Ernie’s Big Mess is a Sesame Street book from 1981, where Sesame Street’s Odd Couple briefly fractures. Fed up with Ernie’s slovenly ways, Bert says he wishes he lived alone. A sad Ernie decides to grant his wish and leaves, but it turns out life on the (Sesame) Street ain’t easy. An Avocado mentioned this as a favorite book recently, which led me to Muppet Wiki and a fun discovery…

The book was adapted in 1987 as part of the Sesame Street “Start-To-Read Video” series a few years later. Caroll Spinney read the books in this series as Big Bird, and he also did all of the character voices as Big Bird. It’s clear if you listen to the video, but since I know no one clicks those: Spinney also performed Oscar, so he can (obviously) do Oscar’s voice perfectly. When you hear Oscar in these videos, though, it’s not Oscar’s usual voice – it’s Big Bird imitating Oscar’s voice. Spinney does a great job even with the characters further from his usual vocal range like Grover and Cookie Monster – they’re all noticeably different from their usual voices, but still immediately recognizable at the same time.

One of my favorite things about the Muppets is how real they feel because they exist in spaces outside of their shows and movies. Every time they pop up on a talk show, in a parade, or on a random YouTube channel it adds to the illusion. These videos are right in that vein, and are a rare example of a Muppet performer doing someone else’s characters. They’re also a reminder that Caroll Spinney is one of the most gifted puppeteers the Muppets had.

Have fun posting!