Matt Vogel
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Matthew J Vogel II (born October 6, 1970 in Kansas City, Kansas) has been a Muppet performer for the Jim Henson Company since the 1990s. On Sesame Street, Vogel served as the assistant puppeteer for Ernie, performing either one or both hands while Steve Whitmire performed the head and vocal. Eventually, Vogel's ability to mimic the sound and performance of Carroll Spinney's Big Bird was put to use. As of 2006, Vogel's primary performances as Big Bird are the "Journey to Ernie" segments. Coincidentally, "vogel" is the German word for "bird".
In addition, Vogel has been known to provide voices for Muppet characters originally performed by Richard Hunt, such as Janice and Scooter.
