Rebecca Cook
Published November 27, 2025 9:42pm
Updated November 27, 2025 10:01pm
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Danny Seagren has died aged 81 (Picture: David Attie/Getty Images)
Danny Seagren, who played the first live-action Spider-Man, has died at the age of 81.
The actor was also a proficient puppeteer and worked on Sesame Street, stepping in for Caroll Spinney to play Big Bird on a number of episodes.
Born in 1943 in Minneapolis, Seagren appeared numerous times as Spider-Man during his nearly 400-episode stint on the popular kids’ show The Electric Company, which also starred Morgan Freeman.
Seagren died earlier this month in South Carolina, his family announced in an obituary. His cause of death has not been shared.
The statement, posted to a memorial website, also notes that ‘a celebration of life will be held at a later date’.
‘Danny will be greatly missed by his family, friends and those throughout the community he loved living in,’ his family wrote online.
He played the first live-action Spider-Man, starring alongside Morgan Freeman (Picture: Ctw/Kobal/Shutterstock)
He bagged a daytime Emmy for his puppetry work (Picture: David Attie/Getty Images)
In the memorial note, he was described as a ‘dancer, writer and producer’ who worked as a puppeteer and puppet maker for Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets.
Having got wind of the audition for the part of Spider-Man, he thought, ‘I’ve got to knock his socks off, somehow’, as he recalled in a 2017 interview with author of How to Be a Superhero Mark Elitz (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Seagren said he donned the infamous scarlet-red skinsuit and climbed atop a filing cabinet before the producer came 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,’ told Seagren.
His character on the show next spoke, instead using on-screen thought bubbles, which encouraged the kids at home to read.
‘I never felt silly,’ Seagren said in the same interview. ‘I was focused on trying to be a superhero. I think before they cast me they saw some musclemen, but they couldn’t move. 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.’
His segments from the show were spun off into a Marvel comic book called Spidey Super Stories, named after his tall tales on TV.
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He created and performed his puppetry in shows including Captain Kangaroo, Who’s Afraid Of Opera and Miss Peach, bagging a daytime Emmy for the latter.
Later in life, Seagren frequented the Comic-Con scene to connect with fans who had watched him growing up.
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He is survived by his longtime companion, Kate Vereau, and his brother, Stephen, sister-in-law Jill and nephew Sean.
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