Just last week, I wrote a tribute to the groundbreaking "Star Trek" writer Dorothy C. Fontana. A few days later, Robert Walker, Jr., the actor who portrayed the title role in Fontana's first script, "Charlie X" left us. And over the weekend comes news that we've lost two more delightful entertainers.
Caroll Spinney fell in love with puppets at the age of five, and arguably became one of the best of them all. Since the program's inception until last year, Spinney inhabited two of "Sesame Street"'s most beloved, and disparate, residents. One was the naive, childlike and irresistable Big Bird. The other was everyone's favorite Grouch, Oscar. Spinney was devoted to those characters and to its fans. I had the pleasure of meeting Caroll at DragonCon, and he spoke warmly about his years on the show, and his reluctance to say goodbye to those characters. It was through Big Bird's eyes that youngsters of my generation learned how to deal with death, when the "Street" bravely addressed actor Will Lee's demise, and the grownups explained to Big Bird that his friend Mr. Hooper wouldn't be coming back. And I raced home from a college class in the mid 80s to watch the episode when those same grownups finally laid their eyes on his best friend Mr. Snuffleupagus. For almost 50 years, Spinney toiled in a hot costume under hot lights, and just appeared to adore every minute of it.
Rene Auberjonois also excelled at portraying grouches. A veteran of countless guest appearances on 70s crime dramas like "Charlie's Angels" and "Kojak," Auberjonois rose to fame in his role as prissy governor's aide Clayton Endicott on "Benson." He originated the role of Father Mulcahy in Robert Altman's 1970 film "M*A*S*H." He played a delightful foil to James Spader and William Shatner's antics on "Boston Legal." But his most famous role was that of amnesiac shapeshifter Odo on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine." Odo began life as a mysterious alien life form, the head of security on the space station, who had no idea of who his "people" are. He would become one of the best developed characters during the series' seven seasons, and one of the most interesting. Odo was able to turn himself into any form he wished, but he had difficulty with faces. The best he could manage looked like a close relation to Munch's The Scream. As a result, for seven years, Auberjonois endured hours in the makeup chair at the start and end of each day. I enjoyed Rene in this role, however. Having seen so much of his earlier work, much of which seemed derived from the same cloth as the gig before, it was a joy to watch him evolve the character through the makeup, and he was brilliant.
Like Spinney, Rene to the end was grateful to his fans. Despite his long tenure on "Benson," the two roles about which he fielded the most questions were the two of which he was the most proud: Odo and Paul Lewiston, his "Star Trek" and "Boston Legal" characters. He was a frequent attendee at science fiction and Trek gatherings, and delighted to interact with fellow fans.
Odo and Big Bird have much in common. Both are brave and loyal to their friends. Both are learning about human beings and their behaviors and foibles. And both sometimes feel the pain of not fitting in. Maybe that's why television viewers are so fond of them. Who among us hasn't felt from time to time that he's been on the outside looking in at the world?
If I were to recommend the finest work of the folks we've lost this month, I'd start with "Charlie X," the second episode of the original "Star Trek" television series, written by D.C. Fontana and starring Robert Walker, Jr. For Auberjonois, the "Deep Space Nine" episode entitled "Heart of Stone," in which Odo confesses his long-secret affection for Major Kira. Both these episodes can be found on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu.
My favorite example of Carrol Spinney's work might be harder to track down. It's "Christmas Eve on Sesame Street," a one-hour special from the glorious pre-Elmo days of the Street, before the demise of Mr. Hooper and the extremely talented Northern Calloway (David). One of three delightful subplots is Big Bird's taunting at the hands of Oscar, who wonders aloud how big fat Santa Claus, "who's built like a dump truck," fits down all those skinny little chimneys. Both characters are seen at their best here, and Spinney plays them like a maestro would do an ermine violin. It is available on home video.
I haven't followed "Sesame Street" to HBO. I wasn't thrilled when I heard that the human cast had been pretty much scuttled, including Bob McGrath, Susan Long and Roscoe Orman, many of whom had been with the show since its inception. And I know the kids probably can't tell, but I'm not thrilled with the idea of someone else playing Big Bird and Oscar either. There are some elements of my childhood, I guess, that I just can't let go.
