In 2015, due to being diagnosed with dystonia, Spinney no longer puppeteered the bird suit full-time, with Vogel taking over the bird suit on-set the majority of the time, with Spinney looping the dialogue later or having Vogel do the voice himself. Vogel also performs Big Bird (voice and puppetry) in live appearances, "Chrysler" commercials, "The Furchester Hotel", and started voicing Big Bird in new material in Season 48 of "Sesame Street" after Spinney's semi-retirement. On October 17, 2018, Spinney announced his full retirement from the character beginning the very same week as he planned to finish his final recordings on the following day. His final performance as Big Bird (and Oscar the Grouch) aired in 2019 for the series' landmark 50th anniversary.