Danny Seagren obit

Danny Seagren Dies: ‘Sesame Street’ Star & First Live-Action Spider-Man, Was 81

 

He was not on the list.

Danny Seagren, a Jim Henson puppeteer who played Big Bird on Sesame Street and portrayed the first live-action Spider-Man on The Electric Company, has died age 81.

Seagren died on November 10, according to his family. There was no cause of death stated.

Seagren, who was born on November 15, 1943 in Minneapolis, MN, was both a puppeteer and puppet maker for Jim Henson.

Along with being Ernie’s right hand, the Muppet maker also starred as Big Bird on several episodes of Sesame Street, as well as playing the tall bird during live shows as well as on The Ed Sullivan Show.

He also created puppets for series including Miss Peach, the comic that was adapted as an animated segment on ABC preschool series Curiosity Shop, CBS kids show Captain Kangaroo and PBS’ Who’s Afraid Of Opera, which starred Joan Sutherland.

Seagren was also television’s first Spider-Man, starring as the famed web slinger on The Electric Company, the PBS series that starred Rita Moreno and Morgan Freeman and was produced by Sesame Workshop predecessor Children’s Television Workshop.

Other credits include Tales from Muppetland, The Great Santa Claus Switch and The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant.

“Danny will be greatly missed by his family, friends and those throughout the community he loved living in,” his family wrote online.

Seagren is survived by longtime companion, Kate Vereau, his brother Dr. Stephen L. Seagren, his wife Jill R. Seagren, and their son, his nephew Sean G. Seagren. A celebration of life will be held at a later date.

 

Actor

Sesame Street (1969)

Sesame Street

8.1

TV Series

Father BasketballMuppet PerformerBig Bird

1969–1986

33 episodes

 

Spidey Super Stories (1974)

Spidey Super Stories

5.7

TV Series

Spider-Man

1974–1977

29 episodes

 

The Electric Company (1971)

The Electric Company

8.2

TV Series

Spider-Man

1974–1977

390 episodes

 

Who's Afraid of Opera?

TV Series

Rudi (voice)

1972–1973

8 episodes

 

Tales from Muppetland: The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)

Tales from Muppetland: The Muppet Musicians of Bremen

7.4

TV Movie

Additional Muppet Performer (voice)

1972

 

Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince (1971)

Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince

7.9

TV Movie

Muppet Performer

1971

 

The Great Santa Claus Switch (1970)

The Great Santa Claus Switch

7.2

TV Movie

GloatSnarlSnerf (voice)

1970

 

Additional Crew

Tom Selleck, Lily Tomlin, Alice Dinnean, Shari Lewis, Noel MacNeal, Bob West, Lamb Chop, Philip D. Garcia, and Wenqian Wan in Barney & Friends (1992)

Kids for Character

7.6

Video

muppet designer

1996

 

The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant

Video

animal design consultant (animal construction)

1981

 

Tales from Muppetland: The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972)

Tales from Muppetland: The Muppet Musicians of Bremen

7.4

TV Movie

additional muppet performer

1972

 

Puppetry

New

Miss Peach of the Kelly School (1982)

Miss Peach of the Kelly School

7.3

TV Series

puppet designer

1982

 

Archive Footage

Jim Henson: Idea Man (2024)

Jim Henson: Idea Man

7.7

Self - Muppet Performer (archive footage, uncredited)

2024

 

Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee (2019)

Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee

8.0

TV Special

Self - Spider-Man (archive footage)

2019

 

Brian Unger in In Their Own Words (2015)

In Their Own Words

7.2

TV Series

Muppet Performer (archive footage, uncredited)

2015

1 episode

 

Personal details

Born

November 15, 1943Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA

Died

November 10, 2025Little River, South Carolina, USA(undisclosed)