Happy Birthday, Steve Whitmire!

 Today is Steve Whitmire's birthday. 

Although no longer a Muppet performer, we wish him all the best on his special day. 

He are some Lips bits from over the, including on of his first speaking roles and his last as performed by Steve.

 
Happy Birthday, Steve!

Happy Birthday, Steve Whitmire!

Today is also Steve Whitmire's birthday. While he may not be working with The Muppets anymore, he is out and about talking about his Muppet work at conventions around the country.

Check out a few of his most recent appearances below:

Make sure you go and see Steve Whitmire when he's at a convention near you

Meet Weldon the IT Guy!

Steve Whitmire has been making the convention rounds and hinting at a new character he's been working on. 

That character, Weldon the IT Guy. 

 

The "IT" stands for internet troll and the little guy made his debut this weekend by "hacking" Steve Whitmire's social media and website! 

The interesting thing is Steve is performing him live as people call in to talk to Weldon. 

The series is titled CAVE-iN and you can watch the premiere episode: "Welcome to the mob" below:

You can find more into about Weldon (and Steve) on Steve's website. 

Happy Birthday, Steve Whitmire!

Celebrate Steve Whitmire's birthday by checking out  a few clips from some of the many characters he created. 

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Great Philadelphia Comic Con Round Up!

The Great Philadelphia Comic Con roared into the Philly suburbs this weekend bringing Henson performers Caroll Spinney, Hugh Spight, and Steve Whitmire with it.

You may not be familiar with Hugh, but he was inside the Mystic UrAmaj the Cook, as well as one of the Landstriders.

I had a great conversation with Hugh were he informed me that soon after closing the landstrider costume something happened and smoke started to fill the costume. Thankfully they were able to contain the issue, get the smoke out, and continue filming, but he said it was a very harrowing incident that he wasn't sure at the time he would escape from. 

Below is Hugh sticking his head out from his Mystic, and the full cast and crew of The Dark Crystal.

The always wonderful Caroll Spinney was there as well as part of a farewell tour. He's having a hard time health wise these days. I'm glad he's made plans to let fan's get to meet him one last time, but it's easy to see why this is his final round of cons. If you're able to do so, be sure to get to one of his stops.

Speaking of Caroll, this Saturday the Henson Studios is hosting a celebration of Carol's career as part of fundraiser for The Center for Puppetry Arts. 

The con was severely lacking Muppet merch, though there were a few items to be found it you looked closely enough.

Of course at cons like this there's cosplay. The best, by far though, was this amazing Sprocket puppet made by a fan named Stephanie. The detail and shear massiveness of it was amazing. 

 

A comic con wouldn't be much be with out comic artists and the talented Jay Fosgitt was there to fill the Henson comic niche.

Finally, Steve Whitmire not only had a booth at the show, but was the star of a panel as well. 

While I was not at the con the day of his panel, William L. Bozarth was nice enough to record the whole thing.

The con even included Steve and Hugh, but not Caroll for some reason, in a deck of con guest cards. 

Here's hoping The Great Philadelphia Comic Con gets more great Henson performers next year!

Muppet Performers Invade The Great Philadelphia Comic Con!

The Great Philadelphia Comic Con begins this weekend with quite a selection of Henson talent. 

Just look at the amazing people they lined up:

CAROLL SPINNEY WILL BE APPEARING FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.

Caroll Spinney is the beloved Muppeteer who has performed as Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird in more than 4,000 Sesame Street episodes. 

Beginning with the show’s very first episode in 1969, Spinney shaped a personality for Jim Henson’s oversized bird puppet.

Spinney’s rich puppetry career began when he was eight years old and put on puppet shows using a secondhand puppet and a stuffed green snake. His interest continued into adulthood, and in 1958 he began his puppetry career on The Judy and Goggle Show. 

Sesame Street television specials have taken Spinney to China, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and he has performed on a number of other shows, including 141 episodes of Hollywood Squares. He has earned four Emmys, two Gold Records, and two Grammy Awards. In 2000, the Library of Congress declared Spinney, as Big Bird, a “Living Legend.”

With J Milligan, he wrote the 2003 book The Wisdom of Big Bird (and the Dark Genius of Oscar the Grouch): Lessons from a Life in Feathers. 

Most recently, Spinney received the Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award from the National Association of Television Arts and Sciences. He is also an accomplished artist and lecturer. 

This year is Caroll’s Farewell Tour, celebrating over 50 years of bringing joy and education to the children in all of us. Be sure to not miss this last chance opportunity to meet him.

HUGH SPIGHT WILL BE APPEARING  FRIDAY, SATURDAY, AND SUNDAY.

In 1982 Hugh Spight spent six weeks at Elstree Studios filming in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. But he believes his chance at fame was shot down when his name was misspelled during the credits, renaming him Hugh Spirit.

Spight played several small background roles in the film—a pig-like Gamorean guard and an Elom monster. Originally trained in ballet dancing, Spight made it on to the Star Wars set after he was spotted next door on the set of Muppet-creator Jim Henson’s movie The Dark Crystal.

Mr Spight’s biggest role is as the Gamorrian guard who escorts Han Solo into captivity. He said: “We were on Jabba the Hutt’s barge and in those scenes I was the one who had my hand on the shoulder of Harrison Ford. “We had to take him down to the dungeon.”

Spight also portrayed several roles in Classic Doctor Who, including the iconic black Dalek in the Seventh Doctor story “Remembrance of the Daleks” with Sylvester McCoy and Sophie Aldred.

 

STEVE WHITMIRE WILL BE APPEARING FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY.

Steve Whitmire is a voice actor and puppeteer best known for his career with The Muppets as Kermit the Frog, Ernie, Statler, Rizzo the Rat, Beaker, Wembley Fraggle, Bean Bunny, and Sprocket. Since starting on The Muppet Show in 1978, Whitmire has performed in almost every major Henson company project, including all Muppet and Sesame Street related film and television appearances, as well as non-Muppet fare such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and Dinosaurs.

Steve began his Muppet career as Rizzo the Rat, Lips, Foo-Foo, and Fletcher Bird on the original The Muppet Show in 1978. He was skekTek the Scientist in The Dark Crystal, and starred in Fraggle Rock as Wembley Fraggle, Sprocket, Marlon Fraggle, Flange Doozer, Murray the Minstrel, Papa Tree Creature, and Crusty Doozer. In 1986 he originated the role of Bean Bunny, and worked on Labyrinth as The Four Guards (puppetry only), Firey 4 (puppetry only), and Ambrosius (puppetry only). Following the death of Jim Henson in 1990 he inherited the roles of Kermit the Frog and Ernie.

Steve worked on Dinosaurs from 1991 – 1994 as B.P. Richfield (puppetry), Robbie Sinclair (face), Chief Elder (face), Mr. Mason Dixon, Sonny Woody, Blarney, and Judge H.T. Stone (puppetry). Following the death of Richard Hunt and the retirement of Jerry Nelson, Whitmire left the role of Ernie on Sesame Street in 2014 to focus on Kermit for The Muppets television series. Whitmire ended his relationship with The Muppets in July 2017 after an almost 40 year career.

Not only do they have Henson performers, but Henson comic artist, and super fan Jay Fosgitt will be there too!

Jay Fosgitt

Jay P. Fosgitt has drawn for many familiar properties, such as SESAME STREET and DREAMWORKS ANIMATION MAGAZINE (Ape Entertainment), MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE/MICRONAUTS/TRANSFORMERS and POPEYE (IDW), ADVENTURE TIME, THE AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL, and JIM HENSON’S LABYRINTH and THE DARK CRYSTAL(Boom), BETTY AND VERONICA and LITTLE SABRINA (Archie), and ROCKET RACCOON AND GROOT, AVENGERS, GWENPOOL, WEB WARRIORS, CHAMPIONS, DEADPOOL, JESSICA JONES and NOT BRAND ECHH (Marvel). Jay has also written and drawn his creator-owned titles DEAD DUCK AND ZOMBIE CHICK (Source Point Press), NECRONOMICOMICS (Rue Morgue) and BODIE TROLL (Boom). He resides in Plymouth, Michigan with his cat, Goonie.

It's worth noting that this is Steve Whitmire's first con, and part of Caroll's final tour. They will be holding panels and you can get a professional photo taken with both Steve, Caroll, Steve AND Caroll and Hugh!

If you're in the Philadelphia area make sure to come out and see them!

Tickets and info can be found out and using these links. 
You may even see a few familiar fans there there too!

Steve Whitmire and Cheryl Henson on Today Show!

The Disney/Henson/ Whitmire feud hit the Today show this morning.

For some reason we're having trouble embedding the clips directly into the post you, but watch them at the links below.

First, Today interviewed Cheryl Henson at the Museum Of The Moving Image's new Jim Henson exhibit

In part two, Steve was there in studio to comment in person about in his firing.

Adorkable Rachel Reacts to Steve Whitmire's Departure!

Our friend Rachel is back with a tribute to Steve Whitmire's work with The Muppets.

More Details Emerge in The Rift Between Disney/Henson and Whitmire!

Last night The New York Times posted an article on the ongoing war between Disney, The Henson Family, and Steve Whitmire over his firing.

The executives gave two reasons for the decision, Mr. Whitmire recalled.

“They were uncomfortable with the way I had handled giving notes to one of the top creative executives on the series,” Mr. Whitmire said, referring to “The Muppets,” the most recent television revival of the franchise, which aired on ABC for one season, ending in March 2016.

“Nobody was yelling and screaming or using inappropriate language or typing in capitals,” he said. “It was strictly that I was sending detailed notes. I don’t feel that I was, in any way, disrespectful by doing that.”

The second reason, he said, had to do with a small video shoot involving Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy and an outside company, which Mr. Whitmire declined to name, that took place more than a year before the phone call. There was a contract dispute between the Screen Actors Guild, of which Mr. Whitmire is a member, and Disney over how much the performers behind the puppets should be paid. Eventually, the union advised Mr. Whitmire not to do the project. Mr. Whitmire agreed.

After the phone call with the Muppets Studio executives, Mr. Whitmire said he had a lawyer approach Disney executives afterward to propose adding a provision to future contracts saying he would never give creative feedback again or talk to the union again while a deal was being negotiated. Disney declined the offer, Mr. Whitmire said, and he soon found himself separated from his life’s work.

Henson’s family, which still runs the Jim Henson Company, chose Mr. Whitmire to replace Henson as Kermit in 1990 after Henson unexpectedlydied of pneumonia at the age of 53. Some of those same family members say they supported the decision to replace Mr. Whitmire, though they are no longer involved with the Muppets.

“He played brinkmanship very aggressively in contract negotiations,” Lisa Henson, president of the Jim Henson Company, and Jim Henson’s daughter, said in a telephone interview.

Ms. Henson said Mr. Whitmire was adamantly opposed to having an understudy for his role, which presented problems when it came to what she called “B-level performances, such as a ribbon-cutting.” She said he was unwilling to appear on some of these occasions but also refused to develop an understudy and that he “blackballed young performers” by refusing to appear on the show with them.

Brian Henson, the company’s chairman and Jim Henson’s son, said that while Mr. Whitmire’s Kermit was “sometimes excellent, and always pretty good,” things changed when he was off set.

“He’d send emails and letters attacking everyone, attacking the writing and attacking the director,” he said.

You can read the full article here.

Muppets Studio and Cheryl Henson Release Statements!

While Steve Whitmire is making his case on his personal blog, both Disney's Muppets Studio and now Cheryl Henson have released statements of their own regarding his firing.

Our friends at Tough Pigs received this statement from The Muppets Studio:

The role of Kermit the Frog is an iconic one that is beloved by fans and we take our responsibility to protect the integrity of that character very seriously. We raised concerns about Steve’s repeated unacceptable business conduct over a period of many years and he consistently failed to address the feedback. The decision to part ways was a difficult one which was made in consultation with the Henson family and has their full support.

That support from the Henson family seems to be confirmed with this Facebook post from Cheryl Henson:

 

Steve Whitmire: "The Muppet Performers are not Interchangeable"

Steve Whitmire continued to use his new social media platform over the weekend, posted two new blog posts. 

First he address some fan questions:

The Latenight Double Feature ‘Post’ Show

Second Show

Website Woes: Notifying all of you who have asked is not quite working, but I’m trying to figure it out…

Having read literally every comment left on the first post, I want to point out one left by Peter A. Cancilla. If you’re interested here are the answers to the questions he poses:

Are you burnt-out and disillusioned?
Burnt-out, no. Disillusioned, yes. Or maybe a better term is disappointed. I firmly stand by my belief that the needs of a large corporation can indeed be balanced with the creative needs of an anomalous franchise like the Muppets. In my opinion, this relationship should be the very definition of symbiosis, and though these two factors have often appeared to be seemingly irreconcilable, the integration of Jim Henson’s essentials with doing business progressively and effectively has been my primary goal for the Muppets over the last dozen years within Disney.

At this point what is your desire? Do you feel taking an indefinite break from a ‘Muppets’ you possibly no longer recognize may be the only option for your peace of mind? Or, if given the chance would you jump back into the work and continue pushing for the tone and personality you know to be appropriate for these sacred characters even if you cannot win every battle?

You’re correct that the Muppets are fast becoming something I no longer recognize, but my desire stays the same: to continue doing what I think is best for the Muppets to whatever extent and on whatever level I am asked. If that means doing nothing more than performing Kermit and the other characters in which I am established and forsaking the offering of unsolicited input, then so be it.

For the record, I officially offered to do exactly that within that first telephone call, a second time by communicating it through my attorney, and I committed to memorializing it in writing. It was flatly refused. Do with that what you will

…More tomorrow. Best to you all!

But it was his later post that really got people's attention.
The Muppet Performers are not Interchangeable.

Muppet Performers are not created equal, and that’s a good thing! We all bring unique strengths to the ensemble. That’s why we never switch around characters between us (except to stand in) because, despite all the conjecture, there is actually no such thing as Jim’s Kermit and Steve’s Kermit – There is only Kermit.

He either shows up intact with all his historical mental faculties at his disposal, or it isn’t him. This is true for each of the Muppets. Anything else is manufactured, and the Muppets haven’t lasted for all these years without fully showing up. When they haven’t, you’re not shy about pointing that out. Neither am I, and we’ll talk more about that soon.

For discussion purposes, lets split the present-day core Muppet Performers into two broad categories. We’ll call them the ‘Jim-Era Performers’ and the ‘Post-Jim Performers’, those Jim chose to bring in himself, and those who were chosen in a variety of ways after his death.

It’s a real blessing that the Post-Jim performers are brilliant and devoted to doing the best they can to preserve Jim’s legacy by carrying on classic characters as faithfully as they know how. At the same time, they never knew Jim or Richard, and barely worked with Frank if at all, so when it comes to those characters, the starting point in assuming the roles is often limited to their observations as fans. Now, it’s not that fans don’t know who the characters are, they do; you do. It’s just that our job as the linear souls of the Muppets is different than your job as the impassioned viewers.

As fans, you can interpret the characters however you please in whatever way you relate to them. When you sense that something is off, you don’t have to fix it, but I do. It’s up to the Muppet Performers to be purposely maintaining the consistency of the characters they perform. That’s because beyond owners, producers, directors, and writers, that singular performer will be the ongoing thread in the life of a character indefinitely. 

Once even the most educated and devoted fan is charged with inhabiting one of the core characters that has its origins in another performer, it becomes necessary to gain as much knowledge of the interior depth of that character and that original performer as possible. 

The point is that there is so much vital and significant knowledge that was gained by the dwindling few of us who consistently stood next to Jim. From his characters to his methods and philosophies, it’s stuff you can never fully intuit from watching the Muppets. I know that to be true because I, too, was a completely obsessive Muppet fan with preconceived notions of my own that had to be unlearned when Jim hired me in 1978. 

I approach The Muppets as a lineage tradition. For the inside knowledge-base steeped in its origins to survive and be passed down, there has to be a line of transmission, or you had to be there. For the Post-Jim performers to really understand enough about the Muppets to carry on the lineage they need to continue to be around the core performers Jim mentored as long as any of those people are willing and able to share. 

None of this is a value judgement of any individual, it is a pointing out of the value of historical perspective so long as that perspective is used progressively. Having had the opportunity to spend the last 27 years cultivating knowledge of Jim along with feeling his presence through Kermit, I find myself at a place where evolving Jim’s vision has begun coming from a deep empathetic connection to him. 

So, I see my most important task as providing a taste of the atmosphere created by Jim Henson to those Post-Jim core performers who will never otherwise come by it. My hope was to install it directly into their hearts and minds so that they could, in turn, be inspired to do the same for the next generation of performers instead of the characters becoming stale copies of their former selves. But, as I look around at what is presently transpiring it’s clear to me that the job is far from done.

The takeaways from both are that Steve is not only reading and really hearing your  your questions and concerns, he was/ is trying to make the Muppets the best they can be, he's not liking the way things are headed.  The very headline of his second post "The Muppet Performers are not Interchangeable" is eerily similar to the "One frog one voice" campaign fans circulated when Disney first bought the franchise. Back then they planned to have different "Muppet" performers in the parks, cruise ships and other meet-and greet areas.

The campaign worked and Disney struck a compromise with the recently unveiled live show at Walt Disney World "The Muppets Present… Great Moments in American History!" Local puppeteers not only do the show to pre-recorded tracks, but are also trained by the Muppet performers themselves.

This time around someone has created a Change.org petition asking Disney to reverse its decision. Who knows. It's worked before!

Steve Whitmire Responds To Departure!

Our friends at ToughPigs discovered what appears to be a newly created blog by non other than Steve Whitmire. 

While the blog has yet to be verified, the bio sounds very authentic:

About Me

When I was a kid growing up in Atlanta, I’d beg my parents to let me stay up to see Rowlf the Dog on The Jimmy Dean Show. Though I was only five, I distinctly recall his large, black mouth on our black and white television, and thinking it was something you could climb inside of. Little did I know…Even then, I knew he was a puppet, but I was mesmerized by the ‘magic’ of how he was able to do what he did. 

The Muppets have been a part of my whole life, and by the time I was ten they became an undeniable calling. After nine teenage years of being the nerdy puppet guy, I met Carroll Spinney at a puppetry festival and after seeing my puppets he suggested I contact Jim Henson to audition. I joined The Muppets less than a year later in 1978 at age nineteen and was involved in virtually every Muppet endeavor up to 2016. Who knows what the future will hold…that’s what the edit button is for. 

Though I may be most well known as Jim’s choice to step in as Kermit the Frog, in all honesty arguably my favorite work goes straight back to Rowlf when I would assist Jim as Rowlf’s piano playing hands. 

My immediate goal for this blog is to leave anyone interested in the Muppets at any level, past, present, or future, with the deepest possible understanding of my discoveries in taking the intangibles of Jim’s unique methodologies and giving them a basis in fact.

Still the nerdy puppet guy at heart,
S

That certainly sound like same guy that took this photo as a kid:

 In his first post, Steve directly addresses the issue of his leaving The Muppets.  

It’s Time To Get Things Started…

Dear Friends, 

In 1978 when I was asked to join The Muppet Show, the Muppets were the hottest thing on the planet. I was invited to sit at the feet of the true masters, Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and Dave Goelz; working alongside them, absorbing different skills from each, as we, along with many talented others, contributed towards the same shared vision, the vision of one man. The result became a skill-set for myself that was sort of a compilation of the best of them all. 

For me the Muppets are not just a job, or a career, or even a passion. They are a calling, an urgent, undeniable, impossible to resist way of life. This is my life’s work since I was 19 years old. I feel that I am at the top of my game, and I want all of you who love the Muppets to know that I would never consider abandoning Kermit or any of the others because to do so would be to forsake the assignment entrusted to me by Jim Henson, my friend and mentor, but even more, my hero.

As I am sure you can imagine, I have experienced every possible emotion since October 2016, when I received a phone call from The Muppets Studio’s executives to say they were recasting. Through a new business representative, I have offered multiple remedies to their two stated issues which had never been mentioned to me prior to that phone call. I wish that we could have sat down, looked each other in the eye, and discussed what was on their minds before they took such a drastic action. 

I have remained silent the last nine months in hopes that the Disney company might reverse their course. Doing what is best for the Muppets is the lens through which all my interactions have been filtered. Given the opportunity I remain willing to do whatever is required to remedy their concerns because I feel my continued involvement with the characters is in the best interest of the Muppets. 

For decades, you have been an invaluable partner in co-creating the existence of the Muppets, and I am humbled by your devotion to them. There is so much more for us to talk about so I have created this site as a place to connect and share on all things Muppet, past, present and future. 

Please forgive any faux pas as I have not been active in social media previously and have a serious learning curve. I just want you all to know that I am sorry if I have disappointed any of you at any point throughout our journey, and to let everyone know that I am devastated to have failed in my duty to my hero.

It appears this was Disney's decision and not just Steve "retiring" or "moving on." There's still a part of me that hopes there is a way for reconciliation between them.

I hope Steve continues to be the beacon of light that Jim, Jane and the whole Henson team knew he could be, whether or not that light is in the frog or not. 

Steve Whitmire "No longer working with the Muppets."

Our friends at ToughPigs and The Muppet Mindset (thanks for reaching out to us BTW) have finally put to rest the rumors that have been swirling around the Muppet fan community for months:

Steve Whitmire is "No longer working with the Muppets."

That is the statement they received from the folks at Disney when asked. 

We here at Muppet Stuff heard this a few months ago from a VERY reliable source. Despite the growing concern among fans, we were politely asked to keep it quiet. 

Steve Whitmire and I in 2002

It looks like the cat (or frog) is now out of the bag. While we won't get into the details we heard - let's consider them office gossip and not worthy of our time - it still comes as a shock.

We, like the rest of you were still holding out hope that this was merely a rumor, temporary, or just a matter of scheduling and convenience. 

The news to us, is that instead of hiring a new performing or elevating the ranks of a current assistant puppeteer, Matt Vogel will be Kermit the Frog's new right hand man. We'll also get to see the first footage of Matt's as Kermit in next week's “Muppets Thought of the Week” video.

Whitmire had been with The Muppets since the third season of The Muppet Show where he originated the roles of Rizzo and Lips. He was personally selected to take over Kermit after Jim Henson passed away in 1990.  

Steve recently also stepped down from his role as Ernie on Sesame Street where he was replaced by Billy Barkhurst.

There's no word yet on replacements on Whitmire's other characters or if he will work with The Henson company on their much delayed Fraggle Rock feature film.

We wish Steve all the best. He's been a great steward of Kermit and all characters he's played with The Muppets for the last 40 years.