Steve Whitmire
| Steve Whitmire | |
|---|---|
Whitmire at a White House screening of Muppets Most Wanted in 2014.
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| Born |
Steven Lawrence Whitmire September 24, 1959 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Puppeteer |
| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse(s) | Melissa Whitmire (m. 1978) |
Steven Lawrence "Steve" Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is an American puppeteer and singer, best known for being the performer of Kermit the Frog and, formerly, Ernie—roles he inherited after Jim Henson's death in 1990. Whitmire has been with the Muppets since 1978, 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.
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 fare such as The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth, and Dinosaurs.
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