Steve Whitmire appearances on Sesame Street

[Stumpos]

Since posts have been made for Jim Henson and Frank Oz, thought it'd be interesting to see how often Steve Whitmire was on the show and years where he was less involved than others.

Gonna do the shorter 26-episode seasons first and do the pre-2003 ones later.

• Season 34: 15

Ernie: Street scenes in episode 4034, Journey to Ernie segments Music Land, Old MacDonald's Farm, In the Jungle (also performs Bernie), Beach, Shapes, and Rubber Duckie World, Bert & Ernie apartment sketches Dancing Monsters, Frog Count to 100, and Guess That Animal Sound, Muppet & Kid segment Take Me Out to the Ball Game, Ernie's Show & Tell segment Sea Shell, the songs It's a Circle, Wake Up, and Rub Your Tummy

• Season 35: 17

Ernie: Journey to Ernie segments Nursery Rhyme World (also Humpty Dumpty and a kitten), Circus, Growing My Way (also Pumpkin), One of Those Things, Dancing (also Male Pepper), Playground, and Snow with 3, Bert & Ernie apartment sketches Ernie Pretends to be Bernice, Ernie & Bert nighttime sketches Ernie Stops and Thinks, Elmo's World segments Bath Time, Bells, and Dinosaurs, scenes in The Street We Live On, street scenes in episode 4067, song In My Book

Dr. Feel: Bob's Feelings and The Dr. Phil and Dr. Feel Show

• Season 36: 9

Ernie: Journey to Ernie segments Going for a Ride, Dinosaurs (also performing Mr. Diplodocus), and Letter B (also performing letter B). Bert & Ernie apartment sketch Guess What's Next (though taped during season 34), Ernie's Show & Tell segment Violin, Bert & Ernie nighttime sketch Sleep, I Love My Toes, and Imagining a Dinosaur, Elmo's World segment Skin

• Season 37: 5

Ernie: Bert & Ernie nighttime sketch I Heard My Dog Bark and Breakfast Is the Best Meal of the Day, Elmo's World segment Friends, song The Ding-Along Song, Twiddlebugs segment Family Photo

• Season 38: 1

Ernie: Drawing with Baby Bear

• Season 39: 11

Ernie: Bert & Ernie's Great Adventures segments Tiny Town, Pirates, Planet Bert, Bakers, Cavemen, Rainforest, Penguin, Wild Wild West, Three Wishes, and Inventors, Elmo's World segment Eyes

• Season 40: 10

Ernie: Bert & Ernie's Great Adventures segments Maltese Ducky, Flower Shop, Gopher Broke, Dr. Birdwhistle, Raiders of the Lost Duckies, Raincloud, Car Mechanics, Under the Sea, and Lost Elephant

Kermit: Elmo's World segment Frogs (though filmed during season 39)

• Season 41: 11

Ernie: Bert & Ernie's Great Adventures segments Three Ducketeers, Loch Ness, The Amazing Froggy, Walking Buttercup, Bird Games, Dustbusters, Magicians, Platypus, Invent Wheel, and On the Island, song I Wonder

• Season 42: 1

Ernie: Street scenes in episode 4276

• Season 43: 1

Ernie: Bert & Ernie sketch Bottlecap Box

• Season 44: 2

Ernie: Street scenes in episode 4425, song The Sesame Street Alphabet

Seems by the early 2000s, Steve was averaging around 15 segments per season before dipping to single digits in season 36 and getting lower from there to the point of being almost absent in season 38, then getting a surprising boost in seasons 39-41 in averaging 11 segments per season, likely with the advent of Bert & Ernie's Great Adventures before dipping down to 1 per season for the remainder of this time on the show, with his final season having him to twice of what he did in seasons 42-43. Season 35 also being the last season he did characters outside of Ernie (aside from Kermit in the final Elmo's World segment) on the show.

I wonder if Steve's decrease after season 41 was tied to budget, since he did say the reason he stopped performing Ernie after 2014 was due to the show facing budget restructuring due to PBS running low on funding, meaning he was let go since he was the only Muppeteer who didn't live in New York (meaning it was expensive to keep flying him there), as he mentions here: https://stevewhitmire.website/post-25/

I'll try to cover Steve's first ten years on the show later.

 

[Stumpos]

And now here's Steve's first ten years:

• Season 25: 5

Ernie: Bert & Ernie apartment sketch Trying to Read (Steve’s first aired segment) and Ernie Practices Spanish, Song I Don’t Want to Love on the Moon, Melting Ice Cream, Ernie Catches All the Fish (Steve’s first filmed segment)

• Season 26: 0

Ernie: Possible street scenes in episode 3295 but doubt they brought him in for a nonspeaking role, especially since he wasn't in the rest of the season otherwise

• Season 27: 5

Ernie: Bert & Ernie apartment sketch Quiet Please, Bert & Ernie nighttime sketches Ernie Clears the Fear, Drum Experiment, Animals In On Under, and Counting Backwards From 10

• Season 28: 3

Ernie: Bert & Ernie apartment sketch Ernie Plays House, Ernie Walks Forwards and Backwards, and Discovery of Air, possible nonspeaking in Be Doodle Dee Dum and The Sesame Street Open but doubt they brought him in for a nonspeaking role

• Season 29: 5

Ernie: Bert & Ernie nighttime sketch Things That I Remember, Opposite Game

Kermit: Street scenes in episode 3740 and 3785, Kermit Lecture segment Light and Dark

• Season 30: 48

Ernie: street scenes in episode 3786, 3811, Bert & Ernie apartment sketch The Lost Duckie, Bert & Ernie nighttime sketches Imagination, Big Bed Planning, and What’s the Name of That Song, Elmo’s World segment Transportation, Ernie’s Show & Tell segments Picture of Grandpa, Trumpet, Jewels, Baby Booties, SpinArt, Bongos, Baton, Crown, Ducks, Weather Map, Cell Phone, Bird’s Nest, Dinosaur Book, Pretend Drum, and Calculator, songs Somebody Come & Play, Loud and Soft, Adding Adding Adding, Sing After Me, Share, I Like Laughing When I’m Happy Best of All, and Rubber Duckie, String Rendition of Alphabet with Liam Neeson, Ernie Recites Poem to Introduce Cooke Monster segment, D is for Duckie, Ernie Recites Poem to Introduce Wegman Dogs, Ernie and Rubber Duckie Ready to Count, Ernie and Rubber Duckie Introduce Letter of the Day, Ernie Introduces Suzie Kabloozie, Ernie Asks Rubber Duckie What He Wants to See, Ernie Loves and Is Tickled by Rubber Duckie, Ernie and Rubber Duckie Introduce Number of the Day, Ernie Reads Poem Big and Small, Ernie and Rubber Duckie Laughing, Ernie and Rubber Duckie Say Hello, Ernie Plays Guessing Game, Mail Carrier Duckie, Fire Chief Duckie, Dr. Duckie, Ernie and Rubber Duckie Are Glad Viewer is Here, Ernie and Rubber Duckie Present Animal Segment, Ernie Reads Front and Back Poem, Rubber Duckie Doesn’t Like Segment

• Season 31: 22

Ernie: Street scenes in episode 3873, 3885, 3888, 3909, 3911, and 3913, Bert & Ernie apartment sketch Ernie Plans, Ernie’s Pretend Tea Party, Bert Sings Rubber Duckie, and Banana Talk, Elmo’s World segment Singing, Ernie’s Show & Tell segments Family Picture, Goldie Duckie, Muppet & Kid Moment segments Vandy, Dayle, Joey, Kayla, Richie, Benjamin, and Tyler, Recite Alphabet with Christopher Reeve

Kermit: Street scenes in episode 3865

• Season 32: 24

Ernie: Street scenes in episode 3916, 3946, 3949, 3954, 3961, 3967, and 3968, Bert & Ernie apartment sketch Bert’s Magnet Trick and Bert’s Hats, Elmo’s World segments Bugs and Games, Ernie’s Show & Tell segments Glockenspiel, Picture of Friends, Picture of Family, Hockey Art, and Skinnamarink, Muppet & Kid Moment segments Dakota, Skyla, and Vincent, Sorting Song, Song About Tr (though taped during season 31), I Love My Room

Kermit: Street scenes in episode 3976 and song Everybody Be Yo’Self

• Season 33: 19

Ernie: Street scenes in episode 3999, 4007, 4014, 4019, 4021, and 4028, Journey to Ernie segments Park, Martian World, Penguin World, Disco World, Supermarket World, Circus World, Clapping Box World, Chicken World (also one of the hens), Dinosaur World (also Dinosaur), and Pig World, Ernie’s Show & Tell segment Family Picture, Elmo’s World segments Sleep and Getting Dressed

 

[Stumpos]

Overall for his entire run on the show:

• Season 25: 5
• Season 26: 0
• Season 27: 5
• Season 28: 3
• Season 29: 5
• Season 30: 48
• Season 31: 22
• Season 32: 24
• Season 33: 19
• Season 34: 15
• Season 35: 17
• Season 36: 9
• Season 37: 5
• Season 38: 1
• Season 39: 11
• Season 40: 10
• Season 41: 11
• Season 42: 1
• Season 43: 1
• Season 44: 2

When he started, Steve was averaging about 5 segments per season during the Around the Corner era (aside from season 26 where was was completely absent), presumably due to a mix of having to adjust Steve into Ernie and him being busy on projects like Muppet Treasure Island (filmed in early 1995, presumably during season 26 and explaining his absence there), Muppets Tonight, and Muppets in Space. Then his appearances exploded considerably in season 30 and then averaging 20-ish segments per season afterward, likely with less big Muppet productions at the time making him more available. Notably, we even see Steve perform other characters during this time like Kermit, Dr. Feel, and one-shots in Journey to Ernie and appear in street scenes for the first time. Then it decreases slightly to 15-17 segments per season in seasons 34-35, due to the show shrinking down to 26 episodes per season and likely limiting how much new material they could fit. Season 36 then marking huge hit in Steve's segments to single digits and only further shrinking until being little to nonexistent in season 38, presumably with the Disney purchase of the Muppets in 2004 (season 36 was the first season produced after that) causing Steve's availability to take a hit and maybe even getting expensive too as a Disney employee now. Season 39 marked another increase for Steve, though only up to averaging 10-11 segments per season until dipping down to 1-2 per season in season 42 for the rest of his time on the show, though at least getting one final street scene involvement in his final season.

I'd imagine the increase in seasons 39-41 was more due to Bert & Ernie's Great Adventures (where most of his material in that time period came from) being animated, making it easier for Steve to just do voicework remotely rather than fly to New York to perform.