Steve Whitmire

Steven Lawrence Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, known primarily for his work with the Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop, and the Muppets Studio. Beginning his involvement with the Muppets in 1978, Whitmire originated the roles of Rizzo the Rat, Lips, Wembley Fraggle, and Bean Bunny. He also 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. In later years, he also performed Statler and Beaker.

Career Whitmire first appeared voluntarily at 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.

Before graduating high school, Whitmire had his first "professional" puppeteering job using Otis at "The World of Sid & Marty Krofft" in Atlanta, the first indoor theme park. From there Whitmire appeared on local Atlanta TV live for 2 1/2 hours every day on "The Kids Show with Otis" taking telephone calls from children and adults. The show received more than 2000 calls per hour. 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 Atlanta's 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 performed in almost every major Henson company project, including non-Muppet projects such as films The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986), and television series Dinosaurs.

Characters performed

Whitmire was 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. Following Richard Hunt's death and Jerry Nelson's retirement, Whitmire took over the roles of Beaker and Statler, respectively. In 2014, Billy Barkhurst took over the role of Ernie, with Peter Linz taking over that role in 2017. According to Whitmire, the decision to recast Ernie was due to Sesame Street facing budget restructuring at the time and it was getting too expensive to fly him to New York for filming.

Muppet characters original to Whitmire include Rizzo the Rat, Lips (the trumpet player from Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem), Miss Piggy's dog Foo-Foo, Wembley Fraggle and Sprocket the Dog on Fraggle Rock, and Bean Bunny, a character who originated in the television special 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 Link. Whitmire also performed him in the 2014 film Muppets Most Wanted. In 2008, he 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. Whitmire stated that he was dismissed from his roles in October 2016 because of undisclosed issues that he said had not been discussed before his dismissal. In their decision-making, the Muppets Studio's parent company Disney consulted the Henson family, who supported the recasting of Kermit and Whitmire's dismissal.

Brian Henson stated that issues with Whitmire began in the mid-1990s, and that he had warned Whitmire that his behavior needed to stop. He said that Whitmire would make "outrageous demands and often played brinkmanship", mentioning that "Steve would use 'I am now Kermit and if you want the Muppets, you better make me happy because the Muppets are Kermit.' And that is really not OK." He additionally stated that Whitmire would "send emails and letters attacking everyone, attacking the writing and attacking the director".

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 between Disney and SAG-AFTRA (of which Whitmire is a member) that delayed his involvement in Muppet productions. Whitmire alleged Disney offered him what he called "consolation prizes" if he voluntarily left, including honoring him as a Disney Legend, under the public pretense he would be retiring from performing. In a statement released to The New York Times, Debbie McClellan, then-head of the Muppets Studio, said that they "raised concerns about Steve's repeated unacceptable business conduct over a period of many years, and he consistently failed to address the feedback".

In a 2017 episode of the Defunctland Podcast, Terri Hardin, longtime Muppet performer, alleged Whitmire was fired for wanting to retain what he felt was the integrity of Muppet characters, and was smeared as "a diva" and "hard to work with" to justify his firing. In a 2017 interview, Frank Oz stated "with Stevie it's so sad, because the situation with Stevie was a pure business situation, as I understand it. I'd worked with Stevie since he was 18 years old, and on the floor he's terrific. We had a lot of fun. So when he's actually on the floor — I think it was something outside that. And it's very sad."

Personal life In June 1978, Whitmire married his wife Melissa. They met during his senior year at Berkmar High School in Lilburn, Georgia. They live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Filmography

Film

Television Television credits Year(s) Title Role Notes 1978–1981 The Muppet Show Rizzo the Rat, Lips, Foo-Foo, Fletcher Bird (voice), additional characters Performer 1979 The Muppets Go Hollywood Additional characters, extra Performer/actor 1979 John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together Additional characters Performer 1982 The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show Rizzo the Rat, back-up singer, additional characters Performer/actor 1983–1987 Fraggle Rock Wembley Fraggle, Sprocket, Marlon Fraggle, Flange Doozer, Murray the Minstrel, Papa Tree Creature, Phil Fraggle (puppetry only), Crusty Doozer Performer 1983 Rocky Mountain Holiday Rizzo the Rat, Giant Man Eating Chicken 1986 The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years Rizzo the Rat, additional characters 1986 The Christmas Toy Mew 1986 The Tale of the Bunny Picnic Bean Bunny 1987 A Muppet Family Christmas Rizzo the Rat, Lips, Sprocket, Christmas Turkey, Wembley Fraggle 1987 Inner Tube Henry, Duke Performer, unaired pilot 1989 The Jim Henson Hour Bean Bunny, Flash, Jacques Roach, Waldo C. Graphic, Yellow Extreme, additional characters Performer 1990 The Muppets at Walt Disney World Rizzo the Rat, Bean Bunny, Lips, Foo Foo, Sprocket 1993–2014 Sesame Street Ernie (1993–2014), Kermit the Frog (1996–2001; 2009), Dr. Feel and Additional characters Performer/voice 1990 The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson Rizzo the Rat, Bean Bunny, Kermit the Frog Performer 1991–1994 Dinosaurs B.P. Richfield (puppetry), Robbie Sinclair (face), Chief Elder (face), Mr. Mason Dixon, Sonny Woody, Blarney, Judge H.T. Stone (puppetry) Performer/puppeteer 1992–1993 Muppet Meeting Films Flunky, Mr. Briteweight, Kermit the Frog Performer 1993 Sesame Street Stays Up Late! Ernie 1994 Jim Henson's Animal Show Jake the Polar Bear, Wingo the Shoebill, Lawrence the Orangutan 1994 Muppet Classic Theater Rizzo the Rat, Kermit the Frog 1995 Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree Bear, Kermit the Frog, Owl 1996–1998 Muppets Tonight Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Bean Bunny, Captain Pighead, Andy Pig, Mr. Poodlepants, additional characters 1998-2009 Elmo's World Ernie, Kermit the Frog 2001 Family Feud Kermit Performer/Guest Contestant 2002-2007 Play With Me Sesame Ernie Performer (Season 1 only and Season 3 for non-US markets, excluding Season 2) 2008 Studio DC: Almost Live Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Statler, Bean Bunny, Foo-Foo Performer 2008 A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Statler 2011 WWE Raw Kermit the Frog, Beaker, Statler Puppeteer 2012 WWE Tribute to the Troops Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat Puppeteer 2012 30 Rock Kermit the Frog Puppeteer, Episode: "My Whole Life Is Thunder" 2013 Good Luck Charlie Kermit the Frog Puppeteer/Guest Star, Episode: "Duncan Dream House" 2013 Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular Kermit the Frog, Beaker, Rizzo the Rat, Statler Performer 2015 Muppet Moments Kermit the Frog, Beaker, Rizzo the Rat, Statler, Sheep, Andy Pig, Foo-Foo, The Muppet Newsman 2015–2016 The Muppets Kermit the Frog, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Statler, Lips, The Muppet Newsman, Andy Pig2021Lego MastersWillyPerformer, (2 episodes)

Video games

Other appearances