Steve Whitmire

Steve Whitmire (b. September 24th, 1959) is a Muppeteer who has been working for the Jim Henson Company since 1978. Some of his Muppet characters are, Bean Bunny, Foo-Foo, Lips & Rizzo the Rat. Also, after Jim Henson's sudden death, Whitmire was selected to take over the roles of both Kermit the Frog & Ernie. He took over the roles of Beaker, following Richard Hunt's death, & Statler, following Jerry Nelson's retirement. His wife, Melissa Whitmire, has also puppeteered on occasion.

Steve's Grouch-related credits are the Football Stenchman, Bad Humor Man & Sharon Groan in The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.

Early Years
Born near Atlanta, Georgia, Steve Whitmire became interested in puppetry in his childhood, around the time that [Sesame Street began airing in 1969. Whitmire recalled, "I wrote a letter to Jim Henson at the time, & he wrote back. It's an amazing thing for a 10-year-old to get a letter back from a TV star." Building on that early enthusiasm, Whitmire created his own puppets & performed throughout high school, even winning the school talent show on 1 occasion. After graduating high school, he briefly puppeteered at local theme park The World of Sid & Marty Krofft, performing his own character Otis the Beach Bum, & later cohosted The Kid's Show w/ his best friend Gary Koepke for WATL in Atlanta, which was nominated for a state Emmy Award.

Whitmire first made contact with the Muppets through Caroll Spinney, whom he met at the Southeastern Regional Puppetry Festival in 1977. That fall, Spinney informed Whitmire that auditions were being held for puppeteers for Sesame Street; upon calling the Henson offices, Whitmire learned that Jane Henson was coming to Atlanta the following week to inspect the Kermit balloon for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade & that she could meet with him while there. After seeing Whitmire perform, she recommended him to Jim Henson, who eventually formally auditioned him & asked him to join the performers on The Muppet Show. His 1st day of performing was March 24th, [1978.

From Right-Handing to Regular
Whitmire slowly became a major performer. On The Muppet Show, he often performed 1-shot characters, right hands, & filled in when 2 of another performer's characters were in the same scene (for example, if Fozzie Bear & Miss Piggy were in a scene together, Whitmire would generally perform the puppetry for Fozzie while Frank Oz performed the voice for both of them). He was given his own recurring characters, such as Foo-Foo, Rizzo the Rat, & Lips, all of whom were minor characters on The Muppet Show, with very little dialogue.

Whitmire became 1 of the core Muppet performers since performing on The Muppet Show, & received his own major characters on Fraggle Rock, where he performed Sprocket & Wembley Fraggle, & the semi-recurring role of Marlon Fraggle. He also added more characters to his repertoire over the years, performing many roles on The Jim Henson Hour, & Rizzo the Rat would gradually become a core member of the main cast.

The 1980s
Following the end of The Muppet Show, Whitmire continued to work within the Henson fold. He performed the Skeksis Scientist in The Dark Crystal, & was the only puppeteer who both operated & voiced his character. (Jerry Nelson also did vocal work on the movie, but didn't puppeteer.) Whitmire commented on this: "Jim Henson & Frank Oz had people submit tapes of what they thought a Skeksis would sound like, and it just so happened that the voice I did was exactly what they had in mind. So I just happened to get lucky and get a voice that worked with no particular effort... It just happened to be the one that was the right one."

Whitmire also puppeteered for the 1986 Henson film Labyrinth, and starred as Mew in the TV special The Christmas Toy.

In The Tale of the Bunny Picnic, he performed the special's protagonist, Bean Bunny. Bean Bunny would soon go on to become a main character, starting w/ The Jim Henson Hour, for which Whitmire also performed a variety of other characters, including Flash & Waldo C. Graphic. He also appeared on-screen as himself in The Secrets of the Muppets.

TV Work in the 1990s
Whitmire performed many characters on Dinosaurs, most notably B.P. Richfield & the face of Robbie Sinclair (with voices later looped) & was also heard as various 1-shot hand puppet characters, such as Mr. Mason Dixon. Following the series' end in 1994, he was paired w/ Dave Goelz as the title duo on The Animal Show, playing Jake the Polar Bear & various other characters.

In addition to reprising Kermit, Rizzo, & Beaker on Muppets Tonight, Whitmire also performed the regular roles of Andy Pig & Mr. Poodlepants.



Steve Whitmire & Dave Goelz
As acknowledged personally by Whitmire in many interviews, he & Dave Goelz work very well together, just like Jim Henson did w/ Frank Oz, & like Jerry Nelson did w/ Richard Hunt. The aforementioned Bunsen & Beaker pairing wasn't the only time the 2 would work together as a team. On Fraggle Rock, Whitmire's Wembley often found himself paired off w/ Goelz as Boober, & they played Mew & Rugby Tiger respectively in The Christmas Toy.

Gonzo & Rizzo have become an almost inseparable team over the years, beginning w/ The Muppet Christmas Carol. In the same film, Goelz & Whitmire were paired as Betina & Belinda Cratchit, doing variations of Frank Oz's Miss Piggy.

On Muppets Tonight, the 2 remained paired as Miss Piggy's nephews, Andy & Randy Pig. Whitmire took over the role of Beaker, playing off Goelz's Dr. Bunsen Honeydew. Whitmire also recently took over the role of Statler from Jerry Nelson, who, in 2004, retired from voicing his characters for health reasons, playing off of Waldorf, whom Dave Goelz has performed since 1992 after Jim Henson's tragic death, & during the 1990s, the 2 performed the duo Jake & Stinky the Skunk on The Animal Show.

Muppeteer Credits

 * Muppet Characters: Kermit the Frog (1990-present), Beaker (1992-present), Statler (2002-present), The Newsman (2008-present), Rizzo the Rat, Lips, Bean Bunny
 * The Muppet Show Characters: Billy Boy, Foo-Foo, Geri and the Atrics tuba player, Jabberwock, Leo (episode 403), Lips, Pinocchio, Rizzo the Rat, Rowlf the Dog (occasional, hands only), Security Guard, The Snorers' Chorus member, Thog (episode 502), Timmy Monster (occasional, voice in episode 423), Trevor the Gross, The White Rabbit, Winky Pinkerton (episode 308), Zeke (1979-1981)
 * The Muppet Movie: Kermit the Frog (assistant for The Rainbow Connection number)
 * The Great Muppet Caper: Rizzo the Rat, Lips
 * The Dark Crystal: SkekTek Skeksis Scientist
 * Fraggle Rock: Wembley Fraggle, Sprocket, Marlon Fraggle, Murray the Minstrel (except episode 512), Flange Doozer, Crusty Doozer, Flying Batworm, Mermer Merggle, Papa Tree Creature (Gorg Bird), Phil Fraggle (puppeteer only), Sir Blunderbrain, Venerable Sage Hambo
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan: Gil, Rizzo, Lips, Dogs
 * Dreamchild: The Caterpillar, The Mock Turtle (puppetry only)
 * Labyrinth: Ambrosius, Fiery 4, one of The Four Guards (puppetry only)
 * The Christmas Toy: Mew
 * A Muppet Family Christmas: The Christmas Turkey, Wembley, Sprocket, Rizzo, Foo-Foo, Lips
 * The Tale of the Bunny Picnic: Bean Bunny
 * Inner Tube: Henry, Duke
 * The Jim Henson Hour: Flash, Jacques Roach, Waldo C. Graphic, Yellow Extreme, Bean Bunny, Foo-Foo
 * The Cosby Show: Singing Food
 * The Muppets at Walt Disney World: Rizzo, Lips, Foo-Foo, Sprocket, Bean Bunny
 * The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson: Rizzo, Bean Bunny, Kermit
 * Muppet*Vision 3D: Bean Bunny, Rizzo, Waldo C. Graphic
 * Dinosaurs: B.P. Richfield (puppet), Robbie Sinclair (face), Chief Elder (face), Mr. Mason Dixon, Sonny, Woody, Blarney, Judge H.T. Stone (puppet)
 * Muppet Christmas Carol: Belinda Cratchit, Laundress, Kermit (as Bob Cratchit), Bean Bunny, Rizzo, Beaker, Sprocket, Whatnots, Rats, Inkspots, Lips, Pig Buisnessman
 * Meeting Films: Flunky, Kermit, Mr. Briteweight
 * Billy Bunny's Animal Songs: Kermit
 * Sesame Street Stays Up Late!: Ernie
 * Sesame Street: Ernie (1993-), Kermit the Frog (1996-2001, 2009), Dr. Feel, Cookie Monster's Mommy (2003)
 * Jim Henson's The Animal Show with Stinky & Jake: Jake the Polar Bear
 * Muppet Classic Theatre: Rizzo, Kermit, Andy Pig
 * Muppets on Wheels: Kermit
 * Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree: Kermit
 * Treasure Island: Walleye Pike, Rizzo, Kermit (as Captain Abraham Smollett), Beaker, Jacques Roach, Inkspots, The Dodo, Rats
 * Things That Fly: Kermit, Co-Pilot
 * Muppets Tonight: Andy Pig, Captain Pighead, Eugene, Lash Holstein, Miss Weatherington, Mr. Poodlepants, Kermit, Beaker, Rizzo, Meepzorp, George the Janitor, Bug Llewelyn, Farm person, Pigeons, Nigel's Mom
 * Elmo Saves Christmas: Kermit
 * 123 Count with Me: Ernie
 * Quiet Time: Ernie
 * Elmopalooza: Ernie, Kermit
 * The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street: Kermit
 * from Space: Kermit, Rizzo, Beaker, Bean Bunny, Cosmic Fish, Beach Hippie
 * The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland: Bad Humor Man, Stuckweed, Football Stenchman, Ernie
 * CinderElmo: Prince the Dog, Ernie, Kermit
 * Muppet Race Mania: Kermit, Rizzo, Beaker, Bean Bunny Link Hogthrob, Gil, Flange Doozer
 * Play With Me Sesame: Ernie
 * Bert & Ernie's Word Play: Ernie, Lead Singer of The Frosty Four, Mo
 * Kermit's Swamp Years: Jack Rabbit, Kermit, Young Kermit, and Chico
 * It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie: Kermit, Rizzo, Beaker, Bean Bunny, Mr. Poodlepants, Statler, one of the Elvises
 * Talk, Read, Write: The King of Reading and Writing
 * Muppets Party Cruise: Kermit, Rizzo, Beaker, Bean Bunny, Andy Pig, Link Hogthrob
 * The Muppets' Wizard of Oz: Kermit, Statler, Bean Bunny, Beaker, Rizzo
 * From the Balcony: Statler
 * Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium: Kermit
 * Disney Extreme Digital: Kermit, Rizzo, Statler, Beaker, Bean Bunny, The Newsman, Singing Food, Turkey
 * Virmup: Beaker, Statler, Rizzo, Kermit, Pumpkins, Penguins, Turkey, Rabbits
 * Count on Sports: Ernie
 * Studio DC: Almost Live!: Kermit, Rizzo, Statler, Beaker.
 * Abby in Wonderland: Ernie
 * A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa: Kermit, Rizzo, Beaker, Statler