Steve Whitmire

Steve Whitmire
Whitmire at a White House screening of Muppets Most Wanted in 2014.
Born	Steven Lawrence Whitmire (1959-09-24) September 24, 1959 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Puppeteer
Years active	1978–present
Spouse(s)	Melissa Whitmire (m. 1978)[2]

Steven Lawrence "Steve" Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer, best known for being the performer of Kermit the Frog and Ernie—roles he inherited after Jim Henson's death in 1990.^[3] Whitmire has been with the Muppets since 1978,^[4] performing a variety of characters on The Muppet Show, Sesame Street, and Fraggle Rock series and during such occupations has worked for the Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop, and Disney's The Muppets Studio.

Career

Steve 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-TV 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 fares such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and Dinosaurs.

Characters performed

Whitmire has been the performer of two signature Muppets—Kermit the Frog and Ernie—since the death of their creator and original performer Jim Henson in 1990. Whitmire was personally asked by Brian 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.^[5] In 2014, Billy Barkhurst took over the role of Ernie (since Season 45).^[6] Whitmire left the role so he could continue focusing on other projects by the The Muppets Studio.

Muppet characters original to Whitmire include Rizzo the Rat,^[7][8] Lips (the trumpet player from Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem), Foo-Foo (Miss Piggy's beloved dog), Fraggle Rock's Wembley Fraggle, and Bean Bunny.

Following the death of Richard Hunt and the retirement of Jerry Nelson, Whitmire took over the roles of Beaker and Statler. He voiced Link Hogthrob in the Muppet RaceMania and Muppet Party Cruise video games. He also performed Hogthrob for the 2011 film, The Muppets. This was the first speaking appearance of the puppet since the death of Jim Henson, the original performer of the character. Hogthrob 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." Since 2008, Whitmire has also been the new performer of another of Jim Henson's roles, The Muppet Newsman.

Personal life

Whitmire has been married to his wife Melissa Whitmire since June 1978.^[9] Together, they live in Atlanta, Georgia.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other appearances

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Steve Whitmire.

External links

• Steve Whitmire at the Internet Movie Database