Little Bird-was it really he or she?

mikealan

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Hello. We SS/MC fans got confused about Little Bird.
We know that Little Bird is Big Bird's little friend that appeared on Sesame Street in the 70's until the late '80's.

Was Little Bird really a she or a he?
 

jeffkjoe

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Well, considering that FRAN BRILL was the voice/hand behind Little Bird, I would assume that Little was a she.


But alas! Little Bird is no more! First appearance: 1970, last appearance: 1988.
 

ssetta

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What exactly was her first and last appearance?
 

jeffkjoe

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It's hard to pinpoint what her last appearance in 1988 was (probably as a background Muppet on the street), but her first appearance in 1970 was either:

1) with blue-nosed Herry Monster and talking about imagaination

or

2) with early version Cookie Monster talking about hot and cold

both on Sesame Street Unpaved episodes

or

3) with 1969 Big Bird sitting on a brick wall (picture is in Sesame Street: Unpaved book
 

Censored

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Little Bird was referred to as a "he" on a Sesame Street record.
 

ssetta

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It was actually a she, even though everyone thinks it was a he. I thought he was a male as well, when I saw him in books. But she was performed by Fran Brill.
 

Censored

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ssetta said:
It was actually a she, even though everyone thinks it was a he. I thought he was a male as well, when I saw him in books. But she was performed by Fran Brill.

I'm not sure that being performed by a female muppeteer necessarily means that the character has to be female. Remember that Rocky of the cartoon Bullwinkle was male but voiced by a female. In any case, I do know that Little Bird was called "he" on a record, but I've never heard the character referred to as a "she". Of course, there could be some inconsistencies.
 
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