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Kermit the Frog

March 20, 2023

This article is about the Muppet. For the frog species called "kermit frog", see Hyalinobatrachium dianae.

Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, as well as in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements through the years. He served as a mascot of The Jim Henson Company and appeared in various Henson projects.

Kermit the Frog
The Muppets/Sesame Street character
First appearanceSam and Friends (1955)[1]
Created byJim Henson
Voiced by
Performed by
In-universe information
SpeciesMuppet frog
GenderMale
OccupationEntertainer, stage manager, show producer, director, reporter
FamilyRobin the Frog (nephew)
Significant otherMiss Piggy (1976–2015; on-and-off since)
NationalityAmerican
Musical instrumentBanjo, vocals

Kermit performed the hit singles "Bein' Green" in 1970 for Sesame Street and "Rainbow Connection" in 1979 for The Muppet Movie, the first feature-length film featuring the Muppets. Kermit's original performance of "Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was added to the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry in 2021.[3] Henson performed Kermit until his death in 1990, and then Steve Whitmire performed Kermit from that time until his dismissal in 2016. Kermit has been performed by Matt Vogel from 2017.[2] He was also voiced by Frank Welker in Muppet Babies and occasionally in other animation projects, and is voiced by Matt Danner in the 2018 reboot of Muppet Babies.

Kermit's look and voice have been recognizable in popular culture worldwide for many decades, and in 2006, the character was credited as the author of Before You Leap: A Frog's Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons, an "autobiography" told from the perspective of the character himself.

History and development

Kermit the Frog first appeared on May 9, 1955, in the premiere of WRC-TV's Sam and Friends.[4] This prototype Kermit was created from a discarded turquoise spring coat belonging to Jim Henson's mother and two ping pong ball halves for eyes.[5]

Initially, Kermit was a vague lizard-like creature. He subsequently made a number of television appearances before his status as a frog was established in the television special Hey, Cinderella! in 1969.[6] His triangular-pointed collar was added at the time to make him seem more frog-like and to conceal the seam between his head and body.[7] According to Michael K. Frith, the relatively simple construction of the Kermit puppet allows the performer's arm and hand to produce a wide range of expression and gestures.[8]

Naming

The origin of Kermit's name is a subject of some debate. It is often claimed that Kermit was named after Henson's childhood friend Kermit Scott, from Leland, Mississippi.[9][10] However, Karen Falk, head archivist and board of directors member for the Jim Henson Legacy organization, denies this claim on the Jim Henson Company's website:

While Jim Henson did have a childhood acquaintance named Kermit, it was not an uncommon name at the time, and Jim always said that the Frog was not named after this child from his elementary school.[11]

Joy DiMenna, the only daughter of Kermit Kalman Cohen who worked as a sound engineer at WBAL-TV during Jim Henson's time with Sam and Friends, recalls that the puppet was named after her father. According to Kermit Cohen's obituary, as well as DiMenna and Lenny Levin, a colleague of Mr. Cohen's at WBAL:

The late puppeteer had been the host of a show, Sam and Friends, at WRC-TV in Washington when he was invited to tour WBAL's studios. Both were NBC affiliates then, and WBAL carried the show, Mr. Levin said.

Mr. Henson was introduced to members of the sound and camera crew, including Mr. Cohen.

"When he heard his name, Jim turned around, snapped his fingers and said to his wife, 'That's what we call the frog – Kermit.'"[12]

Another common belief is that Kermit was named for Kermit Love, who worked with Henson in designing and constructing Muppets, particularly on Sesame Street, but Love's association with Henson did not begin until well after Kermit's creation and naming, and he always denied any connection between his name and that of the character.[13]

As Sesame Street is localized for some different markets that speak languages other than English, Kermit is often renamed. In Portugal, he is called Cocas, o Sapo (sapo means "toad"), and in Brazil, his name is similar: Caco, o Sapo. In most of Hispanic America, his name is la rana René (René the Frog), while in Spain, he is named Gustavo.[14] In the Arabic version, he is known as Kamel, which is a common Arabic male name that means "perfect". In Hungary, he is called Breki (onomatopoetic).[15]

Characterization and performers

Jim Henson originated the character in 1955 on his local television series, Sam and Friends.[16] Henson himself described Kermit as "kind of easy-going, very likable...sometimes slightly a wiseguy."[8] Frank Oz remarked that Kermit possesses a natural sense of leadership within the Muppets, explaining that "he has all these zany characters and a world around him and he tries to be the center and hold everything together...sometimes he gets too much and blows his top, but essentially he kind of goes with the flow."[8] Brian Henson described his father's performance as Kermit as "coming out of his own personality—was a wry intelligence, a little bit of a naughtiness, but Kermit always loved everyone around and also loved a good prank."[17]

Kermit has often been referred to as Henson's "soft-spoken alter-ego."[18] Many of Henson's colleagues have confirmed how close and inseparable Jim and Kermit's personalities were. Henson's agent Bernie Brillstein has stated straightforwardly that "Kermit was Jim".[19] Author Brian Jay Jones described the relationship accordingly: "The more Jim performed Kermit, the more the two of them seemed to become intertwined…it was becoming harder to tell where the frog ended and Jim began."[19] Henson continued to perform the character until his death in 1990.[4] Henson's last known performance as Kermit was for an appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show to promote the television special The Muppets at Walt Disney World. Henson died twelve days after that appearance.[20]

Following Henson's death, veteran Muppet performer Steve Whitmire was named Kermit's new performer.[21] Whitmire claims that Henson had seemingly intended to pass on the role to him before he died, though it was Jane Henson and son Brian who had selected him after her father's death.[22] Whitmire's first public performance as Kermit was at the end of the television special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson in 1990. Whitmire explained that his main intent when he inherited Kermit "was to make sure the character stayed the same and consistent, but didn't become stale and just a copy."[23]

Kermit's personality during Whitmire's tenure was widely described as more wholesome, lighthearted, and Pollyanna-ish than Henson's.[24][25] Several critics of Whitmire's portrayal have come from the Henson family. Brian Henson stated that while Whitmire's performance was "sometimes excellent, and always pretty good", he also elaborated that "Kermit has, as a character, flattened out over time and has become too square and not as vital as it should have been."[26][27] Cheryl Henson stated that Whitmire performed the character as a "bitter, angry, depressed, victim".[28] He remained Kermit's principal performer until October 2016, when he was dismissed by The Muppets Studio.[29][25] The Walt Disney Company (owner of The Muppets Studio) cited "unacceptable business conduct" as reason for the dismissal, while Whitmire claims the decision was made due to creative disagreements over Kermit's characterization and prolonged labor union negotiations that delayed his involvement in Muppet productions.[25][30]

Disney announced that Matt Vogel would become Kermit's new performer on July 10, 2017.[2] Vogel's first official appearance as Kermit was in a "Muppet Thought of the Week” YouTube video.[31]

John Kennedy performed Kermit for Muppets Ahoy!, a 2006 Disney Cruise Line stage show (though Whitmire performed Kermit for the first few shows). Muppet performer Artie Esposito briefly performed Kermit in 2009 for a few personal appearances (an appearance on America's Got Talent, the MTV Video Music Awards, and at the 2009 D23 Expo). Voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice of Baby Kermit on the animated Saturday morning cartoon, Muppet Babies.[32] He also provided the voice of an adult Kermit for a short-lived spin-off, Little Muppet Monsters. Brian Cummings voiced Kermit in a 1995 CBS promotion.[33] Wally Wingert provided the voice of Baby Kermit in a Muppet Babies CD-ROM.[34] Matt Danner voices Baby Kermit on the 2018 reboot of Muppet Babies.[35]

Character biography

External video
  Yay! Kermit Arm Flail, Disney UK

A biography has been developed for Kermit the Frog as if he were an actual living performer rather than a puppet character. According to this fictional biography, he was born in Leland, Mississippi, alongside approximately 2,353 siblings,[1] though a 2011 "interview" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show has him state that he was from the swamps of Louisiana.[36]

As portrayed in the 2002 film Kermit's Swamp Years, at the age of 12, he was the first of his siblings to leave the swamp and one of the first frogs to talk to humans. He is shown in the film encountering a 12-year-old Jim Henson (played by Christian Kriebel) for the first time.

According to The Muppet Movie, Kermit returned to the swamp, where a passing agent (Dom DeLuise) noted he had talent. Thus inspired, Kermit headed to Hollywood, encountering the rest of the Muppets along the way. Together, they were given a standard "rich and famous" contract by Lew Lord (Orson Welles) of Wide World Studios and began their showbiz careers. In Before You Leap, Kermit again references encountering Jim Henson sometime after the events depicted in the course of The Muppet Movie and details their friendship and their partnership in the entertainment industry, crediting Henson as being the individual to whom he owes his fame. At some point after the events of The Muppet Movie, Kermit and the other Muppets begin The Muppet Show, and the characters remain together as a group, before starring in the other Muppet films and Muppets Tonight, with Kermit usually at the core of the stories as the lead protagonist. Kermit is shown in The Muppet Movie as stating that the events of the film are "approximately how it happened" when asked by his nephew Robin about how the Muppets got started.[37]

Fozzie Bear is portrayed as Kermit's best friend—a fact reiterated by Kermit in Before You Leap—and the two were frequently seen together during sketches on The Muppet Show and in other Muppet-related media and merchandise.[38]

On August 4, 2015, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy "announced" that they had ended their romantic relationship.[39][40] On September 2, 2015, Kermit was stated to have found a new girlfriend, a pig named Denise,[41] but around February 2016, Denise supposedly broke up with Kermit after almost six months together.[42]

Career

Kermit has been featured prominently on both The Muppet Show and Sesame Street.[43] However, he had a prominent career before Sesame Street's debut in 1969, as he starred in Sam and Friends, and numerous Muppets made guest appearances on Today from 1961 and The Ed Sullivan Show from 1966.[44]

Sesame Street

Kermit was one of the original main Muppet characters on Sesame Street.[45] Closely identified with the show, Kermit usually appeared as a lecturer on simple topics, a straight man to another Muppet foil (usually Grover, Herry Monster or Cookie Monster), or a news reporter interviewing storybook characters for Sesame Street News.[43] He sang many songs on the show, including "Bein' Green",[43] and appeared in the 1998 video The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street.[46]

Unlike the rest of the show's Muppets, Kermit was never the property of Sesame Workshop and has rarely been a part of the show's merchandise. When Sesame Workshop bought full ownership of its characters from The Jim Henson Company for $180 million, Kermit was excluded from the deal.[47] The character now belongs to The Muppets Studio, a division of The Walt Disney Company.[48] His first Sesame Street appearance since Disney ownership was in an Elmo's World segment in the show's 40th-season premiere on November 10, 2009. His most recent appearance was in the 2019 television special Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration, where he performed "Bein' Green" with Elvis Costello.

With the Muppets

In The Muppet Show television series, Kermit was the central character, the showrunner, and the long-suffering stage manager of the theater show, trying to keep order amidst the chaos created by the other Muppets. Henson once claimed that Kermit's job on the Muppet Show was much like his own: "trying to get a bunch of crazies to actually get the job done."[49] It was on this show that the running gag of Kermit being pursued by leading lady Miss Piggy developed.[4]

On Muppets Tonight, Kermit was still a main character, although he was the producer rather than frontman. He appeared in many parody sketches such as NYPD Green, City Schtickers, Flippers, and The Muppet Odd Squad, as well as in the Psychiatrist's Office sketch.[50]

Kermit also served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company, until the sale of the Muppet characters to Disney.[51] A Kermit puppet can be seen at the National Museum of American History.[52]

Kermit appears in Muppet*Vision 3D, an attraction that opened in 1991 and continues to run presently at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.[53] The character was also formerly featured in the aforementioned attraction in Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California until its closure in 2014. Kermit also appeared in The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History at the Magic Kingdom from 2016 to 2020.[54] He also appeared in two parades; Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade which ran at Disney's Hollywood Studios from 2001 to 2008 and Disney's Honorary VoluntEars Cavalcade which was held during 2010 at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.[55]

Filmography

Kermit the Frog has appeared in almost every Muppet production, as well as making guest appearances in other shows and movies.

Below is a list of his more well-known appearances:[56][57]

Cultural impact

Accolades and commemorations

 
Kermit's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Kermit was awarded an honorary doctorate of Amphibious Letters on May 19, 1996, at Southampton College, New York, where he also gave a commencement speech.[58] He is also the only "amphibian" to have had the honor of addressing the Oxford Union.[59][60] A statue of Henson and Kermit was erected on the campus of Henson's alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park in 2003.

Kermit was also given the honor of being the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1996. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has featured a Kermit balloon since 1977.[61]

On November 14, 2002, Kermit the Frog received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd.[62] Kermit has two stars on the Walk of Fame, the other as a member of the collective The Muppets.[63]

On Kermit's 50th birthday in 2005, the United States Postal Service released a set of new stamps with photos of Kermit and some of his fellow Muppets on them.[64] The background of the stamp sheet features a photo of a silhouetted Henson sitting in a window well, with Kermit sitting in his lap looking at him.

Kermit was also the grand marshal for Michigan State University's homecoming parade in 2006.[65]

In 2013, the original Kermit puppet from Sam and Friends was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. for display in the pop culture gallery.[66] In 2015, the Leland Chamber of Commerce in Leland, Mississippi opened a small museum containing puppets and memorabilia dedicated to Kermit.[67]

Kermit's legacy is also deeply entrenched in the science community. One of the famous WP-3D Orion research platforms flown by the NOAA Hurricane Hunters is named after Kermit. The other is named after Miss Piggy.[68] In 2015, the discovery of the Costa Rican glass frog Hyalinobatrachium dianae also attracted viral media attention due to the creature's perceived resemblance to Kermit, with researcher Brian Kubicki quoted as saying "I am glad that this species has ended up getting so much international attention, and in doing so it is highlighting the amazing amphibians that are native to Costa Rica and the need to continue exploring and studying the country's amazing tropical forests".[69]

Guest television appearances

Kermit has made numerous guest appearances on popular television shows, including co-hosting individual episodes of a number of long-running talk shows; among other television media. On April 2, 1979, Kermit guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to promote The Muppet Movie.[70] From 1983 to 1995, the French political satire show Le Bébête Show used copies of various Muppets to parody key political figures, and Kermit renamed "Kermitterrand", embodied President François Mitterrand.[71] On May 21, 2018, Kermit and contestant Maddie Poppe performed "Rainbow Connection" live on American Idol.[72]

A still photo of Kermit sitting in his Director's chair with his megaphone in his hand from The Muppet Show appeared on a technical difficulties telop graphic on Metromedia owned-and-operated station KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

As an April Fool's joke, Kermit hosted CNN's Larry King Live in 1994 and interviewed Hulk Hogan.[73][74] Kermit was also a semi-regular during various incarnations of Hollywood Squares,[75] with other Muppets such as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch also making appearances on the original Hollywood Squares.

In 2020, Kermit appeared on Monday Night Football with other Muppets characters as it was briefly rebranded "Muppet Night Football."[76]

On March 10, 2021, Kermit was the first celebrity to be unmasked on the fifth season of The Masked Singer, having performed in costume as "Snail".[77]

Merchandising

Jim Henson's characters, including the Muppets, have inspired merchandise internationally, with Chris Bensch, chief curator of Rochester, New York's The Strong National Museum of Play, reporting "There seems to have been a particular craze for Kermit the Frog in Japan," likely due to the "cuteness appeal".[78] Baby Kermit plush toys became popular in the 1980s after the success of Muppet Babies.[79] In 1991, one year after Jim Henson died, merchandise featuring Kermit and other Muppet characters was being sold at Disney theme parks, causing Henson Associates to file a lawsuit against Disney for copyright infringement.

Henson alleged that the "counterfeit merchandise" falsely indicated that the characters belonged to Disney, although the latter company had the right to exercise use of the characters due to an earlier licensing agreement.[51] The Henson Associates highlighted a T-shirt displaying Kermit, the Disney brand, and a copyright symbol. Disney representative Erwin Okun said the lawsuit was "outrageous" and "an unfortunate break with the legacy of a fine relationship with Disney that Jim Henson left behind".[80] Disney later acquired the Muppets, and thusly, clothes, toys and souvenirs depicting Kermit and the Muppets continued to be sold at Disney theme parks and stores.[81]

The Leland Chamber of Commerce's small Kermit-themed museum set out to preserve some of the dolls and merchandise.[67] In 2016, The New Zealand Herald reported a hat featuring Kermit sipping Lipton tea, associated with the "But That's None of My Business" Internet meme, became a popular seller[82] after basketball player LeBron James drew attention for wearing one.[83]

Kermit in Internet culture

In March 2007, Sad Kermit, an unofficial parody, was uploaded to the website YouTube, showing a store-bought Kermit puppet performing a version of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt" in a style similar to Johnny Cash's famous cover version. In contrast to the real Kermit character's usual family-friendly antics, the video shows the puppet engaging in drug abuse, smoking, alcoholism, performing oral sex on Rowlf the Dog, smashing a picture of Miss Piggy (with a breast exposed) and attempting suicide. The video became an Internet meme. The Victoria Times Colonist called it an "online sensation".[84] The Chicago Sun-Times said it "puts the high in 'Hi-ho!'"[85] The London Free Press said "Sad Kermit is in a world of pain".[86] The Houston Press described it as the "world's most revolting web phenomenon".[87] SF Weekly described the unauthorized video as "ironic slandering".[88] Clips have been featured on the Canadian television series The Hour, where host George Stroumboulopoulos speculated that the Kermit version of "Hurt" was inspired by the Cash version rather than that of Nine Inch Nails.[89]

Kermit has also appeared in a popular meme in which he is shown sipping tea, "one used when you sassily point something out, and then slyly back away, claiming that it's not [your] business".[90] The photo is taken from "Be More Kermit," a Lipton advertisement that aired in 2014, and was adapted into the "But That's None of My Business" meme by African American comedians on the Tumblr blog Kermit the Snitch, making appearances on Twitter, Instagram[91] and Facebook.[92] Charles Pulliam-Moore of the TV station Fusion praised "But That's None of My Business" as "a symbol for the comedic brilliance born out of black communities on the internet",[91] but Stephanie Hayes of Bustle magazine criticized the memes as racist and obscene.[92]

In 2016, a Good Morning America post on Twitter referred to the "But That's None of My Business" meme as "Tea Lizard", becoming the subject of viral online derision. New York magazine replied that, "Kermit is a frog. A frog is an amphibian. A lizard is a reptile. It's just so insulting. Beyond a frog and a lizard both being clearly ectothermic, they couldn't be any more different. Not all green things are the same, you ignorant bastards".[90] Popular Science also addressed the misnomer, writing "Frogs, which are amphibians, have quite a few significant differences from reptiles in how they breathe, their life cycles, whether they have scales or not... there's a lot to absorb here."[93]

In November 2016, a new meme surfaced of Kermit talking to a hooded version of himself which represents the self and its dark inner thoughts. It involves captioning of a screenshot taken from the Muppets Most Wanted movie of Kermit and Constantine looking at each other.[94] In the meme, Constantine is supposed to represent a Sith Lord from Star Wars.[95]

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March 20, 2023
kermit, frog, this, article, about, muppet, frog, species, called, kermit, frog, hyalinobatrachium, dianae, muppet, character, created, originally, performed, henson, introduced, 1955, kermit, serves, everyman, protagonist, numerous, muppet, productions, most,. This article is about the Muppet For the frog species called kermit frog see Hyalinobatrachium dianae Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson Introduced in 1955 Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions most notably Sesame Street and The Muppet Show as well as in other television series feature films specials and public service announcements through the years He served as a mascot of The Jim Henson Company and appeared in various Henson projects Kermit the FrogThe Muppets Sesame Street characterFirst appearanceSam and Friends 1955 1 Created byJim HensonVoiced byJim Henson 1955 1990 Steve Whitmire 1990 2016 Matt Vogel 2017 present 2 Other Frank Welker Muppet Babies 1984 animated segments in Little Muppet Monsters Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue Family Guy Matt Danner Muppet Babies 2018 Performed byJim Henson 1955 1990 Steve Whitmire 1990 2016 Matt Vogel 2017 present 2 In universe informationSpeciesMuppet frogGenderMaleOccupationEntertainer stage manager show producer director reporterFamilyRobin the Frog nephew Significant otherMiss Piggy 1976 2015 on and off since NationalityAmericanMusical instrumentBanjo vocalsKermit performed the hit singles Bein Green in 1970 for Sesame Street and Rainbow Connection in 1979 for The Muppet Movie the first feature length film featuring the Muppets Kermit s original performance of Rainbow Connection reached No 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was added to the Library of Congress s National Recording Registry in 2021 3 Henson performed Kermit until his death in 1990 and then Steve Whitmire performed Kermit from that time until his dismissal in 2016 Kermit has been performed by Matt Vogel from 2017 2 He was also voiced by Frank Welker in Muppet Babies and occasionally in other animation projects and is voiced by Matt Danner in the 2018 reboot of Muppet Babies Kermit s look and voice have been recognizable in popular culture worldwide for many decades and in 2006 the character was credited as the author of Before You Leap A Frog s Eye View of Life s Greatest Lessons an autobiography told from the perspective of the character himself Contents 1 History and development 1 1 Naming 1 2 Characterization and performers 1 2 1 Character biography 2 Career 2 1 Sesame Street 2 2 With the Muppets 2 3 Filmography 3 Cultural impact 3 1 Accolades and commemorations 3 2 Guest television appearances 3 3 Merchandising 3 4 Kermit in Internet culture 4 References 5 External linksHistory and developmentKermit the Frog first appeared on May 9 1955 in the premiere of WRC TV s Sam and Friends 4 This prototype Kermit was created from a discarded turquoise spring coat belonging to Jim Henson s mother and two ping pong ball halves for eyes 5 Initially Kermit was a vague lizard like creature He subsequently made a number of television appearances before his status as a frog was established in the television special Hey Cinderella in 1969 6 His triangular pointed collar was added at the time to make him seem more frog like and to conceal the seam between his head and body 7 According to Michael K Frith the relatively simple construction of the Kermit puppet allows the performer s arm and hand to produce a wide range of expression and gestures 8 Naming The origin of Kermit s name is a subject of some debate It is often claimed that Kermit was named after Henson s childhood friend Kermit Scott from Leland Mississippi 9 10 However Karen Falk head archivist and board of directors member for the Jim Henson Legacy organization denies this claim on the Jim Henson Company s website While Jim Henson did have a childhood acquaintance named Kermit it was not an uncommon name at the time and Jim always said that the Frog was not named after this child from his elementary school 11 Joy DiMenna the only daughter of Kermit Kalman Cohen who worked as a sound engineer at WBAL TV during Jim Henson s time with Sam and Friends recalls that the puppet was named after her father According to Kermit Cohen s obituary as well as DiMenna and Lenny Levin a colleague of Mr Cohen s at WBAL The late puppeteer had been the host of a show Sam and Friends at WRC TV in Washington when he was invited to tour WBAL s studios Both were NBC affiliates then and WBAL carried the show Mr Levin said Mr Henson was introduced to members of the sound and camera crew including Mr Cohen When he heard his name Jim turned around snapped his fingers and said to his wife That s what we call the frog Kermit 12 Another common belief is that Kermit was named for Kermit Love who worked with Henson in designing and constructing Muppets particularly on Sesame Street but Love s association with Henson did not begin until well after Kermit s creation and naming and he always denied any connection between his name and that of the character 13 As Sesame Street is localized for some different markets that speak languages other than English Kermit is often renamed In Portugal he is called Cocas o Sapo sapo means toad and in Brazil his name is similar Caco o Sapo In most of Hispanic America his name is la rana Rene Rene the Frog while in Spain he is named Gustavo 14 In the Arabic version he is known as Kamel which is a common Arabic male name that means perfect In Hungary he is called Breki onomatopoetic 15 Characterization and performers Jim Henson originated the character in 1955 on his local television series Sam and Friends 16 Henson himself described Kermit as kind of easy going very likable sometimes slightly a wiseguy 8 Frank Oz remarked that Kermit possesses a natural sense of leadership within the Muppets explaining that he has all these zany characters and a world around him and he tries to be the center and hold everything together sometimes he gets too much and blows his top but essentially he kind of goes with the flow 8 Brian Henson described his father s performance as Kermit as coming out of his own personality was a wry intelligence a little bit of a naughtiness but Kermit always loved everyone around and also loved a good prank 17 Kermit has often been referred to as Henson s soft spoken alter ego 18 Many of Henson s colleagues have confirmed how close and inseparable Jim and Kermit s personalities were Henson s agent Bernie Brillstein has stated straightforwardly that Kermit was Jim 19 Author Brian Jay Jones described the relationship accordingly The more Jim performed Kermit the more the two of them seemed to become intertwined it was becoming harder to tell where the frog ended and Jim began 19 Henson continued to perform the character until his death in 1990 4 Henson s last known performance as Kermit was for an appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show to promote the television special The Muppets at Walt Disney World Henson died twelve days after that appearance 20 Following Henson s death veteran Muppet performer Steve Whitmire was named Kermit s new performer 21 Whitmire claims that Henson had seemingly intended to pass on the role to him before he died though it was Jane Henson and son Brian who had selected him after her father s death 22 Whitmire s first public performance as Kermit was at the end of the television special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson in 1990 Whitmire explained that his main intent when he inherited Kermit was to make sure the character stayed the same and consistent but didn t become stale and just a copy 23 Kermit s personality during Whitmire s tenure was widely described as more wholesome lighthearted and Pollyanna ish than Henson s 24 25 Several critics of Whitmire s portrayal have come from the Henson family Brian Henson stated that while Whitmire s performance was sometimes excellent and always pretty good he also elaborated that Kermit has as a character flattened out over time and has become too square and not as vital as it should have been 26 27 Cheryl Henson stated that Whitmire performed the character as a bitter angry depressed victim 28 He remained Kermit s principal performer until October 2016 when he was dismissed by The Muppets Studio 29 25 The Walt Disney Company owner of The Muppets Studio cited unacceptable business conduct as reason for the dismissal while Whitmire claims the decision was made due to creative disagreements over Kermit s characterization and prolonged labor union negotiations that delayed his involvement in Muppet productions 25 30 Disney announced that Matt Vogel would become Kermit s new performer on July 10 2017 2 Vogel s first official appearance as Kermit was in a Muppet Thought of the Week YouTube video 31 John Kennedy performed Kermit for Muppets Ahoy a 2006 Disney Cruise Line stage show though Whitmire performed Kermit for the first few shows Muppet performer Artie Esposito briefly performed Kermit in 2009 for a few personal appearances an appearance on America s Got Talent the MTV Video Music Awards and at the 2009 D23 Expo Voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice of Baby Kermit on the animated Saturday morning cartoon Muppet Babies 32 He also provided the voice of an adult Kermit for a short lived spin off Little Muppet Monsters Brian Cummings voiced Kermit in a 1995 CBS promotion 33 Wally Wingert provided the voice of Baby Kermit in a Muppet Babies CD ROM 34 Matt Danner voices Baby Kermit on the 2018 reboot of Muppet Babies 35 Character biography External video Yay Kermit Arm Flail Disney UKA biography has been developed for Kermit the Frog as if he were an actual living performer rather than a puppet character According to this fictional biography he was born in Leland Mississippi alongside approximately 2 353 siblings 1 though a 2011 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show has him state that he was from the swamps of Louisiana 36 As portrayed in the 2002 film Kermit s Swamp Years at the age of 12 he was the first of his siblings to leave the swamp and one of the first frogs to talk to humans He is shown in the film encountering a 12 year old Jim Henson played by Christian Kriebel for the first time According to The Muppet Movie Kermit returned to the swamp where a passing agent Dom DeLuise noted he had talent Thus inspired Kermit headed to Hollywood encountering the rest of the Muppets along the way Together they were given a standard rich and famous contract by Lew Lord Orson Welles of Wide World Studios and began their showbiz careers In Before You Leap Kermit again references encountering Jim Henson sometime after the events depicted in the course of The Muppet Movie and details their friendship and their partnership in the entertainment industry crediting Henson as being the individual to whom he owes his fame At some point after the events of The Muppet Movie Kermit and the other Muppets begin The Muppet Show and the characters remain together as a group before starring in the other Muppet films and Muppets Tonight with Kermit usually at the core of the stories as the lead protagonist Kermit is shown in The Muppet Movie as stating that the events of the film are approximately how it happened when asked by his nephew Robin about how the Muppets got started 37 Fozzie Bear is portrayed as Kermit s best friend a fact reiterated by Kermit in Before You Leap and the two were frequently seen together during sketches on The Muppet Show and in other Muppet related media and merchandise 38 On August 4 2015 Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy announced that they had ended their romantic relationship 39 40 On September 2 2015 Kermit was stated to have found a new girlfriend a pig named Denise 41 but around February 2016 Denise supposedly broke up with Kermit after almost six months together 42 CareerKermit has been featured prominently on both The Muppet Show and Sesame Street 43 However he had a prominent career before Sesame Street s debut in 1969 as he starred in Sam and Friends and numerous Muppets made guest appearances on Today from 1961 and The Ed Sullivan Show from 1966 44 Sesame Street Kermit was one of the original main Muppet characters on Sesame Street 45 Closely identified with the show Kermit usually appeared as a lecturer on simple topics a straight man to another Muppet foil usually Grover Herry Monster or Cookie Monster or a news reporter interviewing storybook characters for Sesame Street News 43 He sang many songs on the show including Bein Green 43 and appeared in the 1998 video The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street 46 Unlike the rest of the show s Muppets Kermit was never the property of Sesame Workshop and has rarely been a part of the show s merchandise When Sesame Workshop bought full ownership of its characters from The Jim Henson Company for 180 million Kermit was excluded from the deal 47 The character now belongs to The Muppets Studio a division of The Walt Disney Company 48 His first Sesame Street appearance since Disney ownership was in an Elmo s World segment in the show s 40th season premiere on November 10 2009 His most recent appearance was in the 2019 television special Sesame Street s 50th Anniversary Celebration where he performed Bein Green with Elvis Costello With the Muppets In The Muppet Show television series Kermit was the central character the showrunner and the long suffering stage manager of the theater show trying to keep order amidst the chaos created by the other Muppets Henson once claimed that Kermit s job on the Muppet Show was much like his own trying to get a bunch of crazies to actually get the job done 49 It was on this show that the running gag of Kermit being pursued by leading lady Miss Piggy developed 4 On Muppets Tonight Kermit was still a main character although he was the producer rather than frontman He appeared in many parody sketches such as NYPD Green City Schtickers Flippers and The Muppet Odd Squad as well as in the Psychiatrist s Office sketch 50 Kermit also served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company until the sale of the Muppet characters to Disney 51 A Kermit puppet can be seen at the National Museum of American History 52 Kermit appears in Muppet Vision 3D an attraction that opened in 1991 and continues to run presently at Disney s Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista Florida 53 The character was also formerly featured in the aforementioned attraction in Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim California until its closure in 2014 Kermit also appeared in The Muppets Present Great Moments in American History at the Magic Kingdom from 2016 to 2020 54 He also appeared in two parades Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade which ran at Disney s Hollywood Studios from 2001 to 2008 and Disney s Honorary VoluntEars Cavalcade which was held during 2010 at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland 55 Filmography Kermit the Frog has appeared in almost every Muppet production as well as making guest appearances in other shows and movies Below is a list of his more well known appearances 56 57 Sam and Friends 1955 1961 TV Sesame Street 1969 1990 1996 2001 2009 2019 TV Hey Cinderella 1969 TV The Muppets on Puppets 1970 TV The Frog Prince 1971 TV The Muppet Musicians of Bremen 1972 TV The Muppets Valentine Show 1974 TV The Muppet Show Sex and Violence 1975 TV The Muppet Show 1976 1981 TV Emmet Otter s Jug Band Christmas 1977 TV The Muppet Movie 1979 The Great Muppet Caper 1981 The Muppets Take Manhattan 1984 Muppet Babies 1984 1991 TV Sesame Street Presents Follow That Bird 1985 The Muppets A Celebration of 30 Years 1986 TV The Christmas Toy 1986 TV A Muppet Family Christmas 1987 TV The Jim Henson Hour 1989 TV Cartoon All Stars to the Rescue 1990 TV The Muppets at Walt Disney World 1990 TV The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson 1990 TV The Muppet Christmas Carol 1992 Appearance as Bob Cratchit Muppet Classic Theater 1994 Direct to Video Appearance as King Midas and the King in Rumpelstiltskin Muppet Treasure Island 1996 Appearance as Captain Abraham Smollett Muppets Tonight 1996 1998 TV Muppets from Space 1999 The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon 2001 TV Kermit s Swamp Years 2002 Direct to Video It s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie 2002 TV Saturday Night Live 1975 76 2004 2011 TV The Muppets Wizard of Oz 2005 TV Appearance as himself and The Scarecrow Mr Magorium s Wonder Emporium 2007 cameo Studio DC Almost Live 2008 TV A Muppets Christmas Letters to Santa 2008 TV The Muppets 2011 30 Rock 2012 Appearance as himself in My Whole Life Is Thunder Good Luck Charlie 2013 TV Appearance as himself in Duncan Dream House Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular 2013 TV Muppets Most Wanted 2014 The Muppets 2015 2016 TV Muppet Babies 2018 2022 TV Sesame Street s 50th Anniversary Celebration 2019 TV Muppets Now 2020 TV Amphibia 2020 TV Appearance as the voice of Crumpet the Frog in Swamp and Sensibility The Masked Singer 2021 TV The Snail Muppets Haunted Mansion 2021 TV Appearance as himself and a GhostCultural impactAccolades and commemorations Kermit s star on the Hollywood Walk of FameKermit was awarded an honorary doctorate of Amphibious Letters on May 19 1996 at Southampton College New York where he also gave a commencement speech 58 He is also the only amphibian to have had the honor of addressing the Oxford Union 59 60 A statue of Henson and Kermit was erected on the campus of Henson s alma mater the University of Maryland College Park in 2003 Kermit was also given the honor of being the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1996 The Macy s Thanksgiving Day Parade has featured a Kermit balloon since 1977 61 On November 14 2002 Kermit the Frog received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame The star is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd 62 Kermit has two stars on the Walk of Fame the other as a member of the collective The Muppets 63 On Kermit s 50th birthday in 2005 the United States Postal Service released a set of new stamps with photos of Kermit and some of his fellow Muppets on them 64 The background of the stamp sheet features a photo of a silhouetted Henson sitting in a window well with Kermit sitting in his lap looking at him Kermit was also the grand marshal for Michigan State University s homecoming parade in 2006 65 In 2013 the original Kermit puppet from Sam and Friends was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D C for display in the pop culture gallery 66 In 2015 the Leland Chamber of Commerce in Leland Mississippi opened a small museum containing puppets and memorabilia dedicated to Kermit 67 Kermit s legacy is also deeply entrenched in the science community One of the famous WP 3D Orion research platforms flown by the NOAA Hurricane Hunters is named after Kermit The other is named after Miss Piggy 68 In 2015 the discovery of the Costa Rican glass frog Hyalinobatrachium dianae also attracted viral media attention due to the creature s perceived resemblance to Kermit with researcher Brian Kubicki quoted as saying I am glad that this species has ended up getting so much international attention and in doing so it is highlighting the amazing amphibians that are native to Costa Rica and the need to continue exploring and studying the country s amazing tropical forests 69 Guest television appearances Kermit has made numerous guest appearances on popular television shows including co hosting individual episodes of a number of long running talk shows among other television media On April 2 1979 Kermit guest hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to promote The Muppet Movie 70 From 1983 to 1995 the French political satire show Le Bebete Show used copies of various Muppets to parody key political figures and Kermit renamed Kermitterrand embodied President Francois Mitterrand 71 On May 21 2018 Kermit and contestant Maddie Poppe performed Rainbow Connection live on American Idol 72 A still photo of Kermit sitting in his Director s chair with his megaphone in his hand from The Muppet Show appeared on a technical difficulties telop graphic on Metromedia owned and operated station KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles during the late 1970s and early 1980s As an April Fool s joke Kermit hosted CNN s Larry King Live in 1994 and interviewed Hulk Hogan 73 74 Kermit was also a semi regular during various incarnations of Hollywood Squares 75 with other Muppets such as Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch also making appearances on the original Hollywood Squares In 2020 Kermit appeared on Monday Night Football with other Muppets characters as it was briefly rebranded Muppet Night Football 76 On March 10 2021 Kermit was the first celebrity to be unmasked on the fifth season of The Masked Singer having performed in costume as Snail 77 Merchandising Jim Henson s characters including the Muppets have inspired merchandise internationally with Chris Bensch chief curator of Rochester New York s The Strong National Museum of Play reporting There seems to have been a particular craze for Kermit the Frog in Japan likely due to the cuteness appeal 78 Baby Kermit plush toys became popular in the 1980s after the success of Muppet Babies 79 In 1991 one year after Jim Henson died merchandise featuring Kermit and other Muppet characters was being sold at Disney theme parks causing Henson Associates to file a lawsuit against Disney for copyright infringement Henson alleged that the counterfeit merchandise falsely indicated that the characters belonged to Disney although the latter company had the right to exercise use of the characters due to an earlier licensing agreement 51 The Henson Associates highlighted a T shirt displaying Kermit the Disney brand and a copyright symbol Disney representative Erwin Okun said the lawsuit was outrageous and an unfortunate break with the legacy of a fine relationship with Disney that Jim Henson left behind 80 Disney later acquired the Muppets and thusly clothes toys and souvenirs depicting Kermit and the Muppets continued to be sold at Disney theme parks and stores 81 The Leland Chamber of Commerce s small Kermit themed museum set out to preserve some of the dolls and merchandise 67 In 2016 The New Zealand Herald reported a hat featuring Kermit sipping Lipton tea associated with the But That s None of My Business Internet meme became a popular seller 82 after basketball player LeBron James drew attention for wearing one 83 Kermit in Internet culture In March 2007 Sad Kermit an unofficial parody was uploaded to the website YouTube showing a store bought Kermit puppet performing a version of the Nine Inch Nails song Hurt in a style similar to Johnny Cash s famous cover version In contrast to the real Kermit character s usual family friendly antics the video shows the puppet engaging in drug abuse smoking alcoholism performing oral sex on Rowlf the Dog smashing a picture of Miss Piggy with a breast exposed and attempting suicide The video became an Internet meme The Victoria Times Colonist called it an online sensation 84 The Chicago Sun Times said it puts the high in Hi ho 85 The London Free Press said Sad Kermit is in a world of pain 86 The Houston Press described it as the world s most revolting web phenomenon 87 SF Weekly described the unauthorized video as ironic slandering 88 Clips have been featured on the Canadian television series The Hour where host George Stroumboulopoulos speculated that the Kermit version of Hurt was inspired by the Cash version rather than that of Nine Inch Nails 89 Kermit has also appeared in a popular meme in which he is shown sipping tea one used when you sassily point something out and then slyly back away claiming that it s not your business 90 The photo is taken from Be More Kermit a Lipton advertisement that aired in 2014 and was adapted into the But That s None of My Business meme by African American comedians on the Tumblr blog Kermit the Snitch making appearances on Twitter Instagram 91 and Facebook 92 Charles Pulliam Moore of the TV station Fusion praised But That s None of My Business as a symbol for the comedic brilliance born out of black communities on the internet 91 but Stephanie Hayes of Bustle magazine criticized the memes as racist and obscene 92 In 2016 a Good Morning America post on Twitter referred to the But That s None of My Business meme as Tea Lizard becoming the subject of viral online derision New York magazine replied that Kermit is a frog A frog is an amphibian A lizard is a reptile It s just so insulting Beyond a frog and a lizard both being clearly ectothermic they couldn t be any more different Not all green things are the same you ignorant bastards 90 Popular Science also addressed the misnomer writing Frogs which are amphibians have quite a few significant differences from reptiles in how they breathe their life cycles whether they have scales or not there s a lot to absorb here 93 In November 2016 a new meme surfaced of Kermit talking to a hooded version of himself which represents the self and its dark inner thoughts It involves captioning of a screenshot taken from the Muppets Most Wanted movie of Kermit and Constantine looking at each other 94 In the meme Constantine is supposed to represent a Sith Lord from Star Wars 95 References a b Shemin Craig 2014 Disney s The Muppets Character Encyclopedia New York DK Publishing p 98 ISBN 9781465417480 a b c d Parker Ryan July 10 2017 Longtime Kermit the Frog Voice Actor Replaced After 27 Years The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on July 12 2017 Retrieved July 10 2017 Schuessler Jennifer March 24 2021 Janet Jackson and Kermit the Frog Added to National Recording Registry The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 28 2021 Retrieved March 24 2021 a b c Siemaszko Corky May 9 2012 Kermit the Frog first debuted as minor TV puppet in 1955 New York Daily News Archived from the original on June 17 2016 Retrieved July 17 2016 Zongker Brett August 25 2010 Original Kermit the Frog donated to Smithsonian USA Today Archived from the original on March 13 2014 Retrieved March 11 2014 Fanning Jim June 5 2013 Kermit s Shocking Transformation D23 Disney Feldmar Jamie Muppets Scandal Kermit Was Once A Lizard Gothamist Gothamist LLC Archived from the original on January 26 2016 Retrieved September 10 2015 a b c Jim Henson Frank Oz and Michael Frith talk about the Muppets YouTube March 1 1990 Archived from the original on December 11 2021 Retrieved August 4 2020 Ferguson Terri June 14 2008 Man for whom frog was named dies Delta Democrat Times Archived from the original on July 3 2012 Retrieved June 15 2008 Hanrahan Kathy July 16 2007 It s easy being green in Leland Miss USA Today Archived from the original on May 4 2008 Retrieved June 15 2008 Falk Karen Ask Henson 73 The Jim Henson Company Archived from the original on October 3 2000 Zeller Karen Kermit Kalman Cohen 71 gave Muppet frog his name The Baltimore Sun Archived from the original on November 29 2012 Big Bird costume creator Kermit Love dies at 91 USA Today June 25 2008 Archived from the original on December 1 2008 Kermit The Frog Offers His Sincere Apologies to Latin America But Bleeding Cool October 28 2011 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of the Frog An Exhibit of Jim Henson s Delta Boyhood Kermit the Frog at IMDb as himself Kermit the Frog on IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kermit the Frog amp oldid 1145599546, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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