Caroll Spinney: The Farewell Tour

[LittleJerry92]

Steve was certainly a very talkative guy. I even brought up my support to him when I mentioned how upset I was when he was fired, to which he mentioned the same, but then said he was doing better, which I was happy to hear.

Getting a compliment on my muppet shirt from him also made my day.

 

[D'Snowth]

You could totally sense Steve's passion for his work with the Muppets, epsecially during his panel, and you can also tell he appreciates the fans just as well.

And likewise, the whole cast loved my "I Was Raised On The Street" t-shirt when I met them a couple of years ago . . . I would have worn it again when I met Steve, but it was just way too stinkin' hot that day!

 

[D'Snowth]

Oh cool, Noel MacNeal is going to be there, too! My guess his and Caroll's tables will probably be side by side.

 

[fuzzygobo]

Oh cool, Noel MacNeal is going to be there, too! My guess his and Caroll's tables will probably be side by side.

Noel is a very cool guy. I remember him for more obscure things like Leon from The Puzzle Place and Knock
Knock from The Great Space Coaster.

Peter Linz is on my bucket list. Not because of Walter, but Puzzle Place's Skye. I stumbled onto the show one day and 27-year-old me fell in love with his character.
And there's not much of an age gap. He's only a year older than me.

 

[fuzzygobo]

I got to meet Bob McGrath on three occasions. Two lectures, andonce at Sedame Place. He put on a show with a number of singalongs and such. Very nice man. Usually at conventions your time for chit chat iomited because of crowds. Here we had ten minutes to kill.
Later I waved to him in the parade (he had his own float) and later I bumped into him again in the men's room.
There, out of nowhere, I remember an old tune from way back called "Don't You Know You're Beautiful". I started singing and he harmonized with me. Two Irish tenors singing in a public bathroom. (The echo in there was great!) That's the last time I saw him that day, but we both left with big grins on our faces.

 

[D'Snowth]

Speaking of TGSC, I really hope Jim Martin and Gary Gnu will come to town one day; like Steve, you can tell he appreciates the fans - I've drawn occasion TGSC comics for him that he's shared on their Facebook page.

 

[fuzzygobo]

It's great meeting Sesame/Muppet people. Frank Oz was always a little different. In the right mood, he can be really cool. But he does have a short temper, and not the most fan-friendly of puppeteers.
Because he was so close to Jim, he took Jim's death the hardest.He continued on with Sesame for a number of years, but after a while his heart wasn't in it anymore, and wanted to be better known as a director.
But part of his Sesame:/Muppet past wouldn't let him go. Once people were egging him on to do Grover or Piggy's voice, and he refused.He felt it was like popping party favors. Ivan also understand his desire to be more than just a Muppeteer.The more he turned to directing, the less he wanted to do with puppets.
He is not the kind of guy you want to get mad. First, he's 6'4", second his temper could probably make a rock cry.

 

[LittleJerry92]

At the end of the day, just be respectful and treat your idols like you would anyone else with respect.

Most i’d do is just compliment him on his work, get an autograph and then bid farewell.

 

[fuzzygobo]

That is true. I'm very happy to meet these people and let them know how much they are appreciated.But there's an invisible line some people cross, make fools of themselves, invade people's space, demand autographs and pictures, and ruin it for everybody else.

 

[Any Del]

When I was at the Comic Convention last year when I was on line to get an autograph from Richard Horvitz this guy was trying to kiss him but the staff and her security picked him up and took him away.