After 27 years, beloved puppeteer Steve Whitmire will step down from playing the voice of Kermit the Frog.
Tough Pigs first broke the news of the departure of the Muppets veteran, who began working with the puppet ensemble in 1978 and voicing Kermit and Ernie in 1990 after the death of their original voice actor and creator, Jim Henson. Kill Screen reports that Henson’s son, Brian, chose Matt Vogel to replace Whitmire, though no official reason has been given for the changing of the guard.
Vogel is no stranger to the Muppets universe, either. He’s served for decades as a puppeteer and voice actor for several different characters within the troupe, most notably Big Bird and Constantine, the dastardly Russian Kermit impersonator in the 2014 film, Muppets Most Wanted.
Many fans were predictably devastated by the news of Whitmire’s departure, taking to Twitter to express their disappointment and share their stories of meeting the master puppeteer.
Crushed by the news of #SteveWhitmire leaving #TheMuppets. Trying not to cry. 😢 I wish him the best & hope Disney gets it together already!
— Christine (@3rdshiftweirdo) July 10, 2017
I just wanted to briefly share my own story with #SteveWhitmire. He is as big a fan of the fans, as we are of him. This story shows that… pic.twitter.com/boleySVr6A
— The Muppet Mindset – Now A Part of ToughPigs.com (@MuppetMindset) July 11, 2017
https://twitter.com/MaebeeIam/status/884792056480247808
https://twitter.com/brianjayjones/status/884523455248465923
Vogel will make his Kermit debut in a “Muppets Thought of the Week” video next week, according to the Hollywood Reporter. In the meantime, compare previous Kermit performances from Henson, Whitmire, and longtime understudy Artie Esposito in the compilation below.
H/T BBC News
