Occupation Puppeteer Years active 1978–present | Name Steve Whitmire Role Puppeteer | |
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Full Name Steven Lawrence Whitmire Spouse Melissa Whitmire (m. 1978) Music groups Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem Nominations Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Song Movies and TV shows Similar People | ||
The future of the muppets at disney parks
Steven Lawrence "Steve" Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer who has worked on The Muppets and Sesame Street. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire inherited the roles of Kermit the Frog and Ernie, after Jim Henson's death in 1990; he performed the characters until 2016 and 2014, respectively. As part of the Muppet cast, he has appeared in multiple feature films and television series, performing a variety of characters on The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock and during such occupations has worked for the Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop, and the Muppets Studio.
Contents
- The future of the muppets at disney parks
- Kermit the frog rainbow connection
- Career
- Characters performed
- Dismissal as Kermit
- Personal life
- References
Kermit the frog rainbow connection
Career
Whitmire first appeared (unpaid), as a pre-show event at Six Flags Over Georgia. He performed with his then alter-ego puppet Otis for the children waiting to see a multimedia show.
From there Whitmire appeared on local Atlanta TV with his puppet Otis. WATL was owned at that time by former Atlanta children's television host "Officer Don" Kennedy. Otis made appearances on various WATL 36 shows with Ludlow Porch, performing with the Georgia Bulldogs' Larry Munson, Don Kennedy, and Entertainment Page host Artie Goodman. As Otis, Whitmire interviewed Olivia Newton-John during a tour promoting an album.
He worked with puppets after graduating high school, and eventually got a job working on The Muppet Show in 1978. Since then, Whitmire has performed in almost every major Henson company project, including non-Muppet fare such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and Dinosaurs.
Characters performed
Whitmire was formerly the second performer of two signature Muppets—Kermit the Frog and Ernie—after the death of their creator and original performer Jim Henson in 1990. Whitmire was personally asked by Brian Henson and Jane Henson to be Kermit's performer a few weeks after Jim Henson's death. Henson sent Whitmire a Kermit puppet to his residence; however, Whitmire hid the puppet away for weeks before deciding on taking on the role. Following the death of Richard Hunt and the retirement of Jerry Nelson, Whitmire took over the roles of Beaker and Statler. In 2014, Whitmire left the role of Ernie so he could continue focusing on Kermit and other projects by the Muppets Studio. Billy Barkhurst took over the role of Ernie. The character is now currently performed by Peter Linz as of 2017.
Muppet characters original to Whitmire include Rizzo the Rat, Lips (the trumpet player from Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem), Foo-Foo (Miss Piggy's dog), Fraggle Rock's Wembley Fraggle and Sprocket the Dog, and Bean Bunny, a character that originated in The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986).
Whitmire voiced Link Hogthrob in the Muppet RaceMania and Muppet Party Cruise video games. He also performed Link for the 2011 film, The Muppets. This was the first speaking appearance of the character since the death of Jim Henson, the original performer of the character. Link appears in several scenes in the background and gets a moment in the spotlight as part of a barbershop quartet, singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit". He also performed him in Muppets Most Wanted. In 2008, Whitmire has also been the new performer of another of Jim Henson's roles, The Muppet Newsman.
Dismissal as Kermit
In July 2017, Disney announced that Whitmire was no longer involved with the Muppets and that fellow Muppet performer Matt Vogel was cast as Kermit's performer. Whitmire revealed that he was dismissed from the role in October 2016 after a 39-year career as a Muppet performer, because of undisclosed issues that he said had not been discussed before his dismissal. In their decision-making, Disney consulted with the Henson family, who supported the recasting of Kermit and Whitmire's dismissal. The Henson family stated that issues with Whitmire began in the mid-1990s, with Brian Henson stating that Whitmire made "outrageous demands", and said that he should have dismissed Whitmire and recast Kermit before Disney acquired the character in 2004, because "I knew that it was going to be a real problem".
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter later that month, Whitmire elaborated he was dismissed for disagreements over Kermit's characterization and prolonged labor union negotiations that delayed his involvement in Muppet productions. Whitmire alleged that Disney offered him "consolation prizes" if he voluntarily left, including honoring him as a Disney Legend, under the public pretense that he would be retiring from performing. Following Whitmire's interview, The New York Times reported that Disney and the Muppets Studio had approached Whitmire multiple times regarding "unacceptable business conduct" and that Whitmire "consistently failed to address the feedback". Whitmire has expressed an interest in continuing his role with the Muppets in the future if possible.
Personal life
Whitmire has been married to his wife Melissa Whitmire since June 1978. Together, they live in Atlanta, Georgia.