James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986).
Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson in 1955. Kermit is the pragmatic everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably as the showrunner and host of the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show and a featured role on Sesame Street. He has appeared in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements through the years. He also served as a mascot of The Jim Henson Company and appeared in various Henson projects until 2004.
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters. Originally owned by the Jim Henson Company for nearly five decades, the franchise was purchased by the Walt Disney Company in 2004.
Frank Oz is an American puppeteer, filmmaker and actor. He is best known for his involvement with Jim Henson and George Lucas through the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Star Wars, as well as his directorial work in feature films and theater.
Jerry Nelson was an American puppeteer, best known for his work with The Muppets. Renowned for his wide range of characters and singing abilities, he performed Muppet characters on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and various Muppet movies and specials.
Statler and Waldorf are a pair of Muppet characters from the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show, best known for their cantankerous opinions and shared penchant for heckling. The two elderly men first appeared in The Muppet Show in 1975, where they consistently jeered the entirety of the cast and their performances from their box seats.
Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, or simply The Electric Mayhem, are an American Muppet rock group that debuted in 1975 on the pilot for the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show. They are the house band for The Muppet Show, with personalities and appearances inspired by prominent real-life rock music and jazz performers. They subsequently appeared in various Muppet films and television specials and have also recorded album tracks and covered numerous songs. The Electric Mayhem consists of Dr. Teeth on vocals and keyboards, Animal on drums, Floyd Pepper on vocals and bass, Janice on vocals and lead guitar, Zoot on saxophone, and Lips on trumpet. The band's members were originally performed by Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, and Steve Whitmire, respectively; they are presently performed by Bill Barretta, Eric Jacobson, Matt Vogel, David Rudman, Goelz, and Peter Linz, respectively.
The Jim Henson Company is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.
The Muppet Movie is a 1979 musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film to feature the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the film was written by The Muppet Show writers Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns. Produced between the first and second half of The Muppet Show's third season, the film tells the origin story of the Muppets, as Kermit the Frog embarks on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles, encountering several of the Muppets—who all share the same ambition of finding success in professional show business—along the way while being pursued by Doc Hopper, a greedy restaurateur with intentions of employing Kermit as a spokesperson for his frog legs business.
It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie is a 2002 American musical fantasy comedy television film directed by Kirk R. Thatcher and written by Tom Martin and Jim Lewis. The film premiered November 29, 2002 on NBC and is the first television film featuring the Muppets.
Rizzo the Rat is a Muppet character from the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show, created and originally performed by Steve Whitmire until 2016.
David Charles Goelz is an American puppeteer, puppet builder and actor, known for his work with the Muppets. As part of the Muppets' performing cast, Goelz performs Gonzo the Great, as well as Dr. Bunsen Honeydew, Waldorf, Zoot and Beauregard, originating on The Muppet Show. Goelz's puppeteering roles also included in Fraggle Rock, The Dark Crystal, and Labyrinth. Outside of puppeteering work, he was also the voice of Figment in the Journey into Imagination with Figment attraction at Epcot.
Richard Hunt was an American puppeteer, best known as a Muppet performer on Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and other projects for The Jim Henson Company. His roles on The Muppet Show included Scooter, Statler, Janice, Beaker, and Sweetums and characters on Sesame Street included Gladys the Cow, Don Music, and Forgetful Jones.
Matthew James Vogel is an American puppeteer, actor and director. Vogel has worked for Sesame Workshop and The Muppets Studio. He has performed for the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Oobi. He has been the performer of Kermit the Frog since 2017 and the full-time performer of Big Bird since 2018.
Jane Ann Henson was an American puppeteer and the wife of Jim Henson.
Peter Linz is an American puppeteer and voice actor. Known for his work with the Muppets, Linz's most prominent role is performing for the character Walter who was introduced in the 2011 feature film The Muppets. Since 1991, Linz has performed on Sesame Street, where he later took on the roles of Herry Monster and Ernie on Sesame Street in 2017. Linz recounts receiving the role of Walter as his favorite; "Apart from my wedding day and birth of my children, being cast as Walter was one of the greatest moments of my life. I was beyond happiness."
John Kennedy is an American puppeteer who has worked with The Jim Henson Company since 1990. He hails from Plainfield, Indiana. From 1991 until 2003, Kennedy took over Jim Henson's role of Dr. Teeth, after which Bill Barretta took over in 2005. Kennedy has also performed Kermit the Frog on Disney Cruise Line, replacing Steve Whitmire.
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson is a one-hour special that aired on CBS on November 21, 1990. The program was a tribute to Muppet creator Jim Henson, who had died earlier in 1990 due to toxic shock syndrome caused by a streptococcus infection, and featured characters from The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and Sesame Street.
The Muppets Present ... Great Moments in American History was a live show located in the Liberty Square area at the Magic Kingdom, performed daily and featured the Muppets presenting abridged accounts of notable milestones from the Colonial era of American history and its majority unfolded from the second-story windows of the Heritage House, adjacent to the Hall of Presidents attraction. The show premiered on October 2, 2016 and went on a brief hiatus on October 5, 2019, before temporarily returning three months later for a brief holiday run from December 23 to 31, 2019 before closing on February 17, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic closure. This was the last Muppets production to feature Steve Whitmire before his dismissal from the role of Kermit and other characters sometime in the same month of October 2016.
