For 27 years this is what Kermit the Frog sounded like.
It's the Muppet Show with our very special guest star Mr.
Steve Martin!
Here's what he sounds like now.
I know it seems like we've already given everything
we can, but if we don't give a little more,
we could lose the whole theater.
In 2017, Disney and the Jim Henson Company
fired and replaced Steve Whitmire for his role as Kermit
the Frog and replaced him with Big Bird's puppeteer and voice
actor, Matt Vogel.
According to Disney, Steve Whitmire
was replaced for unacceptable business conduct.
According to Steve Whitmire, he was
trying to protect the integrity of the character.
The phrase creative differences isn't just
a blanket statement companies make to justify a termination.
Sometimes peoples' visions just don't line up.
In any creative process, the ability to compromise
is an absolutely crucial component.
And without it, your project might be up a creek
without a banjo.
But before we dive in, be sure to like and subscribe
to Nerdstalgic.
If you haven't done so already.
Kermit the Frog made his first appearance in 1955,
on one of Jim Henson's first television shows
titled Sam and Friends.
What'll it be ma'am?
I'd like an omelet, a western omelet.
I'm sorry, but we didn't get a delivery of eggs this morning.
He was likely more lizard-like an appearance.
But eventually, it was established
that he was in fact, a frog.
In 1969, Kermit served as one of the main characters
on Sesame Street.
And in 1974, the Muppet Show was released
and Kermit the Frog exploded into the cultural zeitgeist
as sort of the everyman character.
Serving as an anchor for some, to the Muppets
more insane characters.
After Jim Henson passed away the role
was passed on to Muppet puppeteer, Steve Whitmire.
Who at the time was performing in the role of Rizzo the Rat.
Wait, wait a second, you're going to ask Cindy Crawford out
on a date?
[HIGH PITCHED LAUGHTER]
He would hold on to the role for nearly three decades.
If you do anything for 27 years, odds
are that you're going to feel a sense of ownership
over whatever it is you're doing.
Especially when you've worked so hard to get to where you are.
Puppeteering is much, much different
from acting in front of a camera or on a stage,
in the sense that, voices and puppets don't age.
You're never too old or too young to voice a character.
This allows voice actors and puppeteers
to essentially hold onto their roles until one of three things
happen.
One reason performers leave their roles
is that they get fired.
This could occur for any number of reasons, performance issues,
showing up late, fighting with production staff,
being unprofessional.
The normal reason someone would get fired at a job.
A less frequent scenario is that the performer
gets tired or bored and moves on to another project.
This doesn't happen often.
These performers work frequently.
And only a handful of people at the top of their field,
get the big roles.
If you look at any successful puppeteers IMDb page,
you will likely see hundreds of credits.
They can work often and they can work for decades.
Their bodies age much faster than their voices,
so someone like Steve Whitmire could have likely voiced
Kermit the Frog in perpetuity.
The final reason these performers leave
is that well, they die.
However, death in the world of puppeteering
is a strange process.
Sometimes the performers themselves,
or in the case of Kermit the Frog, the family
members of the deceased performer
choose the successor to the respective roles.
Steve Whitmire was chosen by Jim Henson's family
to succeed the man himself, Jim Henson.
And those are some pretty big shoes to fill.
When you take the fact that Steve Whitmire was chosen
by the Henson's and add in with the fact
that he'd been working as Kermit the Frog for 27 years,
it starts to make sense as to why
he may feel a sense of ownership over the character.
Puppeteers grow attached to the character they play.
And often refer to the characters
as if they were family members or best friends.
Whether or not this mentality is healthy is up for debate.
But if a bunch of people came along and started
changing your best friend's personality,
you'd probably say something about it.
It might even make you angry.
And anger can turn into hostility very, very quickly.
Of course it's an orange I just told you it was an orange!
Me guess right, me get cookie.
Give me cookie.
No, you don't get a cookie.
When Disney acquired the Muppets from Jim Henson Studios
in 2004, it was clear that they had
big plans for the characters.
After all, Kermit the Frog is essentially
the Mickey Mouse of puppetry.
In 2011, the Muppets starring Jason Segal, was released.
And it gave new life to the iconic characters,
who younger audiences were losing interest in.
They spawned a sequel in 2014, and it
seemed like the Muppets were here to stay.
In 2015, things really started to change for the Muppets,
their eponymous TV series began airing on ABC primetime
and it just felt different.
It felt more adult and complicated
than the Muppets usually felt, their signature wackiness
and silliness was replaced with weird relationship dynamics
and interpersonal drama.
It didn't feel like fun, it felt like a second rate
version of The Office.
How about we film the series in that crazy handheld documentary
style and have cutaways to one on one interviews?
Well, that's terrific Floyd.
It was particularly strange for Kermit the Frog, who
was caught in this weird love triangle
between a sort of abusive ex-girlfriend
and a new romantic partner.
It just didn't feel like Muppets, to anyone.
The new format and new direction did not resonate well
with audiences, and the show was canceled
after just 17 episodes.
Have you seen it?
Well, I-- I-- I believe you know the answer to that question.
You are not taking this seriously enough.
This would be the last time that Steve Whitmire provided
the voice of Kermit the Frog.
During production of the ABC series,
Steve Whitmire was apparently a complete nightmare
to work with.
The two stated reasons for which he was fired
were, giving unwanted notes during the production
process and a union dispute.
Whitmire stated that Disney felt he
was being disrespectful toward a handful of creatives
during the production process.
While Whitmire denied that he was
coming from a place of disrespect, he did extrapolate.
"I have been outspoken about what's best for the Muppets
since The Muppets came to Disney.
But the fact is, I have respect for everyone who
was involved in the creation of that series,
for their own particular contributions.
At the same time, I also have insight into the limitations,
with respect, on how well they know the Muppets."
It's in the latter half of the statement
where Steve Whitmire really shoots himself in the foot.
He's basically saying, he knows what is better for the Muppets
than the owner of the Muppets.
While they were trying to take these characters in sort of,
bold new directions Whitmire was fighting against them
every step of the way.
Disney paints a different picture of Whitmire's last days
as Kermit.
They stated that the actor exhibited unacceptable business
conduct, and that he was overly hostile, and unproductive.
And that after consultation with the Henson family
they determined it would be best to terminate Steve Whitmire's
relationship with Kermit the Frog.
Whitmire then sort of, doubled down on his stance
stating that, "We have been doing
these characters for a long, long time
and we know them better than anybody.
I thought I was aiding to keep it on track,
and I think a big reason why the show was canceled
was because that didn't happen.
I'm not saying my notes would have saved it,
but I think had they listened more to all of the performers,
it would have made a really big difference."
Steve Whitmire felt entitled.
And he likely grew too close to his character over the three
decades he spent with Kermit.
So it might be true that he took these changes to Kermit
as a direct attack on himself.
The union dispute was likely the icing on the cake as far
as decision to terminate Steve Whitmire goes.
There was a dispute in contract classifications
between SAG AFTRA and Disney's Department of Labor Relations.
This seemed to get resolved rather quickly,
but was likely used to bolster support
for Whitmire's termination.
Whitmire was then replaced by Matt Vogel,
who was an aspiring puppeteer.
Who was hand chosen by Jerry Nelson
to take over his characters which included,
Count Von Count, Snuffleupagus, and Lew Zealand among others.
Ah, ah, aah!
[THUNDER AND LIGHTENING SOUND EFFECTS]
Whitmire says he doesn't hold any ill feelings toward Matt
over the transition but he does sound confused.
In Steve Whitmire's mind, he was doing the right thing
and trying to protect something that Jim Henson created.
But the Muppets don't belong to Jim Henson anymore.
Now, Disney does their due diligence
in honoring the Henson legacy by keeping
his family on as consultants, but they don't have to.
If Disney wanted to change Kermit the Frog
colors to hot pink tomorrow they could do it
and it would be their right to do so.
They don't because they are truly
seeking to honor the character while expanding
upon an idea of what the character could actually be.
Steve Whitmire was also trying to do what
was best for the character.
One side was looking forward and trying
to connect the Muppets to a new audience
and the other was trying to preserve
the historical integrity of the franchise.
Without a compromise or at least a willingness to find one,
you just can't get anything done.
Times change, directors change, visions change,
if our characters can't change with them
they will get left behind or even worse,
forgotten about entirely.
Compromise and a willingness to experiment
are absolutely crucial to a franchise's growth.
And when a performer is unwilling to commit
to doing both of those things and honor the vested interest
of the most powerful entertainment company
on the planet it doesn't matter who you are,
you're going to get replaced.
All right, thanks for watching this episode of Nerdstalgic.
Stick around and check out one of the other episodes
on the screen and we'll see you in the next one.