That Bird*, in which he is sent by Miss Finch, a bird social worker, to live with a foster family of Dodos. He soon runs away from his new home to get back to Sesame Street and he is kidnapped and dyed baby blue by two ratty carnival-owners. He also had a role in the feature film *The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland* and starred in the feature-length specials *Big Bird in China* and *Big Bird in Japan*.

Big Bird also appeared in cameo roles in the films *The Muppet Movie* and *The Muppets Take Manhattan* and the television special *A Muppet Family Christmas*, and as a guest on *The Muppet Show* episode 318, plus a variety of outside TV appearances.