Steve Whitmire has left the Muppets, Matt Vogel to continue as Kermit

[MuppetSpot]

Though I think Beaker is going to be passed on to David Rudman.

 

[wiley207]

Though I think Beaker is going to be passed on to David Rudman.

That wouldn't surprise me, as David Rudman has taken over many of Richard Hunt's characters. (I'd like to see him take on Forgetful Jones some day!)
Though I think Rickey Boyd could make a good Beaker. Listen to his performance as Bag in the short-lived "Big Bag" TV series from the 90s; the voice is a LOT like Beaker, except he doesn't just sound like "meep meep meep meep meep," but tries speaking English with a noticeable speech impediment.

 

[muppetperson]

Wow, this is major news to wake up to.

 

[Daffyfan4ever]

Yeah. I guess now I know why no one answered my last post, since we're all so concerned with this. When I saw that post the other day, I was concerned. Like I said, I noticed Steve/Kermit has been phasing out of recent Muppet appearances, but I was hoping that maybe he was just taking time off and the post about him leaving was just a rumor. This is a big disappointment. But at least Disney gave us a heads up rather than pulling the same thing they did back on "America's Got Talent" in 2009. Plus it would have been nice if we had been given an advanced warning about Ernie being recast as well. (I still don't know if they're still planning on recasting him again and if so, why. Billy Backhurst doesn't really have anything to do with this.) Also, Steve has done a great job as Kermit over the past 27 years and we can always look back at older DVDs and videos, I might watch a few when I have time as a tribute. Steve's Kermit will be remembered as much as Jim's will. I wish Steve the best of luck in future projects.

 

[Muppet Master]

Oh my god! This is so sad. What the heck!

 

[dwayne1115]

I'm at a loss for words......I read this news on the way home, in a car full of people trying to hold back the tears.

I hope Muppet fans will be willing to accept Mat as well as they did Steve.

 

[goldenstate5]

Had to sign in for this.

How utterly heartbreaking, yet strangely inevitable. Jim died when I was not even two, and my introduction to the Muppets were the 90s films, videos and shows. Needless to say, I grew up on Steve's Kermit. Not to say he was better than Jim (that's not even a thought worth addressing), but I've never felt the "wrong sounding Muppets" meme since I was so used to Steve already.

And as a kid, I loved Rizzo. He was the only thing worth watching Muppets in Space for. I knew that eventually the torch would have to be passed, but I didn't expect this suddenly, abruptly and without much reason. I can only hope it was amicable and there's nothing personally wrong with him. However, I've come to reason that it's at least easier to come to terms with this without having to read the headline "Steve Whitmire Dies".

So for that alone I'm glad it's happening like this. I'm a bit wary to hear Matt's intrepretation, to be honest, and the sinking part of my gut feels like the "revival" times are just long, buried and dead. We got two films and a short-lived series, and now the characters are in limbo at the moment. I hope Disney doesn't just think, "it's not that big of a deal" on this.

So many feelings...

 

[mbmfrog]

Seriously I'm shocked in this as I grew up with Mr. Steve Whitmire as both and . To lose him, just breaks my heart a bit. At least we know Kermit's okay with Matt Vogel doing him.

However, given his already increase number of Muppets, I do hope there is a plan on Sesame Street if the scene requires both and the in the same place.

 

[Muppet Master]

I'm really sad about this . Steve has been with the muppets since the 70's! He's been Kermit in over 6 muppet movies. His Kermit was part of my childhood just as much as Jim's. I have no words right now. I'm glad he got to work with the muppets for so long, but this is a huge blow. I wish Matt Vogel the best and I hope he'll perform Kermit for a long time, but I'm still in complete shock.

 

[MUPPETFAN1976]

I don't even know where to start. I'm very heartbroken by this and it's a shame I never got to meet him as Kermit. He's the Kermit I grew up with and I feel so sad that he's retired. I never wanted him to retire. I never did. To be honest, I don't know if Matt Vogel is going to live up to Steve's Kermit, but he sure is gonna try. But it doesn't make sense though. If he did Constantine, why would he do Kermit, you ask? I'm trying to figure that out myself.

Rizzo, we'll he's not gonna be the same now that Steve's gone. I just hope the next person will do just as good as Steve. He was THE Rizzo just like Dave Goelz is THE Gonzo.

I have no words to describe this. I'm utterly in as much shock as you are.

But, I'm not believing that this is true, yet. We'll have to see if all of these are true come next Monday.

So, if this is true, Steve, we're gonna miss you!! Thank you for entertaining us for nearly 4 decades.