Big Birds Daddy has Died...on My Birthday

Six years ago my Grandmother died on my birthday. This year we lost another great- Kermit Love, the man who brought Jim Henson’s characters- Big Bird, Mr Snuffleupagus, Oscar the Grouch and Cookie Monster to life.

Born in Spring Lake, New Jersey, in 1916, on leaving school Love became a puppet-maker for a theatre company. Switching to costume design, he worked for Orson Welles's Mercury Theatre in New York, before progressing to Broadway productions such as The Fireman's Flame (1937-38) and One Touch of Venus (starring Mary Martin, 1943-45).

Following his costume design for the New York City Ballet and Agnes de Mille's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo production of Rodeo (1942), Love worked with Jerome Robbins on Broadway for the ballet Fancy Free (1946) and with other leading choreographers. With George Balanchine, his creations for Don Quixote (1965) included a 28ft-tall marionette giant.

Then came Sesame Street, with Love also designing characters for 22 foreign versions of the program. His most famous character, Big Bird, also made a cameo appearance in The Muppet Movie (1979).

Jim Henson insisted that his Muppet Kermit the Frog's name was settled before he met Love, who went into semi-retirement in the 1990s, although he continued to work with the Joffrey Ballet. His partner of 50 years was Christopher Lyall.

Mr. Love, thank you for making my childhood magical and sweet dreams.