Steve Whitmire
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| Steve Whitmire | |
|---|---|
| Born | Steven Whitmire September 24, 1959 near Atlanta, Georgia[1] |
| Occupation | Puppeteer |
| Years active | 1978-present |
| Spouse | Melissa Whitmire |
Steven Whitmire (born 24 September 1959) is an American puppeteer. He works for The Jim Henson Company, Sesame Workshop and Disney's The Muppets Studio.
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[edit] Early life
Whitmire was born near Atlanta, Georgia. During childhood, he professed interest in puppetry. While in high school at Berkmar High School, Whitmire's nickname was "Kermit" because of his interest in the Muppets. He built his own crude version of Henson's alter ego, and performed the character at high school talent shows and choral recitals.
[edit] Career
Whitmire first appeared on local Atlanta TV with his then alter ego 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, voice of 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 feature films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth and the ABC television series Dinosaurs.
[edit] Characters performed
Whitmire has been the performer of two signature Muppets — Kermit the Frog and Ernie from Sesame Street — since the death of their creator and original performer Jim Henson in 1990.
Muppet characters original to Whitmire include Rizzo the Rat, Lips (the trumpet player from Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem), Foo-Foo (Miss Piggy's beloved dog), Fraggle Rock's Wembley Fraggle, and Bean Bunny.
Following the death of puppeteer Richard Hunt and the practical retirement of Jerry Nelson, Whitmire took over the roles of Beaker and Statler. He also voiced Link Hogthrob in the Muppet RaceMania and Muppet Party Cruise video games. He also, recently performed Hogthrob for the 2011 movie The Muppets. The appearance featured the first speaking appearance of the puppet ever since the death of Jim Henson, the original performer of the character. Hogthrob appears in several scenes in the background and gets a moment in the spotlight as part of a barbershop quartet, singing "Smells Like Teen Spirit".
[edit] Public appearances
Whitmire appeared with Kermit at the National Puppetry Festival on July 15, 2011 in Atlanta.
[edit] References
- ^ "Ratting Out", Muppet Central, 1999. Accessed 24 November 2009.
[edit] External links
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