Steve Whitmire

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.^[6] Whitmire was personally asked by Brian Henson and Jane Henson to be Kermit's performer a few weeks after Jim Henson's death.^[7] Heather Henson arranged for a Kermit puppet to be sent to Whitmire's residence; however, Whitmire hid the puppet away for weeks before deciding on taking on the role.^[8][9] Following the death of Richard Hunt and the retirement of Jerry Nelson, Whitmire took over the roles of Beaker and Statler, respectively.^[10] In 2014, Billy Barkhurst took over the role of Ernie,^[11] with Peter Linz taking over that role in 2017.

Muppet characters original to Whitmire include Rizzo the Rat,^[12][13] Lips (the trumpet player from Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem), Foo-Foo (Miss Piggy's dog), Wembley Fraggle and Sprocket the Dog on Fraggle Rock, and Bean Bunny, a character that originated in The Tale of the Bunny Picnic (1986).

Whitmire voiced Link Hogthrob in the Muppet RaceMania and Muppets 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 took over another of Jim Henson's roles, The Muppet Newsman.

Dismissal from the Muppets

In July 2017, The Muppets Studio announced that Whitmire was no longer involved with the Muppets and that fellow Muppet performer Matt Vogel was cast as Kermit's new performer.^[14] Whitmire revealed that he was dismissed from his roles 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.^[15] The Henson family stated that issues with Whitmire began in the mid-1990s, with Brian Henson stating that Whitmire made "outrageous demands and often played brinkmanship", 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".^[7] Lisa Henson stated that Whitmire was opposed to having an understudy for Kermit and refused to train one, which became problematic when it came to "B-level performances, such as a ribbon-cutting," at some of which she said Whitmire was unwilling to appear. She also stated that he "blackballed young performers".^[15]

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that same month, Whitmire stated he was dismissed for disagreements over Kermit's characterization and prolonged labor union negotiations that delayed his involvement in Muppet productions.^[16] 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.^[17] According to The New York Times, Disney and The Muppets Studio had approached Whitmire multiple times regarding "unacceptable business conduct" and that he "consistently failed to address the feedback".^[15] Whitmire has expressed an interest in continuing his role with the Muppets in the future if possible.^[18][19]

Film

Television

Other appearances