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81-725: Cookie Monster is a blue Muppet character on the PBS / HBO children's television show Sesame Street . He is best known for his voracious appetite and his famous eating catchphrases, such as "Me want cookie!" As his name suggests, his preferred food is cookies, though he eats almost anything, including inedible objects. Chocolate chip cookies are his favorite kind. His speech is often grammatically nonstandard; for example, he always uses "Me" to refer to himself in place of "I", "My", and "Mine". Despite his voracious appetite for cookies, Cookie Monster shows awareness of healthy eating habits for young children and also enjoys fruit and vegetables. In
162-512: A 2006 Disney Cruise Line stage show (though Whitmire performed Kermit for the first few shows). Muppet performer Artie Esposito briefly performed Kermit in 2009 for a few personal appearances (an appearance on America's Got Talent , the MTV Video Music Awards , and at the 2009 D23 Expo ). Voice actor Frank Welker provided the voice of Baby Kermit on the animated Saturday morning cartoon, Muppet Babies . He also provided
243-494: A Canadian General Foods commercial that featured three crunchy snack foods: Wheels, Crowns and Flutes. Each snack was represented by a different monster. The Wheel-Stealer was a short, fuzzy monster with wonky eyes and sharply pointed teeth. The Flute-Snatcher was a speed demon with a long, sharp nose and windblown hair. The Crown-Grabber was a hulk of a monster with a Boris Karloff accent and teeth that resembled giant knitting needles." "These monsters had insatiable appetites for
324-660: A Kermit balloon since 1977. Kermit also served as the mascot for The Jim Henson Company, until the sale of the Muppet characters to Disney. On November 14, 2002, Kermit the Frog received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the category of Television. The star is located at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Kermit has two stars on the Walk of Fame, the other as a member of the collective The Muppets, which they received on March 20, 2012 in
405-453: A character, flattened out over time and has become too square and not as vital as it should have been." Cheryl Henson stated that Whitmire performed the character as a "bitter, angry, depressed, victim". He remained Kermit's principal performer until October 2016, when he was dismissed by The Muppets Studio and its parent The Walt Disney Company , which own the rights to Kermit. Disney cited "unacceptable business conduct" as reason for
486-641: A commencement speech. He is also the only "amphibian" to have had the honor of addressing the Oxford Union . A statue of Henson and Kermit was erected on the campus of Henson's alma mater, the University of Maryland, College Park in 2003. Kermit was also given the honor of being the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in 1996. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has featured
567-446: A fat-free cookie recipe with no added sugar . The main ingredients are dry pancake mix , puffed rice , Grape-Nuts cereal, and instant coffee (for color), mixed together with water and decorated with brown hot glue (to look like chocolate chips or raisins). The glue is inedible, and the edible parts of the cookie do not have an appealing flavor. In 2005, in response to growing concerns about record levels of childhood obesity in
648-407: 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. Kermit performed the hit singles " Bein' Green " in 1970 for Sesame Street and " Rainbow Connection " in 1979 for The Muppet Movie ,
729-494: A future in the Muppet cast. The "Crown-Grabber" was used in a sketch on The Ed Sullivan Show , in which he ruins a girl's beautiful day. Known from then on as the Beautiful Day Monster , he made a number of appearances on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show . The "Flute-Snatcher" turned into Snake Frackle , a background monster from The Great Santa Claus Switch and The Muppet Show . In 1967, Henson used
810-440: A good prank." Kermit has often been referred to as Henson's "soft-spoken alter-ego ." Many of Henson's colleagues have confirmed how close and inseparable Jim and Kermit's personalities were. Henson's agent Bernie Brillstein has stated straightforwardly that "Kermit was Jim". Author Brian Jay Jones described the relationship accordingly: "The more Jim performed Kermit, the more the two of them seemed to become intertwined…it
891-460: A green version of Cookie Monster appears. Asked about his well-known "brother", he responds, "I told you never to mention that ruffian. All he knows about cookies is how to shovel them into his face." In the Fox animated series Family Guy episode " Model Misbehavior ", Cookie Monster is shown in a psychiatric hospital , repeatedly foiling drug rehab -styled efforts to cure his cookie addiction. In
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#1732783355006972-470: A news reporter interviewing storybook characters for Sesame Street News. He sang many songs on the show, including " Bein' Green ", and was the focus of the 1998 video The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street . Unlike the rest of the show's Muppets, Kermit was never the property of Sesame Workshop and has only occasionally been a part of the show's merchandise. When Sesame Workshop bought full ownership of its characters from Henson for $ 180 million, Kermit
1053-475: A popular seller after basketball player LeBron James drew attention for wearing one. In March 2007, Sad Kermit , an unofficial parody, was uploaded to the website YouTube , showing a store-bought Kermit puppet performing a version of the Nine Inch Nails song " Hurt " in a style similar to Johnny Cash 's famous cover version. In contrast to the real Kermit character's usual family-friendly antics,
1134-526: A prominent career before Sesame Street ' s debut in 1969, as he starred in Sam and Friends , and numerous Muppets made guest appearances on Today from 1961 and The Ed Sullivan Show from 1966. Kermit was one of the original main Muppet characters on Sesame Street . Closely identified with the show, Kermit usually appeared as a lecturer on simple topics, a straight man to another Muppet foil (usually Grover , Herry Monster or Cookie Monster ), or
1215-481: A puppet character. According to this fictional biography, he was born in Leland, Mississippi , alongside approximately 2,353 siblings, though a 2011 "interview" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show has him state that he was from the swamps of Louisiana . As portrayed in the 2002 film Kermit's Swamp Years , at the age of 12, he was the first of his siblings to leave the swamp and one of the first frogs to talk to humans. He
1296-460: A result of this decision, the appeal of the test episodes was lower than the target. The Street scenes were "the glue" that "pulled the show together", so producers knew they needed to make significant changes. The producers decided to reject the advisers' advice and reshot the Street segments; Henson and his coworkers created Muppets that could interact with the human actors, specifically Oscar
1377-418: A small pedestal, was a cookie. When Colbert returned to speak to Cookie Monster at the end of the show, the award had disappeared and Cookie Monster was wiping his mouth with a napkin. On November 24, 2010, Cookie Monster started a Facebook page as part of a campaign to host Saturday Night Live . Though his bid to host Saturday Night Live failed, he was allowed to appear with Jeff Bridges when Jeff hosted
1458-754: A song in 2004, and later in an interview in 2017, Cookie Monster revealed his real name as "Sid," though in the first season he was referred to as both "tiny" and "Harry." He is known to have a mother, a younger sister, and a cousin, identical in design, who does not like cookies. All three share his characteristic blue fur and " googly eyes ". He also has a father, who appeared in a Monsterpiece Theater sketch promoting energy conservation , water conservation and environmentalism . Cookie Monster's mother and father both share his enormous appetite and craving for cookies. The book Jim Henson's Designs and Doodles explains Cookie Monster's origin as follows: "In 1966, Henson drew three monsters that ate cookies and appeared in
1539-473: A sound engineer at WBAL-TV during Jim Henson's time with Sam and Friends , recalls that the puppet was named after her father. According to Cohen's obituary, as well as DiMenna and Lenny Levin, a colleague of Cohen's at WBAL: The late puppeteer had been the host of a show, Sam and Friends , at WRC-TV in Washington when he was invited to tour WBAL's studios. Both were NBC affiliates then, and WBAL carried
1620-462: A technical difficulties telop graphic on Metromedia owned-and-operated station KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As an April Fool's joke, Kermit hosted CNN 's Larry King Live in 1994 and interviewed Hulk Hogan . Kermit was also a semi-regular during various incarnations of Hollywood Squares , with other Muppets such as Big Bird and Oscar
1701-542: Is commonly (if facetiously) compared to Cookie Monster's low-pitched, gravelly voice. John Lennon 's song " Hold On ", recorded in 1970 (only a year after Sesame Street debuted), features Lennon shouting "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice, in the middle of the instrumental break in an otherwise calm, quiet song. Ringo Starr , aware of Lennon's love for Cookie Monster, also screams "Cookie!" in Cookie Monster's voice in his song " Early 1970 ", released in 1971. In
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#17327833550061782-467: Is highlighting the amazing amphibians that are native to Costa Rica and the need to continue exploring and studying the country's amazing tropical forests". In 2024, researchers named Kermitops gratus as a new genus and species of fossil "proto-amphibian" from rocks dating to the early Permian period of Texas, US. The genus name , which means "Kermit face" in Greek, references the general resemblance of
1863-470: Is initially intimidating. His manner is gruff. His clumsiness occasionally causes damage. But quickly, Cookie Monster comes to be seen as benign—indeed, downright friendly. He has a few bad habits. He cannot resist gobbling up anything and everything that might be consumed, especially cookies. And he cannot quite control the way he spews forth crumbs. He is the quintessential consumer... The budget, for all its intimidating detail, might be seen similarly: as
1944-414: Is known as Kamel , which is a common Arabic male name that means "perfect". In Hungary , he is called Breki ( onomatopoetic ). Jim Henson originated the character in 1955 on his local television series, Sam and Friends . Henson himself described Kermit as "kind of easy-going, very likable...sometimes slightly a wiseguy." Frank Oz remarked that Kermit possesses a natural sense of leadership within
2025-458: Is sad that there are no cookies, and you are sad that you have no friends." On March 16, 2016, Apple released an ad titled "Timer" starring Cookie Monster, where he uses the "Hey Siri" feature in the iPhone 6S to set a timer and play an album while he waits for cookies to bake. A popular internet parody of The Great Wave off Kanagawa , titled "Sea is for Cookie", was created for an Adobe Photoshop competition on Reddit . The piece features
2106-616: Is shown in the film encountering a 12-year-old Jim Henson (played by Christian Kebbel) for the first time. According to The Muppet Movie, Kermit returned to the swamp, where a passing agent ( Dom DeLuise ) noted he had talent. Thus inspired, Kermit headed to Hollywood, encountering the rest of the Muppets along the way. Together, they were given a standard "rich and famous" contract by Lew Lord ( Orson Welles ) of Wide World Studios and began their showbiz careers. In Before You Leap , Kermit again references encountering Jim Henson sometime after
2187-550: The All Things Considered segment In Character . He answered the Proust Questionnaire , as well as revealing some of his favorite and non-favorite things. In a June 19, 2008, appearance on The Colbert Report , Cookie Monster again explained that "Cookies are a sometimes food." Colbert had asked agitatedly why Cookie Monster had "abandoned the pro-cookie agenda" and thus caused fruit to become
2268-639: The Family Guy episode " Back to the Pilot ", due to alterations in the past, Stewie thinks Cookie Monster could have invented Facebook ; in this timeline, he would have called it "Cookiebook". In The Empire Strikes Back spoof " Something, Something, Something, Dark Side ", Cookie Monster is cast as the Wampa . In another sci-fi related takeoff, the Star Wars spoof Hardware Wars features "Chewchilla
2349-764: The Sesame Street Muppets and to split any revenue they generated with the Children's Television Workshop (renamed to the Sesame Workshop in 2000), the series' non-profit producer. The Muppets were a crucial part of the show's popularity and it brought Henson national attention. The Muppet segments of the show were popular since its premiere, and more Muppets were added during the first few seasons. The Muppets were effective teaching tools because children easily recognized them, they were predictable, and they appealed to adults and older siblings. During
2430-503: The Sesame Street parody Avenue Q , the character of Trekkie Monster is loosely based on Cookie Monster, sharing his speech pattern and addictive personality. We wanted his name to indicate that he was obsessed, like Cookie Monster is obsessed with cookies. So we used " Trekkie " both because it sounded like "cookie" and because Trekkies are, by definition, obsessive fanatics. The guttural singing style in death metal bands
2511-498: The trademarked term " Muppet " from The Muppets Studio for their characters. Kermit the Frog Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created in 1955 and originally performed by Jim Henson . An anthropomorphic green frog , 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
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2592-421: The " cuteness appeal". Baby Kermit plush toys became popular in the 1980s after the success of Muppet Babies . In 1991, one year after Jim Henson died, merchandise featuring Kermit and other Muppet characters was being sold at Disney theme parks, causing Henson Associates to file a lawsuit against Disney for copyright infringement . Henson alleged that the "counterfeit merchandise" falsely indicated that
2673-446: The "Wheel-Stealer" puppet for an IBM training film, Coffee Break Machine . In the sketch, "The Computer Dinner", the monster (with frightening eyes and fangs) devours a complex coffee-making machine as it describes its different parts. When he is finished, the machine announces the monster has activated the machine's anti-vandalism system, which contains the most powerful explosives known to man. The monster promptly explodes. This sketch
2754-434: The Frog and Miss Piggy "announced" that they had ended their romantic relationship. On September 2, 2015, Kermit was stated to have found a new girlfriend, a pig named Denise, but around February 2016, Denise supposedly broke up with Kermit after almost six months together. Kermit has been featured prominently on both The Muppet Show and Sesame Street , and is the only Muppet to do so in that capacity. However, he had
2835-470: The Grouch also making appearances on the original Hollywood Squares . In 2020, Kermit appeared on Monday Night Football with other Muppets characters as it was briefly rebranded "Muppet Night Football." On March 10, 2021, Kermit was the first celebrity to be unmasked on the fifth season of The Masked Singer , having performed in costume as "Snail". On May 7, 2023, Kermit, along with Miss Piggy,
2916-440: The Grouch and Big Bird , who became two of the show's most enduring characters. These test episodes were directly responsible for what writer Malcolm Gladwell called "the essence of Sesame Street —the artful blend of fluffy monsters and earnest adults". Since 2001, the full rights for the Muppets created for Sesame Street (which do not include Kermit the Frog ) have been owned by Sesame Workshop; Sesame continues to license
2997-568: The Kermit puppet allows the performer's arm and hand to produce a wide range of expression and gestures. The origin of Kermit's name is a subject of some debate. It is often claimed that Kermit was named after Henson's childhood friend Kermit Scott , from Leland, Mississippi . However, Karen Falk, head archivist and board of directors member for the Jim Henson Legacy organization, denies this claim, stating that Henson merely liked how
3078-426: The Muppets, and thusly, clothes, toys and souvenirs depicting Kermit and the Muppets continued to be sold at Disney theme parks and stores. The Leland Chamber of Commerce's small Kermit-themed museum set out to preserve some of the dolls and merchandise. In 2016, The New Zealand Herald reported a hat featuring Kermit sipping Lipton tea, associated with the "But That's None of My Business" Internet meme , became
3159-449: The Muppets, explaining that "he has all these zany characters and a world around him and he tries to be the center and hold everything together...sometimes he gets too much and blows his top, but essentially he kind of goes with the flow." Brian Henson described his father's performance as Kermit as "coming out of his own personality—was a wry intelligence, a little bit of a naughtiness, but Kermit always loved everyone around and also loved
3240-556: The Ultimate Cookie Monster. ... Its massive presence might be understood as little more than a compilation of cookies received, cookies crumbled, and crumbs spewed forth. Yet, apt though the Cookie Monster perspective may be, it does not suffice... In the Food Network program Good Eats episode "Three Chips for Sister Marsha" (first aired December 13, 2000), a puppet named Maj. Wilfred D. Cookie who looks like
3321-506: The United States, Sesame Street began airing segments titled Healthy Habits for Life . In these segments, the Muppet characters of Sesame Street talk about healthy habits, such as eating properly and exercising. The Healthy Habits for Life segments spawned Internet rumors that Cookie Monster's name had been changed to Veggie Monster or would be taken off the show entirely. Since then, Cookie Monster has eaten not only cookies (and
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3402-678: The Wookiee Monster" in the role of Chewbacca . Cookie Monster also appears in Mad , first in "Mouse M.D", a parody of House M.D. , then as the main character in "Cookie Blue", a parody of Rookie Blue . When the Apple personal assistant Siri is asked the question, "what is zero divided by zero ", Siri responds with the answer: "Imagine that you have zero cookies and you split them evenly among zero friends. How many cookies does each person get? See? It doesn’t make sense. And Cookie Monster
3483-536: The category of Motion Pictures. On Kermit's 50th birthday in 2005, the United States Postal Service released a set of new stamps with photos of Kermit and some of his fellow Muppets on them. The background of the stamp sheet features a photo of a silhouetted Henson sitting in a window well, with Kermit sitting in his lap looking at him. Kermit was also the grand marshal for Michigan State University 's homecoming parade in 2006. In 2013,
3564-499: The character stayed the same and consistent, but didn't become stale and just a copy." Kermit's personality during Whitmire's tenure was widely described as more wholesome, lighthearted, and Pollyanna-ish than Henson's. Several critics of Whitmire's portrayal have come from the Henson family. Brian Henson stated that while Whitmire's performance was "sometimes excellent, and always pretty good", he also elaborated that "Kermit has, as
3645-475: The character was credited as the author of Before You Leap: A Frog's Eye View of Life's Greatest Lessons , an "autobiography" told from the perspective of the character himself. Kermit the Frog first appeared on local programs and commercials broadcast on WRC-TV , most notably Sam and Friends . This prototype Kermit was created from a discarded turquoise spring coat belonging to Jim Henson's mother and two ping pong ball halves for eyes. Initially, Kermit
3726-563: The character. As Sesame Street is localized for some different markets that speak languages other than English, Kermit is often renamed. In Portugal , he is called Cocas, o Sapo ( sapo means " toad "), and in Brazil , his name is similar: Caco, o Sapo . In most of Hispanic America, his name is la rana René ( René the Frog ), while in Spain, he is named Gustavo . In the Arabic version, he
3807-562: The characters belonged to Disney, although the latter company had the right to exercise use of the characters due to an earlier licensing agreement. The Henson Associates highlighted a T-shirt displaying Kermit, the Disney brand, and a copyright symbol . Disney representative Erwin Okun said the lawsuit was "outrageous" and "an unfortunate break with the legacy of a fine relationship with Disney that Jim Henson left behind". Disney later acquired
3888-619: The core of the stories as the lead protagonist. Kermit is shown in The Muppet Movie as stating that the events of the film are "approximately how it happened" when asked by his nephew Robin about how the Muppets got started. Fozzie Bear is portrayed as Kermit's best friend—a fact reiterated by Kermit in Before You Leap —and the two were frequently seen together during sketches on The Muppet Show and in other Muppet-related media and merchandise. On August 4, 2015, Kermit
3969-537: The creators of the show, met in the summer of 1968, at one of the show's five three-day curriculum planning seminars in Boston . Author Christopher Finch reported that director Jon Stone , who had worked with Henson previously, felt that if they could not bring him on board, they should "make do without puppets". Henson was originally reluctant but agreed to join Sesame Street in support of its social goals. He also agreed to waive his performance fee for full ownership of
4050-522: The dismissal, while Whitmire claims the decision was made due to creative disagreements over Kermit's characterization and prolonged labor union negotiations that delayed his involvement in Muppet productions. Disney announced that Matt Vogel would become Kermit's new performer on July 10, 2017. Vogel's first official appearance as Kermit was in a "Muppet Thought of the Week” video released on YouTube . John Kennedy performed Kermit for Muppets Ahoy! ,
4131-513: The events depicted in the course of The Muppet Movie and details their friendship and their partnership in the entertainment industry, crediting Henson as being the individual to whom he owes his fame. At some point after the events of The Muppet Movie , Kermit and the other Muppets begin The Muppet Show , and the characters remain together as a group, before starring in the other Muppet films and Muppets Tonight , with Kermit usually at
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#17327833550064212-539: The favorite snack of American children, according to a study Colbert had heard. Colbert criticized Cookie Monster for not wearing a cookie lapel pin . Cookie Monster also claimed to have "crazy times during the '70s and '80s", referring to himself as "the Robert Downey Jr. of cookies." After eating a cookie to prove he still likes cookies, Cookie Monster asked if the Peabody Award , a round medallion on
4293-544: The first feature-length film featuring the Muppets. Kermit's original performance of "Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was added to the Library of Congress 's National Recording Registry in 2021. Henson performed Kermit until his death in 1990, and then Steve Whitmire performed Kermit from that time until his dismissal in 2016; Kermit has been performed by Matt Vogel since 2017. He
4374-854: The fossil skull to the Muppets character's head. Kermit has made numerous guest appearances on popular television shows, including co-hosting individual episodes of a number of long-running talk shows; among other television media. On April 2, 1979, Kermit guest-hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to promote The Muppet Movie . From 1983 to 1995, the French political satire show Le Bébête Show used copies of various Muppets to parody key political figures, and Kermit renamed "Kermitterrand", embodied President François Mitterrand . On May 21, 2018, Kermit and contestant Maddie Poppe performed "Rainbow Connection" live on American Idol . A still photo of Kermit sitting in his Director's chair with his megaphone in his hand from The Muppet Show appeared on
4455-418: The named sounded: While Jim Henson did have a childhood acquaintance named Kermit, it was not an uncommon name at the time, and Jim always said that the Frog was not named after this child from his elementary school. I think Jim just liked the sound of the name - it has nice hard sounds and a sort of nasal quality that make it rather funny. Joy DiMenna, the only daughter of Kermit Kalman Cohen, who worked as
4536-404: The opportunity to renew the contract. He chose not to, because at that point he was working on Sesame Street — and that monster puppet was moving on to the next stage in his career. According to Frank Oz, in a later routine the then unnamed monster won a quiz show and for winning was "given the choice of $ 10,000 cash, a new car, a trip to Hawaii, or a cookie." He took the cookie and from then on he
4617-675: The original Kermit puppet from Sam and Friends was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. for display in the pop culture gallery. In 2015, the Leland Chamber of Commerce in Leland, Mississippi opened a small museum containing puppets and memorabilia dedicated to Kermit. A Kermit puppet can be seen at the National Museum of American History . Kermit's legacy is also deeply entrenched in
4698-403: The plate they are served on) but also fruits and vegetables. There is a small hole in the puppet's mouth, so that something like an apple or banana can be "swallowed" by the puppet. In a 2007 appearance on Martha Stewart 's TV program, Cookie Monster explained his new philosophy that "Cookies are a sometimes food." On February 10, 2008, NPR host Elizabeth Blair interviewed Cookie Monster for
4779-520: The production of Sesame Street ' s first season, producers created five one-hour episodes to test the show's appeal to children and examine their comprehension of the material. Not intended for broadcast, they were presented to preschoolers in 60 homes throughout Philadelphia and in day care centers in New York City in July 1969. The results were "generally very positive"; children learned from
4860-638: The science community. One of the famous WP-3D Orion research platforms flown by the NOAA Hurricane Hunters is named after Kermit. The other is named after Miss Piggy . In 2015, the discovery of the Costa Rican glass frog Hyalinobatrachium dianae also attracted viral media attention due to the creature's perceived resemblance to Kermit, with researcher Brian Kubicki quoted as saying "I am glad that this species has ended up getting so much international attention, and in doing so it
4941-543: The show and sang the Christmas song " Silver Bells ". Main performers Rudman officially became Cookie Monster's performer in Sesame Street's 2002 season (taped 2001). Oz continued to occasionally perform Cookie Monster until 2004. Various toys and other icons of the Cookie Monster have been produced over the years. The most obvious is a cookie jar , of which numerous types have been available. Numerous children's books featuring Cookie Monster have been published over
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#17327833550065022-577: The show, Mr. Levin said. Mr. Henson was introduced to members of the sound and camera crew, including Mr. Cohen. "When he heard his name, Jim turned around, snapped his fingers and said to his wife, 'That's what we call the frog – Kermit. ' " Another common belief is that Kermit was named for Kermit Love , who worked with Henson in designing and constructing Muppets, particularly on Sesame Street . However, Love's association with Henson did not begin until well after Kermit's creation and naming, and he always denied any connection between his name and that of
5103-462: The shows, their appeal was high, and children's attention was sustained over the full hour. However, the researchers found that although children's attention was high during the Muppet segments, their interest wavered during the "Street" segments, when no Muppets were on screen. This was because the producers had followed the advice of child psychologists who were concerned that children would be confused if human actors and Muppets were shown together. As
5184-552: The snack foods they were named after. Each time the Muppet narrator, a human-looking fellow, fixes himself a tray of Wheels, Flutes and Crowns, they disappear before he can eat them. One by one, the monsters sneak in and zoom away with the snacks. Frustrated and peckish, the narrator warns viewers that these pesky monsters could be disguised as someone in your own home, at which point the monsters briefly turn into people and then dissolve back to monsters again." As it turns out, these commercials were never aired — but all three monsters had
5265-458: The video shows the puppet engaging in drug abuse , smoking, alcoholism , performing oral sex on Rowlf the Dog , smashing a picture of Miss Piggy (with a breast exposed) and attempting suicide . The video became an Internet meme . The Victoria Times Colonist called it an "online sensation". The Chicago Sun-Times said it "puts the high in 'Hi-ho!'" The London Free Press said "Sad Kermit
5346-404: The voice of an adult Kermit for a short-lived spin-off, Little Muppet Monsters . Brian Cummings voiced Kermit in a 1995 CBS promotion. Wally Wingert provided the voice of Baby Kermit in a Muppet Babies CD-ROM. Matt Danner voices Baby Kermit on the 2018 reboot of Muppet Babies . A biography has been developed for Kermit the Frog as if he were an actual living performer rather than
5427-588: The wave with googly eyes and cookies in the crest, resembling Cookie Monster eating cookies. This article incorporates Creative Commons license CC-BY SA 3.0 text from the Muppet Wiki article " Cookie Monster ". List of Sesame Street Muppets The Sesame Street Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson , many for the purpose of appearing on the children's television program Sesame Street . Henson's involvement in Sesame Street began when he and Joan Ganz Cooney , one of
5508-453: The years: Familiar to generations of Sesame Street watchers, Cookie Monster is remembered for his gluttony and his deep, rumbly distinctive voice. In 1990, U.S. Budget Director Richard Darman wrote an introduction to the federal budget with a section "Green Eyeshades and the Cookie Monster" in which he called Cookie "the quintessential consumer", and the enormous budget "the Ultimate Cookie Monster." As all monsters are, Cookie Monster
5589-512: Was Cookie Monster. Cookie Monster, still unnamed, made his Sesame Street debut in the first episode, interfering with Kermit the Frog 's "famous W lecture" by eating a model "W" bit by bit. He turns it into an "N", a "V", and finally an "I", to Kermit's frustration. He then tries to eat Kermit. It was during the first season that Cookie Monster got his name and began using the growly vernacular (e.g., "Me eat cookie!") that would become part of his character. His signature song, " C Is For Cookie ",
5670-401: Was a vague lizard -like creature. He subsequently made a number of television appearances before his status as a frog was established in the television special Hey, Cinderella! in 1969. His triangular-pointed collar was added at the time to make him seem more frog-like and to conceal the seam between his head and body. According to Michael K. Frith , the relatively simple construction of
5751-888: Was also formerly featured in the aforementioned attraction in Disney California Adventure Park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California until its closure in 2014. Kermit also appeared in The Muppets Present...Great Moments in American History at the Magic Kingdom from 2016 to 2020. He also appeared in two parades; Disney Stars and Motor Cars Parade which ran at Disney's Hollywood Studios from 2001 to 2008 and Disney's Honorary VoluntEars Cavalcade which
5832-691: Was also performed in October 1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show . It was also later performed on the George Burns episode of The Muppet Show using the Luncheon Counter Monster. Two years later, Henson used a similarly-designed and equally hungry monster for three commercials selling Munchos , a Frito-Lay potato snack. This time, the puppet was named Arnold, the Munching Monster. After the three ads were produced, Henson had
5913-465: Was also voiced by Frank Welker in Muppet Babies and occasionally in other animation projects, and is voiced by Matt Danner in the 2018 reboot of Muppet Babies . Kermit has remained as a recognizable character in popular culture worldwide for over half a century, starring in several television series and films, and receiving dozens of honors and awards by various organizations. In 2006,
5994-415: Was becoming harder to tell where the frog ended and Jim began." Henson continued to perform the character until his death in 1990. Henson's last known performance as Kermit was for an appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show to promote the television special The Muppets at Walt Disney World . Henson died twelve days after that appearance. Following Henson's death, veteran Muppet performer Steve Whitmire
6075-469: Was excluded from the deal. The character now belongs to The Muppets Studio, a division of Disney. His first Sesame Street appearance since Disney ownership was in an Elmo's World segment in the show's 40th-season premiere on November 10, 2009. His most recent appearance was in the 2019 television special Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration , where he performed "Bein' Green" with Elvis Costello . In The Muppet Show television series, Kermit
6156-542: Was first aired during the 1971–72 season, and it became one of the best-known songs from Sesame Street . Over the years, different approaches to the cookies have been tried. The cookies must be thin and soft so they shatter satisfactorily, preferably into many pieces. They must also not make a mess on the expensive puppet. The ones made of rice crackers crumbled well, but the crumbs tended to stick to Cookie Monster's fur. Artificial foam cookies did not look like cookies when they broke apart. In 2000, Lara MacLean developed
6237-517: Was held during 2010 at the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland . Kermit the Frog has appeared in almost every Muppet production, as well as making guest appearances in other shows and movies. Below is a list of his more well-known appearances: Kermit was awarded an honorary doctorate of Amphibious Letters (a pun on the more common honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters ) on May 19, 1996, at Southampton College , New York, where he also gave
6318-531: Was invited to the Coronation Concert of King Charles III . He sat next to Prince Edward , The Duke of Edinburgh. Jim Henson's characters, including the Muppets, have inspired merchandise internationally, with Chris Bensch, chief curator of Rochester, New York 's The Strong National Museum of Play , reporting "There seems to have been a particular craze for Kermit the Frog in Japan ," likely due to
6399-409: Was named Kermit's new performer. Whitmire claims that Henson had seemingly intended to pass on the role to him before he died, though it was Jane Henson and son Brian who had selected him. Whitmire's first public performance as Kermit was at the end of the television special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson in 1990. Whitmire explained that his main intent when he inherited Kermit "was to make sure
6480-726: Was still a main character, although he was the producer rather than frontman. He appeared in many parody sketches such as NYPD Green , City Schtickers , Flippers , and The Muppet Odd Squad , as well as in the Psychiatrist's Office sketch. As with most Disney characters, Kermit appears at various Disney theme parks . Kermit is featured in Muppet*Vision 3D , an attraction that opened in 1991 and continues to run presently at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida . The character
6561-520: Was the central character, the showrunner , and the long-suffering stage manager of the theater show, trying to keep order amidst the chaos created by the other Muppets. Henson once claimed that Kermit's job on the Muppet Show was much like his own: "trying to get a bunch of crazies to actually get the job done." It was on this show that the running gag of Kermit being pursued by leading lady Miss Piggy developed. On Muppets Tonight , Kermit
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