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Kermit the Frog

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Jim Henson • (1955 - 1990)
Steve Whitmire • (1990 - present)
Kermit the Frog
Kermit Banjo

Kermit the Frog is Jim Henson's most famous and popular Muppet character. He has appeared in many of the Muppet productions, with his "debut" on Jim Henson's first YV show, Sam and Friends, as a lizard-like creature. He was also the host of The Muppet Show. He also appeared on Sesame Street, giving various lectures, and serving as a news reporter in the infamous "Sesame Street News Flash" skits, reporting on various fairy tales, nursery rhymes, and historic moments.

Kermit has been described as the only Muppet who is not crazy. Steve Whitmire was made the new performer for Kermit after Jim Henson passed away. Kermit continued appearing on Sesame Street until 2001, when Sesame Workshop lost the rights to him.

Kermit's signature song is "Bein' Green", which he first sang in his first episode of Sesame Street.

Character origins



In later years, Henson said that Kermit didn't become a frog until the 1971 special The Frog Prince, [3] a claim that made its way into the 1993 book Jim Henson: The Works. [4]

However, Kermit's froghood asserted itself as early as 1965, when Johnny Carson referred to him as "Kermit the Frog" on a December 31st Tonight Show appearance.[5] The 1966 Montgomery Wards catalog which featured the Ideal Muppet puppets refers to Kermit as a "fanciful frog". Kermit refers to himself as a frog in the 1968 special The Muppets on Puppets. The special Hey Cinderella!, which was recorded in 1968 [6], featured a redesigned Kermit puppet; his round feet were replaced with flippers, and he was given a fringed collar with eleven points. By the time that Kermit appeared on the Sesame Street Pitch Reel, he was a full-fledged frog.

Kermit sported a double collar for a brief period in the early 1970s, including in the TV special The Frog Prince and several early seasons of Sesame Street, but by the time he took over as the level-headed but often exasperated host of The Muppet Show, it had changed back to the trademark single collar that he still wears today.

See also Kermit's Froghood.

Kermit on Sesame Street


One of his most memorable works was the song "Bein' Green". Some of his other famous Sesame Street songs include "This Frog", "I Love My Elbows", "On My Pond", and "Caribbean Amphibian".



Kermit also took part in several talk spots with kids.





The Muppet Show



Kermit also sang on his own on the show many times, singing songs such as "Happy Feet", "Lydia the Tattooed Lady", "Disco Frog", and, of course, "Bein' Green". His duets with other characters include singing "Friendship" and "Octopus' Garden" with his nephew, Robin; he also participated in many group numbers.







The Jim Henson Hour



Kermit also sang some songs on this show, including "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" and "Sweet Vacation". In episode 109, he told a story about how the nightingale got its voice.

In "Secret of the Muppets," Kermit introduced the Muppet Performers of his fellow Muppets to the viewers and even stated that Jim Henson was the one who performed him.

Changing Performers

Steve Whitmire assumed the role of Kermit the Frog after Jim Henson passed away. Whitmire's first performance as Kermit was in The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. Kermit appeared at the end of that special. For the next few years, Kermit's function in Muppet productions became reminiscent of his earlier roles in the from Muppetland and other specials, functioning as either narrator or in supporting roles, observing or commenting on the action but rarely as the central focus or starting point of the plot. Examples include his literary parts in The Muppet Christmas Carol, Muppet Treasure Island, and the direct-to-video Muppet Classic Theater. On Muppets Tonight, though Kermit still introduced the guests, he usually played a more detached role, as producer.

As performed by Whitmire, Kermit also hosted the Muppet Sing-Along videos and starred in his own album, Kermit Unpigged. After supporting roles on Muppets Tonight and the 1st 3 Muppet movies made after Jim Henson's death, Kermit became the central character in Kermit's Swamp Years and It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.

Jane Henson reflected on the recasting, in a 1990 interview: "Steve Whitmire as Kermit: "When Jim was alive, he said if anything happened to him, Kermit must go on right away. Because of Kermit's significant place, Jim had essentially chosen who he thought could do it. But we don't want to say who it is before the show. The performer needs time. Kermit won't come back so strong at first. Then little by little, he will get his whole personality back." [7] Before Steve took over Kermit, he did some assistant puppetry by using a remote control device to operate Kermit's hand during The Rainbow Connection number from The Muppet Movie.

John Kennedy performed Kermit for a demonstration at Muppetfest in 2001 (opposite Whitmire's "young Kermit") and in 2006 for Muppets Ahoy! In 2009, Kermit was performed by Artie Esposito during an appearance on America's Got Talent, the MTV Video Music Awards and the second day of the D23 Expo singing "The Rainbow Connection" (Kermit was mute in other footage taped for the event, and absent from subsequent days. It was explained to the audience that this was because he was in New York at the VMAs).

Muppets Tonight


Kermit also sang "Firefly" with Tony Bennett and attempted to sing "I Remember It Well" with Cindy Crawford. On his own, he sang "Once in a Lifetime", "Strolling Through the Park One Day" to Heather Locklear, and "Dancing in the Dark", the latter a flashback to Kermit's short-lived mid-life crisis.










Kermit will be a main character in The Muppets, a new Muppet movie scheduled for release in US theaters November 23rd, 2011. Disney's official description of his role in the film is as follows; "In Disney's The Muppets, Kermit the Frog lives a quiet, solitary life. It's been a few years since the Muppets last performed together and Kermit doesn't realize how much he misses his friends until he's tracked down by Walter, Gary and Mary from Smalltown, USA, and convinced to reunite with the rest of the Muppets to save Muppet Studios.

Returning to the role he made famous in 6 previous Muppet movies, "The Muppet Show" and countless TV specials and internet videos, is Kermit the Frog. "I've played other parts, like Bob Cratchit in The Muppet Christmas Carol and Captain Abraham Smollett in Muppet Treasure Island, says Kermit, "but I think me is my favorite part."



Casting History

Main Performers

Alternate Performers

Awards and Honors


  • The first Kermit puppet was made by Jim Henson's mother's coat and a ping pong ball cut in half.


  5. Video on (Accessed February 17, 2010.)
  7. TV Guide, Nov. 17-23, 1990.

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