. ♪ ♪ >> reporter: not only are the muppets all different colors on "sesame street."nning so were the actors. >> i was stunned. these people of color in a neighborhood that look like my neighborhood. >> reporter: sonia was 21 when she joined the cast in the third season in 1971. >> hi, maria. >> oh, oscar, you scared me. >> reporter: one the first latina actors to have a lead role on tv. >> i'll be your partner. >> reporter: she would play maria for 44 years. >>> there aren't that many actors who play a part as long as you did. >> i know. i was going to keep at it till i got it right. [ laughter ] >> reporter: why did you stick with it so long? >> because the needs of the kids changed every year. i grew up on "sesame street." we were allowed to age, which was unheard of. >> reporter: the show had a mission right from the beginning. >> the show came out of the civil rights movement. we were going to change the world. i understood what the mission of the show was. >> it's a very pretty brown. >> thank you. >> it has children entering school ready to proceed. >> reporter

that's hard to do, anthony. >> talking to muppets? i had the same reaction sonya did.k to them. >> they're engaging because they're so quick. is the letter "o" jealous of the letter "q." >> they're very good actors. >> and they're very physical. >> try holding your arm up for 30 minutes. >> as caroll spinney did and matt does. he takes the that costume off every set. >> you know what's so funny? you seemed to get a kick out of it. >> i spent a lot of team time with those characters when my kids were growing up, so it was a thrill to be with them. >> tomorrow we catch up with another honoree, that's oscar winner sally field. you can watch the 42nd kennedy center honors at 8:00, 7:00 central on cbs. >>> a co-owner of a beloved doughnut shop is >>> good tuesday morning to you. it is a cloudy start to the day. as we head through the afternoon, mostly cloudy guys. maybe some sun. >> we weak cold front will push across the region this evening. so that will bring some light scattered showers. now, really watching this because that front will likely weaken and kind of fall apa

he voiced and muppets from their intep shcept 1959. >>> the founder of an animal sanctuary is recoverering after being attacked by two tigers. this is patti perry with the tigers from the wildlife environmental conservation in moorpark. yesterday she went into the tiger cage like she does every day. witnesses say the tigers immediately became aggressive. >> they began to play with her. and the bengal took both of his paws and rapped them around her legs. she fell down. the other one jumped on her and pulled on her before they got her out. cused some lacerations. >> perry had lacerations and puncture wounds. firefighters and the audience rushed in to try to help. there are 50 animals at the sanctuary. >>> a woman flying from san francisco to atlanta ended up in the hospital after she claims she got stung multiple times in flight by a scorpion. the woman was on a united flight on thursday when she felt pain on her leg and went to the rest womb t room to investigate. that's when the scorpion fell out of her pant leg. the airline said upon landing the flight was met by medical personnel and th

their fifth appearance in may see's parade in new york in 2016 featured them with the muppets. >> wowm to the stage, the christmas tree tappers. [cheers and applause] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] >> merry christmas! [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] >> i beg you, open your eyes. [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [cheers and applause] >> wow. wasn't that phenomenal? let's give it another round of applause for the christmas tree tappers. >> they can really dance. >> before we keep going tonight, we would like to give a big special thank you to tonight's sponsor. redwood credit. they have a beautiful new branch a few blocks away from here. >> and we have a number of redwood folks here tonight, as well as the bank's mascot. thank you for sponsoring tonight 's festivities, especially santa's maker village >> and our next acts are the poet athletes of america scores. >> these students usually come to civic centre in their soccer jerseys to play in their weekly soccer game, but not today. today they are wearing their finest holiday sweaters. they made them themselves. our young poets come from america's scores p

. >> reporter: 50 years ago, caroll spinney was a puppeteer in search of a purpose, when muppet creator jim henson asked him to join his team. >> he said, i'll be involved with a new show. ♪ how to get to sesame street >> would you be interested in working with the mup itpemuppet? >> reporter: in the day to day going ons, there needed to be an innocent a character without guile. his was a child'aks ic 8'2" bird ♪ full of different bf thire kio wanted to do the right thing that's what big bird is always trying to be, a good kid >> reporter: awkward, flightless, and sweet, big bird was the perfect counterpart to oscar the grouch, who was also played by spinney. >> oscar is cool it is fun to play somebody very different than oneself on the other hand, big bird is my kid in some ways, i love him best. >> reporter: big bird brought him all over the world, opened his mind, and nurtured his soul. thank you, caroll spinney, for 50 years you have been our fine feathered friend harry smith, nbc news, new york. >> caroll spinney was 85 years old. >>> we are close to the end of the season, but the

harry smith >> reporter: 50 years ago caroll spinney was a puppateer in search of a purpose when muppet creator jim hensen asked him to join his creation. ♪ and won the day-to-day goin o that. see, it's got letters on it. >> reporter: a character without guile. 8'2" bird >> i was one of those kind of kids who wanted to do the right thing. that's what big bird is always trying to be is be a good kid. >> reporter: awkward, flightless, and sweet, big bird was the perfect counterpart to ostor the grouch who was also played by spinney. >> oscar's kind of cool. it's fun to play somebody very different than oneself on the other hand, big bird is my kid in some ways i love him best >> reporter: big bird brought him all over the world, opened his mind and nurtured his soul thank you, caroll spinney, for 50 years you have been our fine-feathered friend. harry smith, nbc news, caroll s5 >>> another loss in the entertainment community, "ar" an his home the cause of death was metastic lung cancer. he earned an emmy nod in the sitcom "benson" and he played in star trek deep space nine. it is a terrib

and would you be interested in working with the muppets? >> reporter: on "sesame street" there needed to be an innocent. >> look at that. these have got letters on it. >> reporter: a character without guile. his was a child's voice that came from the two inch beak of a bird. >> i wanted to do the right thing, so that's why big bird is a good kid. >> reporter: awkward, sweet, big bird was the perfect counterpart to oscar the grouch who was also played by spinny. >> oscar is kind of cool. it's funny to play someone different from oneself. in some ways i love big bird. >> reporter: he opened he mind and he nurtured his soul. thank you, caroll spinney. for 50 years you have been our fine feathered friend. harry smith, nbc news, new york. >>> and it just so happened that tonight for first time ever the prestigious kennedy center will honor "sesame street." you can see one honoree towers above great riches will find you when liberty mutual customizes your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. wow. thanks, zoltar. how can i ever repay

be yes if you look at the fact winding mission report and specialist democratic 1000 a part of the muppets essentially that was set in fact it was and you know all sort of hamas indicators of genocide and the she only said that there is an insurance that can be made of genocide so you know it's not the mission is whether you don't buy out or are not and again that's the reason why it is that you know that is a question that is not a comma in the middle and it is a put it donations for brought out and there have been other cases of course in recent memory where allegations of genocide have been put most notably you could pose near you look at rwanda when you look and hear at what is happening in may in ma how does that compare to other crisis. well the gambia defense legal team put into evidence today a statement by the commander in chief of the burmese military men on lying where he talked especially about a final solution he said we're going to solve the bengali problem once and for all magali referring here to the region because they don't hollering and they deny they even exist and he s

mind up here carol spinny brought the famed muppets to life on the ground breaking children's television show he died at the age of 85 after having voiced an operator the 2 major characters from their inception 50 years ago after announcing his retirement last years and he credited big bird for helping him find his purpose protesters demanding greater protection of the world's oceans have marched in central madrid dozens of people gathered on one of the city's main roads and used props including a model whale skeleton to get the point across the demonstration is happening as madrid hosts the annual u.n. climate change summit with which happened last week. the number of sudanese troops fighting in yemen has dropped by more than 10000 sudan's prime minister says 15000 soldiers were initially part of the saudi i'm ready like coalition battling who the rebels but that number is now down to $5000.00 of them says a political solution is the only way to end the 4 year conflict. take a look at the headlines right now on al-jazeera that the f.b.i. investigation into a shooting at a u.s. naval bas

caroll spinney was the voice and muppets here behind big bird and oscar the grouch on sesame street for half a century. he was 85 years old. caroll spinney started playing big bird in 1969 and retired last year. during that time, he created and collected five enemies and a lifetime achievement award. >>> frozen to dominate the box office and it is the box office champion once again. frozen 2 this year to top the box office for three weekends. the murder mystery came in second. >>> the big bird guy, looks a little bit, we grew up with word big bird. >>> as we got outside, we look at the rainfall and you see it rained and rained hard. last night and early evening hours at 9:00 and 10:00. more rain has fallen and those are the numbers. the rain will stop for a well now. we get a big break here. the average has gone up significantly. the are now out of the woods. we want morning, but in terms of averages, we are doing well. we are not 10% above average, we are 75 to 80, 110 in many places. even northern california. overnight lows tonight, when you wake up tomorrow morning cool. fog along th

[laughter] like this old guy in the muppets.after the debates, liz goes on cnn which is another network summer, and she's asked about trump going after biden which led to the impeachment and then she said this. >> i cannot get into the head of donald trump, that's a really horrible place to go. i think that donald trump looks out for donald trump. if he had to step on a cute little kitten to get something done that would help him. greg: you can't get into donald trump's head but she's pretty sure he would step on a kitten. so another debate where we learned nothing. and maybe none of it matters anyway because the usa today poll shows trump beating them all. it's going to be a long. [applause] i think i'm going to pass the time hanging with my dog. he loves it when i dress like mickey mouse. >> zero cute one, you like will be toys? [laughter] greg: that was fantastic. tyrus, okay i'm just going to assume you watch this. >> okay greg, i'm going to keep it real i have not been watching. but last night i was like dammit tyrus, forge

>> muppet sat on a tuffet, eating a curds and whey, sat down beside, whoa, what's in the bowl [ bleep dirty was controversial. >> i really don't understand why women go to hear dice clay. to me it's like, a jew going to hitler rally. >> i treat my girlfriend good. for christmas bought her this beautiful dust pan. took it out, ought to see the look on her [ bleep ] face. >> the guy is a chauvinistic moron. i wouldn't hang out with him if he meant those things, even as die, because would be saying he's deranged. but as comedian it's funny and doesn't hurt anybody. >> to be outrageous and bad boy and breaking the rules is extremely lucrative and pandering. there's a lot of comedy done under the guise of being the edge which it isn't because it's connecting with the basest audience. >> i found through great effort one remark of his i could say on the air. he describes his sexual technique as i quote, so i say to the bitch, lose the bra or i cut you. is that funny? >> asking many he to defend andrew dice clay, the way you just said it, it's not funny. but the fact for me what he does is a

he voiced the muppets from their inception.ears ole. >>> still ahead the san francisco sympathy conductor gets a big national honor. >>> coming up, i'll introduce you to the man who has spent months perfecting every detail of this holiday display. >> and i'm meteorologist drew tuma. we are drying out tonight but ...6, 7, 8 ♪ ♪ ♪ big dreams start with small steps... ...but dedication can get you there. so just start small... start saving. easily set, track and control your goals right from the chase mobile® app. ♪ ♪ chase. make more of what's yours®. >>> abc 7 teamed up with pier 39 to light up the christmas tree as holiday tunes played in the background. families also got to take photos with santa, write letters, listen to christmas wishes, and meet salty the sea lion. that's pier 39's mascot. a portion of proceeds were donated to cal fire. >>> people are braving the chilly of a holiday show. >> when you think vegas, flashy lights and festive music might come to mind. that's the same thing on vegas drive. >> i got a little flip

he started puppeteering as a kid, but it wasn't until three decades later that an encounter with muppetsight here on "sesame street." >> reporter: big bird debuted on "sesame street" in 1969. the puppet was more than 8 feet tall, and the 5'10" spinney used his hand to move its mouth. as big bird became a household name, so did another of spinney's characters. >> oscar? >> i'm not home. >> reporter: the grumpy, albeit endearing oscar the grouch. ♪ yes, love trash seeet"ast year. big bird, what kind of bird are you? >> oh, well, i'm a big yellow bird. >> reporter: in october, we spoke to his successor, 49-year-old matt vogel about the puppeteer's influence. at did you learn from apprenticing under him? >> learned about how big bird is this innocent, kind, sweet, curious kid, and caroll is like that as well. >> reporter: when he retired, spinney said he hoped big bird helped make the world a better place. ♪ thank you, thank you, thank you for being our friend ♪ ♪ for being my friend >> if you want to learn more about caroll spinney, he published a memoir some years back called "the wisdom o

the 2 major muppets from their inception in 1969 when he was 36 perform them almost exclusively into his 80's on the pbs kids television show well he never became a household name. he did say in his 2003 memoir. i may be the most unknown famous person. and america. a medical miracle caught on camera sounded joy when a baby's hearing aid is turned on the video has gone viral. >>just tend >>learn about georgina's hearing difficulties when she failed her newborn hearing tash is then was referred to an audiologist diagnosed with severe deafness and the doctor than suggested hearing aids and here. she was hearing for the very first time and more than 700,000 people have also heard those sweet little coups. georgina's paris not get to hear them every morning that world has just opened up for that little baby. yeah now watch that. >>so many times and i can watch it so many more times as well we do quickly want to revisit our breaking news that we brought you at the top of the show a volcano has erupted. >>and killed a person in new zealand. this is happening on white iowa and to place it's

that's beethe voice and operated the 2 major muppets from their inception in 196 when he was 36 and performusively int his 80's on the pbs kids television show we i never became a household name. he said in his 2000 seat, 2003 memoir i maybe the most unknown famous person in america >>and the music world is mourning the deathof rapper and singer juicy worl authorities in chicago say he sufaered a medical emergency at midway airport. and ler died at nearby hospital. juices big hits are lucid dreams and all girls are the me the soundcloud saying that he was the most streamed its platform in ing artist on 2018. no cause of death has been dermined juice who was born jared anthony higgins turned 21. last week. >>one officer came under fire when he was in his patrol car. that officer and e suspect are dead in a shootg. late saturday in arkansas, the officer was in the department'parking lot when he was shot and killed other officers from inside the police department building chase the suspect who died in a near aey. the nameof the officer and the suspect have not been released. n motive has been

. >> the first show, it was going to be a the two muppets from their inception in 1969 when he was 36them almost exclusively into his 80s. >> the child, who's 80 feet tall, or oscar who is about 2' 8" and lives in a trash can, it's so much fun to play them. >> the sesame workshop said in a statement the legendary puppeteer had been living with dystonia which causes involuntary muscle contractions. the performer who succeeded spinney tweeted prior to the ceremony, saying carroll taught me me to keep an innocence and childlike quality alive, not only in big bird, but in myself. >> sesame street cast members who attended the kennedy center honors wore yellow feathers in his memory. >> i love big bird. >> i was more of an oscar the grouch kind of guy. but they're both the same guy. so very talented. >> a documentary out there. it's called "i am big bird." if you want to learnhe does the ta. check it out. >>> coming up on mornings on 2 the 9, a big day for streaming services. the nominations for the golden globes are out. we'll look at the surprising nods and the snubss for the award show

their fifth appearance in may see's parade in new york in 2016 featured them with the muppets. >> wowelcome them to the stage, the christmas tree tappers. [cheers and applause] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] >> merry christmas! [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] >> i beg you, open your eyes. [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪] [♪]

. >> he operated the two muppets from their inception in 1969 when he was 36.he performed the almost exclusively into his 80s. >> the child was eight feet tall or oscar about two foot eight and live is in a trashcan. it is so much fun to play the. >> the workshop said in a statement the legendary puppeteer was living with involuntary muscle contractions. the muscle performer who succeeded him as big bird treated prior to the ceremony saying he taught me to keep in innocence and childlike quality alive. not only big bird but and myself. >> i think you are in my seat. >> cast members who attended the kennedy center honors were yellow feathers in his honor. >>> frozen 2 still the most popular film of the box office for the third straight weekend, the animated disney seco is number one. frozen 2 earned nearly $35 million over the weekend, it is closing in on $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales. but the edited film clay mobile has a third worst opening of all times, the film came out over the weekend and more than 2000 theaters and only made about $660,000. the cos

everybody wanted to hang with the muppets. >> aren't you johnny trash?ed in the '70s. >> i'm leaving. >> i love you. >> i love you, too. >> oh, thanks. >> now for something completely different. >> when i was 13 the show from england came on pbs, which before that was only the realm of my parents. >> eww! >> what do you mean, ew? >> i don't like spam. >> suddenly they're doing the most outlandish, racy, non sequitur type of humor. and killing me, the 13-year-old. >> it's extraordinary what you can't do on american television. i think you can do it on pbs. that's why -- i hope you all watch it. >> don't attack me with it! come on! >> oh! >> you get the generation of comedy nerds who don't even know that they're comedy nerds. >> this is no more. it has ceased to be. >> "monty python" turned out to break so many rules. i mean, it changes everything. just like with the beatles, you can say, "oh, they came after the beatles." look at "saturday night live," you look at sctv. oh, after. after "monty python." >> beginning october 11th, saturday night will open u

. >> i kind of look like a muppet dancing i think. [ light laughter ] i'm all -- my friends always say light laughter ] i'm very sort of, like, bendy. tim is actually a really good dancer and i think he did ballet for a while as well, so he's - >> seth: he had a leg up on you. >> yeah. >> seth: yeah. >> but i was very good at sticking to the steps, and he would try and change it and i was like, "no, no. let's follow the rules." [ laughter ] and we'll have fun within that >> seth: yeah. >> structure >> seth: yeah, no free styling >> no. >> seth: you have a -- there's a traumatic scene where your character jo cuts her hair >> yes >> seth: and then you have to wear a wig >> i do. >> seth: and this is lovely. one of your costars helped u -- >> we named her. >> seth: you named the wig >> we named the wig. >> seth: okay, and what was the wig's name >> pam >> seth: yeah. [ laughter ] >> her name was pam. she was from perth in australia. this is a terrible australian accent >> seth: oh my goodness. >> to any australians, i'm sorry. >> seth: so pam had a backstory and like a -- a -- accent? >>

we saw the muppet version, i loved "scrooged" with bill murray, the classic. >> it never, ever gets oldheir original home was the actually be yours. up next, why thousands of wild horses are up for sale and for a very affordable price. i wonder what an affordable horse price is. >> $200. >>> next week on "cbs this morning saturday," from a long-awaited mob epic to the conclusion of a superhero saga, what the critics are saying are the best movies of 2019. >>> you're watching "cbs this morning saturday." >>> raised by working class actors in los angeles, show business ran in the family. it's a childhood that field has called complicated. in her 2018 memoir, she described her stepfather sexually abusing her when she was a little girl. >> it has, you know, certainly haunted me, guided me throughout my life. my childhood with my beloved, complicated mother and my stepfather. and i think a kind of traumatic childhood, you are sorting it out your whole life long. oh, boy. >> an escape to troubles at home came along the summer after she graduated high school when field landed her big break as

have a bernie sanders puppet and we'll be doing stuff, they're like statler and waldorf from the muppets. but funny. >> you're a funny man. thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> next, we move to a fox news alert. new details emerge in that shooting at a pensacola naval air base. six saudi nationals now in custody, three of them reportedly filming the attack. we're live in pensacola with an update. >>> plus, football sunday will look a lot different tomorrow when nflers wear special sheets. our next guest is patriots' tightened, benjamin watson. he reveals what cleats he'll be wearing and why, coming up next. ♪ and this is how it made me feel. it was like that feeling when you go to taco night at your favorite restaurant. and they're the best-tasting tacos in the entire world. and just when you think it couldn't get any better, they bring you out another taco... ...cuz they made an extra one. ♪ extra taco! geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. doprevagen is the number oneild mempharmacist-recommendeding? memory support brand. you can find it