Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch actor retiring after five decades. Who’ll replace him?

Caroll Spinney has delighted kids and adults alike with his performances as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on “Sesame Street” since 1969.

Now, the puppeteer announced that he is retiring this week from playing the iconic characters on the children’s television show, according to a press release from Sesame Workshop.

The 84-year-old has likely been in thousands of shows, a spokeswoman for Sesame Workshop told The New York Times. Big Bird has his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, as noted by CNN, and the Library of Congress recognized the Muppet as a “Living Legend.”

Spinney is expected to record character voices for a final time on Thursday, according to The New York Times, but don’t expect him to completely leave the world of the playful puppets. He said he still plans to appear at public events about “Sesame Street.“

“I’ll be 100 years old, doing Muppet stuff,” he said, according to The New York Times.

Still, the news was tough for some to handle, while others reflected fondly on Spinney’s time on their TVs.

So who is going to take his place?

Matt Vogel, the current voice of Kermit the Frog, will take on the role of Big Bird — while Eric Jacobson, who voices Grover, Bert, and Guy Smiley, will now star as Oscar the Grouch as well, Sesame Workshop wrote in a press release.

Vogel has been a member of Sesame Street since 1996, rising to the role of director in 2008 before he began playing Kermit last year. Jacobson has been studying for the role of Oscar the Grouch under Spinney since 2015.

Joan Ganz Cooney, co-founder of Sesame Workshop, praised Spinney for making Oscar and Big Bird two of the most adored Muppets.

“Caroll has been one of the leading lights of Sesame Street from the very beginning,” said Cooney. “His genius and his talent made Big Bird the most beloved yellow feathered friend across the globe. But the sheer artistry of Caroll is that he also brought Oscar to life and made him the most lovable Grouch in the world.”

For Spinney, being able to play the two famous characters was reward enough.

“Before I came to Sesame Street, I didn’t feel like what I was doing was very important,” he said in a press release. “Big Bird helped me find my purpose. Even as I step down from my big roles, I feel I will always be Big Bird. And even Oscar, once in a while!

“They have given me great joy, led me to my true calling and created a lifetime of memories that I will cherish forever.”