Danny Seagren, the first man to ever don a Spider-Man suit for its live-action depiction, has died. He was 81. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Seagren, who was a mentee of Jim Henderson, was a renowned puppeteer who worked on the kids' show The Electric Company. On the program, he famously portrayed the Marvel superhero. His family confirmed that he died on November 10 in South Carolina, though a cause of death has yet to be made clear. Seagren also worked on Sesame Street, where he played the role of Big Bird, and created and performed several puppets in kids' shows like Captain Kangaroo and Miss Peach of the Kelly School. Danny Seagren's life and legacy explored in the wake of his demise: Back in October 2021, Danny Seagren spoke with the 13th Dimension about how he first landed the role of the live-action Marvel superhero. He explained that he was working at the Muppets when he heard that there was a vacancy for the role. "Because I had some good connections, I got myself an audition," he shared. "I put the costume on and I thought I’ve got to knock his socks off, somehow," he said of the producer, Andrew Ferguson. 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. I don’t remember if he screamed but he said, “Oh my God.” I did a few more moves and he said, “You got the job.”," he added. When asked if he ever felt silly putting on a costume, Danny Seagren said: "I never felt silly. I was focused on trying to be a superhero. I wasn’t a muscle man but I worked out and had a good body. I had the powerful legs of a dancer. I was trim and I went to the gym all the time. I think that’s why they wanted me. I think before they cast me that they saw some muscle men but they couldn’t move." He added, "I always took it seriously. I tried to keep it in mind that I was powerful and strong. But, at the same time, I was fighting bad guys like Mr. Measles and the Sitter, who was a guy in drag. The situations were silly but I tried to rise above them. I had to be a little bit campy for the whole thing. I really enjoyed doing it. I always looked forward to the shooting days." The Hollywood Reporter has reported that, in 1980, Danny Seagren was honored with a Daytime Emmy for a Thanksgiving Day episode on Miss Peach of the Kelly School. He is also credited with crediting and performing for Who’s Afraid of Opera, starring Joan Sutherland. He was born in November 1943 in Minneapolis, though he shifted to New York in 1968. Around that time, he met producer Jimmy Henson, who “wanted to train someone who had never done puppets before,” he recalled in a 2015 interview. “He said, ‘Here’s a puppet, take it home, come back on Tuesday and we’ll rehearse.’” Two weeks later, he landed the role of puppetteer for The Ed Sullivan Show, which kick-started his career in the industry. Danny Seagren now leaves behind his longtime partner, Kate Vereau, his brother, Stephen, his sister-in-law, Jill, and his nephew, Sean. Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.