Matt Vogel

Matthew J. "Matt" Vogel II (b. October 6th, 1970) is an accomplished puppeteer in his own right. However, since joining Sesame Street in 1996, he has become most familiar for his work as Caroll Spinney's understudy for Big Bird  on Sesame Street, including the "Journey to Ernie" segments, several street scenes & other appearances whenever Spinney is unavailable. He has also performed various Anything Muppets & CGI characters on "Elmo's World," & plays Big Bird 's infant self, Baby Big Bird in the Sesame Beginnings DVD series. It has been decided that, when Spinney retires or dies, Vogel is to be the new Big Bird. Most recently, he's also served as assistant puppet captain on Sesame Street. He's also taken over Jerry Nelson's Muppet characters, by the recommendation of Nelson himself. Vogel is, as of 2008, the performer of Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Robin the Frog & Camilla the Chicken following Nelson's retirement. He has also taken over the puppetry of Jerry's most famous character, Count von Count, but Jerry is still providing the voice. He also voiced the gray Grouch in the Grouch spoof of Spamalot, called Scramalot.

Episodes Where Vogel Played Big Bird
In addition to the Journey to Ernie segments & inserted clips, Matt has also played Big Bird  in many scenes including:
 * A sketch where Big Bird explains to Elmo that plants can't play catch.
 * A sketch where Big Bird watches Elmo show up & down.
 * Episode 3851: For the scene where Elmo & Big Bird are practicing the tango, Vogel performs Big Bird 's puppetry
 * Episode 3877
 * Episode 3907
 * Episode 3987
 * Episode 3997: For the parts of the episode where Big Bird & Oscar  don't share a scene, Big Bird is played by Spinney, however, since the episode is mainly about Oscar, when they share a scene, Spinney is Oscar , & Vogel performs Big Bird 's puppetry, to a vocal track by Spinney.
 * Episode 4074: The Letter of the Month Club
 * Episode 4107 & Episode 4108: The Adventures of Little Big Bird (mini Big Bird only)
 * Episode 4155: Vogel performs Big Bird (voice & puppetry) for his cameo at the beginning.
 * Episode 4187: Vogel played Big Bird during the green-screen scenes to a vocal track by Spinney
 * Episode 4203: Vogel played Big Bird to a vocal track by Caroll Spinney
 * Episode 4206: In the brief moment where we see Big Bird 's actual crash when he is wedged inside the little wall in front of 123 Sesame Street, Vogel is Big Bird
 * The Street We Live On: in the intro to "Journey to Ernie "

Muppeteer Credits

 * Muppet characters: Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Robin the Frog, Camilla the Chicken (all 2008-present)
 * Sesame Street: Big Bird  (understudy) (2000-present), Letter of the Day Announcer, Maurice Pig (4095), Gassy (Dwarf #3) (4114), Baby Bear (assistant), Ernie (assistant) (2000-2003), Count von Count (assistant; puppetry only), "Elmo's World" CGI Furniture, Herb (4113), David Letterguy (4125), Hansel & Gretel (Healthy Storybook Moment), Rapunzel's Prince (4127), Gardener, Groucho Marx Muppet, Howie Eatswell (4138), Ant (4147), Megan (Are You Smarter Than an Egg Layer?), Pino, Professor Gary Gill, Scramalot Grouch, Wyoming Walt, Mr. Yak, the guinea pig (Pre-School Musical), The Super Foods banana, etc.
 * Don't Forget to Watch the Movie
 * Big Bag
 * Big Bird Gets Lost
 * Telling the Truth
 * Elmo Saves Christmas
 * Telling the Truth: Additional Puppeteer
 * Elmopalooza
 * Bear in the Big Blue House
 * Sesame Street Goes to the Doctor: Hoarse Horse
 * A Brief History of Motion Pictures
 * The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland
 * Play With Me Sesame: Ernie (assistant)
 * Muppet RaceMania: Scooter & Janice (voices)
 * Elmo's Magic Cookbook: Glass of Water
 * Music Works Wonders
 * Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic
 * A Celebration of Me, Grover
 * Sesame Beginnings: Baby Big Bird
 * The Producers: Pigeons
 * Kids' Favorite Country Songs: Elmer
 * Elmo's Christmas Countdown: Stiller the Elf (puppetry only)
 * Studio DC: Almost Live: Floyd Pepper
 * Virmup
 * Abby in Wonderland
 * A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa: Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Robin the Frog, Camilla the Chicken
 * Here For You: Chester's Dad
 * Coming Home
 * Families Stand Together
 * The Muppets: Floyd Pepper, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Robin the Frog, Camilla the Chicken, Uncle Deadly, Sweetums

Non-Henson Credits

 * Oz - Pecky
 * Between the Lions - Rumplestiltskin, Derek Cheetah, Monkey Ad Executive (Jeff Kidding), various characters
 * Jack's Big Music Show - Leonard the Squirrel, MC Turtle, The Squirrels, etc.

Trivia

 * When Matt Vogel was introduced to Spinney at his 1st audition for the part of Big Bird, the latter remarked, "Vogel is German for Bird. That's a good sign."
 * The word "vogel" is Dutch for bird as well.
 * The protective slippers Vogel wears over Big Bird 's feet when he's not on set are labeled, respectively, "Vogel" and "Füsse," meaning "bird" & "feet", or read together "bird's feet".