Clifford (Muppet)

The Muppets are a group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson who have appeared in multiple television series and films since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed here originated on The Muppet Show, a television series that aired from 1976 to 1981. Since then, several more characters have been introduced in other television series, as well as theatrical films.

The first Muppet characters appeared in Sam and Friends, a Washington, D.C.-based show which was broadcast from 1955 to 1961. Kermit the Frog was one of the show's regulars, and thus was one of Henson's first Muppet creations. The characters became a household name after their appearance in the children's television program Sesame Street. Henson was initially reluctant to become involved with Sesame Street because he feared being pigeon-holed as a children's performer, but agreed to work on the show to further his social goals. The characters created for that series are now owned by the Sesame Workshop, the producers of Sesame Street, and are now considered a separate franchise.

These characters have been owned by The Walt Disney Company since 2004, when Disney acquired them from The Jim Henson Company, and formed a division called The Muppets Studio to manage the franchise.

A pragmatic frog who is the protagonist and de facto leader of the Muppet ensemble. Created by Jim Henson and introduced in 1955 on Sam and Friends, Kermit quickly became the de facto face of the early franchise, including regularly appearing on Sesame Street, sometimes as a reporter. He starred on The Muppet Show, as the showrunner, responsible for managing the show's production, and has appeared in every Muppet branded production since. Henson was Kermit's performer from his debut until Henson's death in 1990. Steve Whitmire assumed the role and has continued to perform Kermit since then.

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