Steve Whitmire

 S T E V E  '''L.   WHIT MIRE  ( b . September 24 th, 1 9 5 9 ) i s a talented Muppeteer  who started working for the  JIM HENSON ''' Company o n March 2 4 t h , 1 9 7 8. ( h is 1 8 ½ birth d a y ).

Some of  Steve  ' s own character s a re Bean Bunny, Foo - Foo , Lips & Rizzo t he Rat , his most famous Muppet char acter. He was also picked to take over the roles o f Kermit the Frog & Ernie, following Jim Henson  ' s very sudden , tragic death. He to ok over the role s of Beaker, follow in g  RICHARD HUNT  ' s d e ath , & Stat ler , following  JERRY NELSON  ' s re tire ment. His wife, Melissa Whitmire , has also puppeteered o n occasion.

 Steve  ' s  Grouch  related credits are the  Bad Humor Man  &  Sharon Groan  in  The Adventure s of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  land .

Early Year s
Born as  Steven   Lawrence   Whitmire  near Atlanta, Georgia ,  Steve   Whitmire  became interested in puppetry i n his child hood , around the time that  SESAME STREET  began airing in 1969.  Whitmire  recalled, " I wrote a letter to Jim Henson  a t the t i m e , &  he  wrote back . It ' s an amaz ing thing for a 1 0 - y ear - old to get a letter back f r o m a T V s t a r . " Building on t hat early enthusiasm , Whitmire created his own puppets & performed through out high school , even winning the school talent show on 1 occasion. After graduating hi gh school, he briefly puppeteered at local theme park The World o f Sid & Marty Krofft , performing his own character Otis the Beach Bum , & later co - hosted  The   Kid ' s   Show  w / his best friend Gary Koepke for WATL in Atlanta , which was nominated for a state Emmy Award.

 Whitmire  1 st 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 t he  Henson  office s , 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 her husband  , Muppets creator ,  Jim Henson  , who eventually formally auditioned & asked him to join the  performers  on The Muppet Show. His 1 st day of performing was March 24 th, 19 78.

From Right - Handing to Regular
Whitmire slowly became a very major performer. On The Muppet Show he often perform ed 1 - shot character s, right hands , & filled in when 2 of another performer  ' s character s were i n the same scene ( f or example , if Fozzie Bear & Miss Piggy we re i n a scene together , Whitmire would generally perform the  puppetry  for Fozzie while  Frank Oz  performed t h e voice for both o f the m ). He was soon given some of his own recurr in g character s, s u c h a s Foo - Foo , Rizzo the Rat , & Lips , all of whom were minor character s on The Muppet Show , with  very  little dialogue.

 Whitmire  be came 1 o f t h e core Muppet performer s  since  performing  on The Muppet Show, & received his own major character s on the 1983 show Fraggle Rock , w here he  perform e d  Sprocket & Wembley Fraggle , & the semi - recurring role of Marlon Fraggle. He also added more character s to his repertoire over the year s, performing  many role s on T he  JIM   HENSON  Hour , & Rizzo the Rat would gradually be come a core member of t h e main Muppet performer s.

The 1 9 8 0 s
Following the end of The Muppet Show, Whitmire continued to work within the  Henson  fold. He performed SkekTek in The Dark Crystal, & was the only Muppeteer  who both operate d & voice d his character (  Jerry Nelson  also did vocal work on the movie , but didn ' t  puppeteer  ). Whitmire commented on this : "  Jim Henson  &  Frank Oz  had peo ple submit tape s of what peo ey thought a Skeksis would sound l i k e, & it just so happened that the voice I did was exactly what they had i n mind . So I just happened to get lucky & get a voice that worked wi t h n o particular effort . . . It just happened to be the one that was the right one . "

 Whitmire  also puppeteered  for the 1986  Henson  film Labyrinth, & starred as Mew in the T V special T h e Chris t mas To ">y.

In The Tale of the Bunny Picnic,  Whitmire  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 o f other character s , including Flash & [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Waldo_C._Graphic Waldo C. Graphic ]. He also appeared o n - screen as himself in T h e Secret s o f the Muppet s.

T V Work in the 1990 s
Whitmire performed many characters on Dinosaur s, most notably [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/B.P._Richfield B. P. Richfield ] & the face of Robbie Sinclair ( with voice s late r lo o p e d ) & was also heard a s various 1 - s hot hand puppet character s, su c h as [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Mason_Dixon M r. Mas on Dixon ]. Following the series ' end in 1 994, he was paired w /  Dave Goelz  as the title duo on The Animal Show , playing Jake the Polar Bear & various other character s.

In addition to reprising Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat , & Beaker on Muppets Tonight , Whitmire also perform ed the regular role s of Andy Pig & [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Poodlepants Mr. Poodle p an t s ].

Continuing Kermit & Other s
 Steve   Whitmire  became the performer  of Kermit the Frog after  Jim Henson  ' s tragic death, starting with The Muppets Celebrate  JIM   HENSON . Although The Muppets Celebrate  JIM   HENSON  was his 1 st on - screen performance as Kermit, Whitmire considers The Muppet Christ mas Carol to be his 1 st real production a s Kermit.

Late r,  Whitmire  learned that there was consideration of him performing Kermit even be fore  Henson  d ie d : " I have been told that  Jim  had said something about it to  Frank  . Not that I would perform  Kermit when  he  died but that  he  would need some body else to do Kermit some of the time be cause  he  was so busy .  He  never said that to me , but I heard that through some body that it had been talked about . Just that the 2 of  th  em  were so busy , that  th  ey  may need to have to find stand - ins for  the  ir  character s , so I guess it had been mentioned , but the actual time I was asked was by Brian. W e were in Disney World for some thing. I ' m not sure exactly what it was, but I think it was the big tribute they did for  Jim  , & w e went down for that. While w e were there, 1 night I went over & met wi t h Jane Henson  , Brian , &  Frank  , & Brian mentioned me doing it. I was just overwhelm e d by t h e request. I t w as a huge honor, & it also just scared the daylight s out of me , the though t of t ry i n g i t. "

When it was decided that  STEVE   WHITMIRE  would take over as t he frog, Heather Henson arranged for a Kermit puppet to be sent to Atlanta for Whitmire to practice performing. He thought the puppet smell ed like  JIM HENSON , & although he put the puppet on once , he couldn ' t get himself to go near it & try out a voice for months. Eventually, Brian called & asked him to do something with Kermit , record i t o n tape , & send i t to him , so Whitmire performed Kermit sing i ng " Bein '  GREEN  ".

Regarding his 1 s t performance a s Kermit, Whitmire has said : " When w e did the special , I always had this fantasy that the 1 st time I performed  Kermit it would be a nice , dark little moment in t he studio & it would be 5 or 6 of the main gu ys . . . It would be real gentle & easy to d o . What it turned out to be was that the closing scene of that special had about 50 puppet s in it . So it was basically every puppeteer I ' ve ever worked with i n New York City , which w / a s p r o b a b l y 2 5 - 3 0 peo ple. "

1 of the hardest thing s that  Steve   Whitmire  had to do in The Muppet Christ mas Carol was p re - record Kermit ' s voice for all of the songs 1 st, as he recalled in an interview with Muppet Central : " I went to London for the start o f Christ mas Carol , & they already started working on the music a couple day s before I got t her e . W e pre - recorded all of the songs before we did the movie , so the 1 st thing I was going to have to do was go in to record Kermit ' s voice , which I was su per - nervous about , because I didn ' t have the puppet to rely o n. There was something about seeing the puppet as 1 was hearing my voice, at that st age , that made it more believable , & it got peo ple into i t. If I just walked in & did Kermit ' s voice, they didn ' t buy it necessarily. They were s till hearing  Jim . If I had the puppet on, it would ' ve more believable. "

( on taking over the role of Kermit f rom  Jim Henson  ) " That was really, really scary as you could imagine . I had known  Jim  for 13 or 14 year s at that point & I had worked with him  on everything  he  had done with this group of Muppet s . Not  SESAME STREET  but everything else . We worked very close together . It was super intimidating . It was a great honor to be ask e d & I was just scared t o death . S o , Brian & the family made the decision , sent me 1 of the puppets. I took it out of t he box. I ' d had the puppet on before. I ' d never performed  it but had had it on my hand just going around the shop. I put him on & held him up in front of a mirror. I knew how to make the puppet talk because I ' d been doing this f or a long time & I fiddled with some of those expressions that  Jim  would do wit h Kermit. Then I opened my mouth to say something & nothing came out. There was no way that I could find the voice. The puppet just sort of looked a t me l i k e, " Come on . You can do it ". I took it off & put it in a closet & left it there for a month. I could n ' t touch it.

Peo ple always ask u s about being the voices of the Muppets, & I know what th ey m ean , but supplying the voice is just 1 small element of what it is w e do. In essence, w e are actor s just like any other actor. W e por tray a r o l e, & it ' s a full performance , not just a voice. The established Muppet Performer  s literally are the characters th ey bring to l ife. "

After the death of  Richard Hunt ,  Whitmire  took over as Beaker to  Dave Goelz  ' s '''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Bunsen_Honeydew Dr. Bunsen Honeydew ] adding yet another character to his list : " I think i t w a s Dave  ' s (  Goelz  ' s ) idea t hat I d o Beaker . Th ey asked  Dave , " Who do  you  think should d o Beaker''' ? " & he  suggested me cause we like t o work together, & we work well together . Beaker was difficult cause I had no clue where it came fr om in  Richard  . I didn ' t know at all how  Richard  did this . It was really just a matter of being silly with  Dave  . The truth i s , I still don ' t know where it came from . I just don ' t know what part o f  Richard  i t c a me from . . . What facet of  his  personality . I don ' t relate to the character the way that  Richard  did , s o really , with Beaker , I ' m doing an awful lot of just copying  Richard  . I wouldn ' t say that I ' ve got a good handle on that character , but it ' s fun. It ' s a fun character. "

 Whitmire  joined  SESAME STREET  in 1993, when it was decided to permanently recast Ernie , although  Jim Henson  had originally auditioned him for t he series  years earlier. S o, in that year , Steve became Ernie to  Frank Oz  ' s Bert , taking  Jim  ' s place in the dynamic duo Jim  &  Frank Oz  had formed decade s a g o. His 1 st performance as Ernie was a fishing sketch w i t h Bert, & he transitioned into the role o n a more regular basis. Although John Tartaglia substituted during season 2 of Play With Me  SESAME , Whitmire continues to perform  Ernie until Billy Barkhurst took over in 2014. Accord i n g t o  Whitmire , " [ Performing  Ernie ] came about cause they were looking for some one to do t he voice for toys . I asked if I could audition for it . I did vocal recording s for Ernie toy s f o r 2 - 3 year s . . . A lot of them . When it came time to recast the character , I end ed u p d o i n g i t . "

In contrast to his regular  SESAME STREET  work as Ernie, Whitmire has rarely performed new material with Kermit the Frog for the show , mainly cause  SESAME  Workshop lost the rights to him when Disney ] had bought the Muppets in February 2 00 4. Among the notable exceptions are sketch where Kermit teaches Grover the difference be t ween light & dark, Kermit reporting on  Slimey  landing o n t he moon ( Episode 3740  ) , Kermit reporting on  Slimey  returning home (  Episode 3 7 85  ) , in the song Everybody Be Yo ' Self & reporting on the hurricane that hi t Sesame Street ( Episode 39 7 6 ). Whitmire has, how ever , performed Kermit in the  SESAME STREET  special s  Elmo  palooza ,  Elmo  Save s Chris t mas , Cinder  Elmo  , & t h e di rect - t o - video The  Best  o f  Kermit  on  SESAME   STREET .

In the early 2000s, Whitmire started performing  Statler , beginning with the Weezer music video " Keep Fish in ' ". Whitmire puppeteered him in It ' s a Very Merry Muppet Christ mas Movie while  Jerry Nelson  looped the voice late r ; 1 of  Whitmire  ' s line s, " Historical land mark " , remained un - loop ed. Following  Nelson  ' s retirement from t he role,  Steve   Whitmire  took over a s Statler ( with the notable exception o f  Statler  &  Waldorf  : From the Balcony , where Drew Massey assumed the role from the 8 t h episode on ward ). In an interiew, Whitmire talked about playing Statler : " For Statler , I was trying to decide if I should make it more l i ke Jerry  ' s original , or do I ma ke i t like  Richard  ' s , which ever yone knows from The Muppet Show , or do I make it like  Jerry  ' s s ince  Richard  ' s [ death ] . He ' s just been passed around a lot . It ' s always been a problem for me that the characters got passed around . I get very conservative about this idea of 1 person doing t he character s , & we shouldn ' t recast them so the character can grow & not be different every time we see t h em. S o, I ' ve tried to aim for more like what  Richard  did on The Muppet Show. & I know I don ' t real ly sound li ke  Richard , & I have so much fun doing the character. & they only do like 3 line s at a t i me, but when we ad lib with them between scenes , it ' s so mu c h f u n. We have so mu c h f un. "

In 200 8, new Muppet video content was added to Disney Extreme Digital , where in addition to continuing to perform  Kermit & Rizzo , Steve Whitmire also took over as The Newsman , another of  Jim Henson  ' s character s.

In September 2009,  Whitmire  took an unexpected leave from performing  Kermit , for appearance s on America ' s Go t Talent & the MTV Video Music Awards. Kermit was briefly performed by Artie Esposito in these instances.  Whitmire  returned to the role at a press conference for [http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Give_a_Day._Get_a_Disney_Day Give a D ay. Get a Disney Day ].

Since 2006,  Steve  has had a limited schedule on  SESAME STREET  due to a busy schedule with T he Walt Disney Company. However, he performed  Ernie on several Ready to Learn PSA ' s ,  Count  on Sports ,  Abby  in Wonder land , the song What I Am , a song called  I  Wonder , t he Tom Tom behind - the - scene s video , & on on  SESAME STREET  at least once a year from 2010 to 2014. He also performed  Kermit for his cameo i n  Elmo  ' s World : Frog s.

Whitmire has stated that he does n ' t think he could have taken over  Jim Henson  ' s character s if he had n ' t worked w /  Henson  for so many year s.

Da ve Goelz &  Steve   Whitmire
As acknowledged personally by  Whitmire  i n many inter view s, he &  Dave Goelz  work very well t o gether , 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 partnered up w /  Goelz  as Boober, & they played Mew & Rugby Tiger respectively in The Chris t mas Toy.

Gonzo the Great & Rizzo the Rat have become an almost inseparable team over the year s, beginning w / The Muppet Christ mas Carol.  Goelz  &  Whitmire , in the same film , were pair ed a s Betina & Belinda Cratchit , doing some variation s of  Frank Oz  ' s Miss Piggy.

On Muppets Tonight, the 2 remained paired up as Miss Piggy ' s nephews , Andy & Randy Pig. Whitmire took over the role of Beaker when Richard Hunt  passed a w ay, playing o ff  Goelz  ' s '''[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Bunsen_Honeydew D r. Bunsen Honeydew ]'''.  Whitmire  also recently took over the role of Statler from Jerry Nelson , w ho , in 2 00 4 , forcibly retired from voicing his character s for health reason s , playing o ff Waldorf , whom  Dave Goelz  has been performin since 1992 after  Jim Henson  ' s t r a g ic death , & , also during t h e 1990 s , the 2 performed the duo Stinky the Skunk & Jake the Polar Bear on The Animal Show.

Dave Goelz /  Steve   Whitmire  Muppet Pairing s

 * Gonzo the Great / Rizzo the Rat
 * Gonzo the Great / Camilla the Chicken
 * Gonzo the Great / Kermit the Frog
 * Gonzo the Great / Security Guard
 * An dy & Randy Pig
 * Zoot / Lips
 * D r . Bunsen Honeydew / Beaker
 * Beauregard / Rizzo the Rat
 *  Betina  &  Belinda   Cratchit 
 * Stat ler & Waldorf ( Steve / Dave  )
 * Stat ler & Waldorf ( Dave  / Steve )
 * Boober Fraggle / Wembley Fraggle
 * Wrench Doozer / Sprocket
 * Rugby Tiger / Mew
 * Stinky the Skunk / Jake the Polar Bear
 * Smerdley / Mr . Briteweight
 * Jake / Henry

Muppeteer Credits

 * Whitmire ' s primary Muppet character s :


 * Kermit the Frog : The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson ( 1 9 9 0 ) - present


 *  Jim Hen son  : Sam & Friends ( 1955 ) - The Muppets at Walt Disney World ( 1 99 0 ) ( taken from u s o n Wednesday, May 16 t h , 1990 )
 * Beaker : The Muppet Christ mas Carol ( 1992 ) - present


 *  Richard Hunt  : T h e Muppet Show ( 1 9 7 7 ) - Muppet* Vision 3D ( 1 991 ) ; 1992
 * Ernie :  SESAME   STREET  Stays Up Late ! ( 1 99 3 ) - present


 * Jim Henson :  SESAME STREET  Episode 1 ( 1 969 ) - Season 21 ( 1 9 9 0 ) ( taken from u s o n Wednesday, May 16 t h , 1990 )
 * Link Hogthrob : Muppet R a ce Mania ( 2000 ) - present


 *  Jim Hen son  : The Muppet Show ( 1977 ) - The Muppets at Walt Disney World ( 1990 )
 * Stat ler : Weezer ' s " Keep Fish in ' " music video 2 00 2 - present )


 *  Richard Hunt  : The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) - The Muppets at Walt Disney World ( 1 990 ) ; 1992
 *  Jerry Nelson  : The Muppet Show : Sex and Violence ( 1 9 7 5 ) ; The Muppet Christ mas Carol ( 1 9 9 2 ) - Muppets Party Cruise ( 2 00 3 )
 * The Newsman : Muppets . c om ( 2 0 0 8 ) - present


 * Jim Henson : The Muppet Show ( 1976 ) - T h e  Jim   Henson  Hour ( 1 9 8 9 ) ; 1 99 0 ) ( taken fr om u s on Wednesday, May 16 t h , 1 9 9 0 )
 * Rizzo the Rat ( Muppet character originated by  Whitmire  )
 * Lips ( Muppet character originated by  Whitmire  )
 * Bean Bunny ( Muppet character originated by  Whitmire  )
 * The Muppet Show Characters : Billy Boy, Caveman , Foo - Foo , Geri & the Atric s tuba player , Leo ( epi s od e 4 0 3 : Shield s & Yarnell ) , Lips , Pinocchio , Rizzo the Rat , Rowlf the Dog ( occasional , hands only ) , Security Guard , The Snorer s ' Chorus member , Thog ( epi sode 5 0 2 ) , Timmy Monster ( occasio nal , voice in epi s ode 423 ) , Trevor the Gross , T he White Rabbit , Winky Pinkerton ( ep i s o d e 3 0 8 . Loretta Lynn ) , Zeke ( 1 9 7 9 - c a . 1 9 80 s )
 * T he Muppet Movie : Kermit the Frog ( assist ant f o r " The R A I N B O W  Connection " number )
 * Jim Frawley ' s Camera Test s f or T he Muppet Movie ( 1 9 7 8 ) : Sweetums
 * The Great Muppet Caper : Rizzo the Rat & Lips
 * The Dark Crystal : SkekTek
 * Fraggle Rock : Wembley Fraggle, Sprocket , Marlon Fraggle , Murray the Minstrel ( except episode 512 ) , Flange Doozer , Crusty Doozer , Flying Batworm , Mermer Merggle , Papa Tr ee Creature , Phil Fraggle ( Muppetry  only ) , Sir Blunderbrain , Venerable Sage Hambo
 * The Muppets Take Manhattan : G il, Rizzo the Rat , Dogs
 * Dreamchild : The Caterpillar, The Mock Turtle ( Muppetry  )
 * Labyrinth : Ambrosius, F ie ry 4 , 1 of The Four Guards ( Muppetry  )
 * The Christ mas Toy : Mew
 * A Muppet Family Chris t mas : The Christ mas Turkey, Wembley Fraggle , Sprocket , Rizzo the Rat , Foo - F oo , Lips
 * The Tale of the Bunny Picnic : Bean Bunny
 * Inner T ube : Henry, Duke
 * T h e  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 the Rat, Lips , Foo - F oo , Sprocket , Bean Bunny
 * The Muppets Celebrate  JIM   HENSON  : Rizzo the Rat, Bean Bunny , Kermit the Frog
 * Muppet* Vis ion 3D : Bean Bunny, Rizzo the Rat , Wald o C . Graphic
 * Dino saur s : B . P . Rich field ( puppet ), Robbie Sinclair ( face ) , Chi ef Elder ( f a c e ) , M r . M ason Dixon , Sonny , Woody , Blarney , Judge H . T . Stone ( pup pet )
 * T h e Muppet Christ mas Carol : Belinda Cratchit, Laund r e ss , Kermit the Frog ( a s Bob Cratchit ) , Bean Bunny , Rizzo the Rat , Lips , Beaker , Sprocket , What not s , Rats , Inkspots , Pig Buisnessman
 * Muppet Meeting Films : Flunky, Kermit the Frog , Mr . Briteweight
 * Billy Bunny ' s Animal Songs : Kermit the Frog
 *  SE SAME   STREET  Stay s U p Late ! : Ernie
 *  SE SAME STREET  : Ernie ( 1 993 - 2014 ), Kermit the Frog ( 1 9 9 6 - 2001 ; 2 0 0 9 ) , Dr . Feel : Cookie Monster ' s Mommy (2 00 3 ) , Guy Smiley ( Season 3 2 )
 *  JIM HENSON  ' s The Animal Show with Stinky & Jake : Jake the Polar Bear
 * Muppet Classic Theatre : Rizzo the Rat, Kermit the Frog , Andy Pig
 * Muppets on Wheels : Kermit the Frog
 * M r . Willowby ' s Chris t mas Tr ee : Kermit the Frog
 * Muppet Treasure Is la nd : Walleye Pike, Rizzo the Rat , Kermit the Frog ( as Captain Abraham Smollett ) , Beaker , Jacques Roach , Ink spot s , The Dodo , Rats
 * Things That Fly : Kermit the Frog, Co - Pilot
 * Muppets Tonight : Andy Pig, Captain Pighead , Eugene , Lash Holstein , Miss Weatherington , Mr . Poodlepants , Kermit the Frog , Beaker , Rizzo the Rat , Meepzorp , George t he Janitor , Bug Llewelyn , Farm per son , Pigeons , Nigel ' s M o m , Alphonso D ' Bruzzo
 *  Elmo  Save s Chris t mas : Ernie & Kermit the Frog
 * 1 2 3  Count  w i th  ME  : Ernie
 * Qui et T i m e : Ernie
 *  Elmo  palooza : Ernie & Kermit the Frog
 * T h e  Best  o f  Kermit  on  SESAME   STREET  : Kermit the Frog
 * Muppets from Space : Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Bean Bunny , Cosmic Fish , Beach Hippie
 *  The Adventure s of  Elmo  in  GROUCH  land  : Ernie,  Bad Humor Man  ,  Sharon Groan  , Stuck weed  ,  Football Stenchman
 * Cind e r  Elmo  : Prince the Dog, Ernie , Kermit the Frog
 * Muppet Race Mania : Kermit the Frog, Link Hogthrob , Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Bean Bunny , Gil , Flange Doozer
 * Play With Me Sesame : Ernie
 *  B ert  &  Ernie  ' s Word P l a y : Ernie, Lead Singer o f The Frosty Four , Mo , Troll
 *  Kermit  ' s Swamp Year s : Jack Rabbit, Kermit the Frog , Young  Kermit  , Chico
 * I t ' s a  Very  Merry Muppet Chris t mas Movie : Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Bean Bunny , M r . Poodle pants , Stat ler ( 1 line ) & 1 o f t h e Elvises
 * Talk, R e ad , Write : The King of Reading & Writing
 * Muppets Party Cruise : Kermit the Frog, Link Hogthrob , Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Bean Bunny , Andy Pig
 * The Muppet s ' Wizard o f Oz : Kermit the Frog ( as t he Scare crow ), Rizzo the Rat ( as the Mayor of Munchkinland ) , Beaker , Statler ( a s Kalidah Critic ) , Bean Bunny
 * Statler & Waldorf : From the Balcony : Stat ler ( 1 epi sode )
 * M r . Magorium ' s Wonder Emporium : Kermit the Frog
 * Disney X treme Digital : Kermit the Frog, The Newsman , Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Statler , Bean Bunny , Singing Food , Turkey
 * Muppet viral video s : Kermit t he Frog, Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Stat ler , Pumpkin s , Penguin s , Turkey , Rabbit s
 *  Count  on Sport s : Ernie
 * Studio D C : Almost Live ! : Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Statler
 *  Abby  in Wonder land : Ernie
 * A Muppet s Christ mas : Letter s t o San ta : Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , Statler
 * Bohemian Rhapsody : Kermit the Frog, The News man , Rizzo the Rat , Beak er , & Statler
 * Chris t mas in Rockefeller Center : Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat & Lips
 * The Muppets : Kermit the Frog, Link Hogthrob , The Newsman , Lips , Rizzo the Rat , Beak er , & Statler
 * Late Night w i th Jimmy Fallon : Kermit the Frog ( " W h e n t h e River M e et s t h e Sea " )
 * Muppet s M o s t Wanted : Kermit the Frog, Link Hogthrob , The Newsman , Lips , Rizzo t he Rat , Foo - Foo , Beak e r & Statler
 * Lady Gaga & the Muppets ' Holiday Spectacular : Kermit the Frog, Lip s , Rizzo the Rat , Beaker , & Statler
 * Just for Laugh s : Kermit the Frog, Beaker , & Statler
 * T he Muppets : Operation STS ( Save t he Swamp ) : Kermit the Frog, Link Hogthrob , T he Newsman , Lips , Rizzo t he Rat , Foo - F oo , Beaker , & Statler

Trivia

 *  WHITMIRE  i s right - handed.
 * Was nick name d Kermit in his youth cause he aspire d to become a puppeteer & even perform ed with a Kermit which he made . His high school year book eve n has t he name " Kermit " o n the front cover.
 * Shares t h e same birthday  a s  JIM HENSON  ( September 24th ).
 * Apparently, at 1 of  WHITMIRE  ' s last meetings with  JIM HENSON  ,  HENSON  commented that although  WHITMIRE  was a main Muppeteer  he just didn ' t really have any main Muppet character s beside s Rizzo the Rat & Bean Bunny & told him that  he  was going to try to create a new main character for  WHITMIRE  t o perform.
 *  STEVE   WHITMIRE  ' s favorite Muppet movie is The Muppet Movie.
 * In The Muppet Movie, he used a remote control device to operate Kermit ' s hand while playing the banjo during The  R A I N B O W  Connection.
 * A quote from the Muppet Central interview with  STEVE   WHITMIRE  : " I designed the little mechanism i n side of [ Rizzo ] t h a t make s his mouth move . "
 * Supporter / chairperson & volunteer at actress Tippi Hedren 's wild life preserve SHAMBALA, locate d in Acton , CA .  WHITMIRE  & his wife , Melissa have volunteered count less hour s helping bring wild cat s for veterinarian care , e t c.
 * Character s of  JIM HENSON  ' s  STEVE   WHITMIRE  has performed once or consistently are :


 * Kermit the Frog : The Muppets Celebrate  JIM   HENSON  ( 1 9 9 0 ) - present
 * Ernie :  SESAME   STREET  Stays Up Late ! ( 1 99 3 ) - present
 * The Newsman : Muppets . com ( 2008 ) - present
 * Link Hogthrob : Muppet R a ce Mania ( 2 000 ) - present
 * Rowlf the Dog  ( occasionally o n T h e Muppet Show ; right hand only )
 * Dr . Teeth ( T he Muppet Show Live ( 2 0 0 ) ( assistant to  JOHN KENNEDY  ; Muppetry  only ; Hand s of D r . Teeth ( assistant t o  BILL BARRETTA  ; c a . 2 0 0 5 - pre sent ) )
 * Guy Smiley :  SESAME STREET  season 32 ( 2001 )
 * The Swedish Chef : I Love Lucy Movie Mania Screen Test ( 1 999 )
 * Zeke ( 1979 - ca . 1980 s )
 * Leo : The Muppet Show Episode 4 03 ) ( 1 9 7 9 )
 * Wal dorf : P ar t s of Little Big Planet 2 ( 2011 )


 *  STEVE   WHITMIRE  has bee n see n & heard taking  JIM HENSON  ' s place i n the s e pairing s  HENSON  &  FRANK OZ  m ade b e fore  HENSON  passed away  :


 * Ernie / Bert
 * Ernie / Cookie Monster
 * Ernie / Grover
 * Kermit the Frog / Grover
 * Kermit the Frog / Miss Piggy
 * Kermit the Frog / Fozzie Bear
 * Kermit the Frog / Sam the Eagle
 * The Swedish Chef / Fozzie Bear ( I Lo ve Lucy Movie Mania Screen T e s t )

External l i n k s

 * STEVE WHITMIRE o n I M D b
 * Muppet Central ' s Inter view w i t h  WHITMIRE 
 * 2momluvme inter view w i t h ' WHITMIRE 
 * Tough Pig s inter v iew : P a rt 1, P art 2 , P art 3 , P art 4 , P a r t 5
 * Integral Life web site Inter view

S ee a l so

 *  Muppeteer s 
 * Muppet Performer s
 * Muppet Puppeteer s
 * Muppet Voice Actor s
 * Creature Shop Puppeteer s
 * Animate d Voice Act or s
 *  STEVE   WHITMIRE  Cameo s
 * STEVE WHITMIRE o n t h e Muppet Wiki
 * STEVE WHITMIRE o n t h e Puppet Wiki
 * STEVE WHITMIRE o n t h e  OSCAR   THE   GROUCH  Wiki