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The Men Behind the Muppets

They don't face the music, they don't light the lights

The Muppets are everywhere at the moment. They’re doing press conferences, appearing on talk shows, featuring in magazines and generally being treated like the superstars they are.

It’s a fun facade but we all know the real truth, and we feel that the men behind the Muppets deserve some recognition. And yes, we do mean men. As it turns out almost all of the performers that have worked on the new film, the old TV show and everything in between are men... even the voice of Miss Piggy.




Kermit - Jim Henson and Steve Whitmire

Like most of the people in this feature, Steve Whitmire has spent his whole career as a puppeteer on various Jim Henson productions. He has performed (and voiced) three characters on ‘Fraggle Rock’ as well as developing Rizzo the Rat as a character.

He did the voice of Beaker and Statler (as in Waldorf and Statler, the grumpy old Muppet hecklers) following the death of Richard Hunt and retirement of Jerry Nelson, who voiced the characters respectively.  The most famous role he inherited however was that of Muppets leading-frog Kermit, who he has played ever since Jim Henson’s death in 1990.

[Related feature: The forgotten Muppets]

Whitmire first performed Kermit on a show celebrating the legend’s life before going on to filming ‘A Muppet Christmas Carol’ soon after.

In 1999 he described the moment he was asked to take over as Kermit, and said: “I was just overwhelmed by the request. It was a huge honour, and it also just scared the daylights out of me, the thought of trying it.”

Jim Henson had made the role his own in each of the Muppet films prior to ‘Christmas Carol’, as well as leading the team on screen and off. He is creator of the Muppets, Sesame Street and is responsible for everything that followed from ‘Fraggle Rock’ to ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘The Dark Crystal’.

Miss Piggy - Frank Oz and Eric Jacobson


His closest and most famous collaborator was Frank Oz, who was literally the Miss Piggy to Henson’s Kermit and the Bert to his Ernie. The pair made the art of puppeteering what it is today. Oz also voiced Fozzie Bear, Animal and Sam the Eagle before beginning to distance himself from the work to focus on directing.

In an interview with Ain’t it Cool News in 2007 he said, “There were a lot of reasons [that I left]. One was that I was a dad, I have four kids. I was constantly asked to do stuff. And also, I had done this for 30 years, and I had never wanted to be a puppeteer in the first place. I wanted to be a journalist, and really what I wanted to do was direct theatre and direct movies.”



Thanks to an extremely similar vocal range, it was Eric Jacobson who took over each of the roles Frank Oz had performed for so long including Miss Piggy who he still performs to this day. He also plays Grover on ‘Sesame Street’.

Speaking about Jacobson, Dave Goelz (more on him in a second) said in 2011, “When Steve was able to do Kermit, I thought, ‘Wow, we got off lucky there, but if something happens to Frank or he leaves, we'll just be dead.’ Lo and behold, Eric Jacobson, who like Steve had been around for a long time in the Sesame Street performing group, was able to do very credible versions of Frank's characters. He's incredible with Miss Piggy.”

[Related video: Watch a clip from 'The Muppets]

Gonzo the Great - Dave Goelz

Goelz has been a lead Muppet performer for over 35 years. His biggest role is as Gonzo the Great but he also plays Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Dr. Teeth and Electric Mayhem’s saxophonist Zoot and Waldorf following the death of Jim Henson. 

At a two day convention in 2001, naturally called MuppetFest, Goelz said, "Jim led by example. He was so gentle and kind. And he sought everybody out, to the degree that pretty soon the whole studio was a big team."

The supporting muppets

Bill Barretta has been with the company since 1991 and has gone on to be one of its lead performers. He is responsible for three additions to the Muppet roster, The Sinatra style crooner Johnny Fiama, the Muppets’ non-Fozzie bear Bobo the Bear and his most famous creation, Pepe the Prawn, sorry... King Prawn!

Pepe established himself in the often forgotten Muppets film ‘Muppets in Space’ from 1999, in which he takes one of the most prominent roles. Barretta also voices Dr. Teeth, the Swedish Chef, Mahna Mahna (the name of the character who says those famous “words” in the song) and Rowlf the Dog, who strangely enough has spoken out about Barretta.

He said in an interview with Yamaha All Access magazine, “Bill Barretta? That name sure is familiar, but I can't quite place him...Oh, wait a second, is that the fellow who gives me a lift now and then? Sure! Great guy - funny, creative, and I can beat him at cards. What's not to like?"

David Rudman and Matt Vogel round off the principal performers from this year’s ‘The Muppets’. Rudman plays Scooter and Janice while Vogel lends his voice Floyd Pepper, Camilla the Chicken (the love of Gonzo’s life), Sweetums and Crazy Harry.

‘The Muppets’ is in cinemas now.