Danny Seagren, the first live-action Spider-Man and a former Sesame Street puppeteer, has died at the age of 81, his family has announced.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Seagren became the first actor to portray Spider-Man on television on the children’s show The Electric Company.
Alongside his work as a writer, dancer and producer, he was a puppeteer and puppet maker for Muppets creator Jim Henson.
In 1974, while working on The Muppets, Seagren learned The Electric Company was looking for someone to play Spider-Man and later recalled the unconventional audition that landed him the part.
“I put the costume on and I thought I’ve got to knock his socks off, somehow,” he told Mark Elitz, author of How to Be a Superhero, in a 2017 interview.
“In the room, there was a filing cabinet and a desk. I climbed on top of the filing cabinet.
“When he came back into the room I jumped over his shoulder – but not quite over his head – and landed on the desk in the middle of the room.”
He stayed in the role for three years and the character inspired a Marvel tie-in comic.
Seagren also performed as Big Bird in several Sesame Street episodes.
“He was the famed bird for all live shows, events and parades, including repeated appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show,” said the family’s tribute, which did not disclose the cause of death.
Seagren later created and performed puppet characters for Who’s Afraid of Opera starring Joan Sullivan and Miss Peach, for which he received a Daytime Emmy.
He eventually retired to Little River, South Carolina.
His family announced a celebration of life will be held at a later date.
“In his later years, he enjoyed appearing at Comic Cons, meeting the grown ‘kids’ who adored him,” the online tribute read.
“Danny will be greatly missed by his family, friends, and those throughout the community he loved living in.”
Source: Press Association