Everything about Kermit The Frog totally explained
Kermit the Frog is a
Muppet, one of
puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous and beloved creations, first introduced in 1955. Kermit was performed by Henson until his death in 1990. Since then he's been performed by
Steve Whitmire. He was voiced by
Frank Welker in
Muppet Babies and occasionally in animation.
Kermit's development
An early version of Kermit appeared in 1955, in a 5-minute puppet show for
WRC-TV's
Sam and Friends. The prototype Kermit was created from a green ladies' coat that Henson's mother had thrown into a refuse bin, and two
ping pong balls for eyes.
Kermit made frequent appearances on
Sesame Street, often as a lecturer, a regular character or a news reporter interviewing nursery rhyme characters for Sesame Street News. He memorably sang the song "
Bein' Green" from this series, as well as a number of other songs. Closely identified with the show
Sesame Street, Kermit appeared frequently enough on the show to be considered a member of the regular cast, often playing a straight man to the humorous antics of another Muppet.
Following the death of Jim Henson, Kermit was used less frequently on
Sesame Street, but still made appearances during the 1990s. Unlike the rest of the show's Muppets, he was never any property of
Sesame Workshop, and was on the show under contract. Thus, when
The Walt Disney Company bought out the character, he'd to stop making new appearances on the show; however, Sesame Workshop does have the rights to rerun old sketches featuring Kermit.
Kermit's song "
The Rainbow Connection" was also a big hit from
The Muppet Movie and, for some time, had become something of a signature song for
The Jim Henson Company.
The Muppet Show
In
The Muppet Show television series, Kermit was the central character, the frontman and the long-suffering
stage manager of the theatre show, trying to keep order amidst the chaos created by the other muppets. It was on this show that the
running joke developed of Kermit being pursued by leading lady
Miss Piggy.
On
Muppets Tonight, Kermit was still a main character, although he was the producer rather than frontman. He appeared in many parody sketches such as NYPD Green, City Schtickers, Flippers, and The Muppet Odd Squad, as well as in the Psychiatrist's Office sketch.
On
April 2,
1979, Kermit guest-hosted
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. That same year Kermit and creator Henson spoke at ventriloquist
Edgar Bergen's funeral. In 1993
Pocket Books published
One Frog Can Make A Difference, Kermit's Guide to Life with Kermit as the author. In 1996, he gave a commencement speech at
Southampton College in which he emphasized his environmentalist side.
Kermit was a semi-regular during the last two seasons of the Tom Bergeron-hosted
Hollywood Squares, continuing a quasi-tradition of Muppets appearing on the game show (
Big Bird and
Oscar the Grouch made several appearances on the original
Squares).
Kermit played a central role in most of the Muppet movies.
Kermit also served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company, until the sale of the Muppet characters to
The Walt Disney Company. Kermit can be seen at the
National Museum of American History.
Guest appearances
Kermit has made a number of guest appearances on other shows. In 1979, Kermit was a guest host for the
Tonight Show, substituting for
Johnny Carson. He continued to make appearances long after
The Muppet Show ended in 1981.
In 1987, Kermit and other Muppet characters co-hosted an
ABC News special which attempted to explain the
stock market and the potentially disquieting events of the
Black Monday stock price decline in a manner that both informed and entertained the audience about the complex subject.
As an
April Fool's joke, Kermit hosted
CNN's
Larry King Live in 1994., and interviewed
Hulk Hogan, who was promoting his television series
Thunder in Paradise, and after accidentally flubbing the wrestler's name immediately exclaimed "Oh boy, I'm in trouble now." Naturally, as the show ended shortly thereafter, Kermit likely didn't wind up in an altercation with Hogan. This wouldn't be the only time Hogan and Kermit shared the same studio. The two co-starred in
Muppets from Space, a 1999 production which told Gonzo's origin as an extraterrestrial. The Kermit episode was replayed in 2004 on the same date. The Muppets were also bought by Disney in 2004, but had also shared the Disney/MGM studios with Hulk Hogan and the entire roster of
WCW, which produced two shows there regularly;
WCW Saturday Night, and
WCW Worldwide throughout much of the 90s, as the Muppets filmed three movies in the Disney/MGM studios:
The Muppet Christmas Carol,
Muppet Treasure Island, and
Muppets from Space.
Kermit served as the grand marshal of
Michigan State University's Homecoming Parade on
September 29,
2006.
In 2000, he also appeared in the audience on a celebrity edition of
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Such was his popularity in the UK that in 2000 he hosted the "1976" episode of the
BBC's nostalgia series
I Love the 70s (amongst other things, he recalled the phenomenon
Mah Nà Mah Nà,
punk rock, Sesame Street,
The Muppet Show, and, naturally,
The Muppet Movie) and even joined fellow American
Ruby Wax for a couple of between-band links at the Queen's Golden Jubilee concert in 2002.
On
February 13,
2001, Kermit appeared on
The Daily Show with
Jon Stewart.
In 2001, Kermit performed alongside
Kylie Minogue on
An audience with Kylie Minogue, where he
dueted with her in a performance of
Especially for You.
Kermit,
Fozzie Bear,
Gonzo, and
Animal appeared in the
Christmas episode of the
30th season of
Saturday Night Live (the last episode of
2004), to rescue
Horatio Sanz from performing his holiday song by himself. Kermit is seen dancing with unusual vigor while the other muppets appear to play instruments.
In
2005, he was the star of a German
BMW commercial
.
In January
2006, in a commercial for the
Ford Escape Hybrid premiering during the
Super Bowl, Kermit was featured singing "Bein' Green"; he's also featured in
Ford's print ads for their
hybrid vehicle. He also has co-starred alongside Miss Piggy and
Jessica Simpson in
Pizza Hut commercials in previous Super Bowl commercials. In previous years, he and Miss Piggy were part of the "We want to race the truck"
UPS ad campaign involving NASCAR driver
Dale Jarrett and his sponsor's "prodding" him to drive a brown UPS truck in a race.
In April 2006, Kermit appeared on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to take over as crew leader for that episode.
He has appeared on several
Vh1 programs, such as
I Love the '70s.
On
May 10,
2006, he was featured in a music video for the
American Idols in
season 5.
On
June 28,
2006, Kermit made a surprise appearance on
Good Morning America for
Charlie Gibson's last appearance as co-anchor of the program. Referring to a picture of Gibson and his family posing with Kermit from a few years earlier that had been shown on the air, Gibson affectionately referred to Kermit as his "adopted son", to which the famed frog began this exchange with Gibson:
Kermit: Dad, can I borrow the car tonight?
Gibson: OK, but stay out of the back seat.
Kermit: With my luck, I'll probably end up in the trunk.
Kermit reappeared at the end of the show, sitting on Gibson's shoulder.
On
August 21,
2007, he appeared as a guest star on the finale show of
America's Got Talent (season 2). Kermit the Frog was the surprise duet singer paired with
Terry Fator. Together, or they sang "
You've Got a Friend".
On November 21, 2007, Kermit appeared on
Turner Classic Movies as a guest programmer.
Kermit was on TVland's greatest icons.
- He made a brief appearance in the movie "Mr Magorium's Wonder Imporeum" where he was seen buying a bunch of toy frogs.
He appeared in an episode of
Deal Or No Deal in NBC's Green Week.
Character biography
On, Kermit commented to
Ty Pennington, "You know, as a tadpole in the swamp, I'd 3,265 brothers and sisters!" According to
Kermit's Swamp Years, at the age of 12, he was the first of his siblings to leave the swamp, and one of the first frogs to talk to humans. In that he's portrayed as encountering a 12-year-old Jim Henson (played by
Christian Kebbel) for the first time.
According to
The Muppet Movie Kermit returned to the swamp, where a passing agent noted he'd talent and, thus inspired, he headed to Hollywood, encountering the rest of the Muppets along the way. Together, they were given a standard "rich and famous" contract by Lew Lord of Wide World Studios and began their showbiz careers. Kermit's favorite pizza topping is green bell peppers.
Filmography
Hey, Cinderella! (1969) (TV)
The Frog Prince (1972) (TV)
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen (1972) (TV)
The Muppet Show (1976-1981) (TV)
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977) (TV)
The Muppet Movie (1979)
The Great Muppet Caper (1981)
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
Follow That Bird (1985)
The Christmas Toy (1986) (TV)
A Muppet Family Christmas (1987) (TV)
The Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990) (TV)
The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
Muppet Treasure Island (1996)
Muppets from Space (1999)
To Tell The Truth (2000) Panelist
Kermit's Swamp Years (2002) (Direct-to-Video)
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) (TV)
The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) (TV)
Extreme Makeover Home Edition (2005) (TV)
America's Got Talent (2007) (TV) seen performing with winner Terry Fator
Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007)
International
Sesame Street is localized for some different markets, and Kermit is often renamed.
In Portugal, he's Cocas, o Sapo (sapo means toad). In Latin America, his name is la rana René (René the Frog). In Spain, Kermit is named Gustavo. In Brazil, his name is Caco, Sapo. In the Arabic Middle Eastern version, he's known as Kamel (not to be confused with the animal, camel - jamal in Arabic. Kamel is a common Arabic male name that means "perfect").
Awards and commemorations
May 19, 1996 at Southampton College, where he also gave a commencement speech.
Kermit was given also given the honor of being the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1996.
On Kermit's 50th anniversary in show business, the United States Postal Service released a set of new stamps with photos of Kermit and some of his fellow Muppets on them. The characters present include Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Sam the Eagle, Statler and Waldorf, *Swedish Chef, Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Beaker, Animal, Rowlf the Dog and Gonzo, accompanied with his beloved Camilla the Chicken. The background of the stamp sheet features a photo of a sillouetted Henson sitting in a window well, with Kermit sitting in his lap looking at him.
Kermit is the only amphibian to have the honor of addressing the Oxford Union.
A statue of Henson and Kermit was erected on the campus of Henson's alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park in 2003.
A statue of Kermit dressed as the Little Tramp sits atop the company's headquarters, the Charlie Chaplin Studios in Los Angeles. Its previous tenant was A&M Records, but it was purchased by the Jim Henson Company following A&M's sale to Interscope Records.
Miscellany
Henson once claimed that Kermit's job on the Muppet Show is much like his own: "trying to get a bunch of crazies to actually get the job done."
In the music video for Keep Fishin' by the band Weezer, most of the major Muppet Show characters made an appearance. Miss Piggy kidnaps Pat, the drummer. Kermit was also featured on two shirts the band issued; one with a spin on the famous "it's not easy being green" statement, changed to "it's not easy being weez" and one featuring Kermit holding a Flying V guitar in front of the =w= Weezer symbol. Kermit also appeared on the cover of the "Keep Fishin'" single.
Kermit the Frog is also featured on a pair of Adidas under the "Adicolor" line first introduced in 1983. The shoe is generally green and features Kermit on the outer side with his signature and of the inner part (Where the arch of someone's foot would be) shows the quote of "It's not easy bein' green"
It has been said by those who have worked with Kermit that he's never seen 'unoperated' and is brought into and out of a set under a black cloth, his operator will only talk as Kermit while performing and never use his own voice - all instructions or comments must be addressed to Kermit - and that his operator will never imitate Kermit's voice when not operating him.
Parodies
Due to his popularity, easy recognizability and distinctive voice, Kermit has become a popular target for parody:
Kermit has been referenced dozens of times on several television series and movies, as Vomiting Kermit on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, on Family Guy, Meet the Feebles, and in the internet fan video Sad Kermit. For a comprehensive list of Kermit parodies, see .
Further Information
Get more info on 'Kermit The Frog'.
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