THE LIFE AND TIMES OF KERMIT THE FROG
A tongue-in-cheek, heavily annotated, speculative history on the world’s most famous amphibian
By Tom Holste
Revised May 14, 2011
Note: I still need to look up and verify the exact quotes.
KEY
GMC = Great Muppet Caper (1981)
HC = Hey Cinderella! (1969)
HP = Henson’s Place (1984)
JHH = Jim Henson Hour (1989)
KSY = Kermit’s Swamp Years (2002)
LMM = Little Muppet Monsters (1985)
LTS = Letters to Santa (2008)
MB = Muppet Babies (1984-1991)
MCC = Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)
MCJH = Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson (1990)
MFC = Muppet Family Christmas (1987)
MK = Muppet Kids books (1990s)
MTM = The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
MWDW = Muppets at Walt Disney World (1990)
MV3D = MuppetVision 3D (1991)
SS = Sesame Street (1969-present)
TMM = The Muppet Movie (1979)
TMS = The Muppet Show (1976-81)
VMMCM = It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002)
History and Career
Like many celebrities who have been with us for ages, some of the exact history of this superstar has been hard to pin down. Some early documents suggest that Kermit’s first memories were of growing up in a nursery, surrounded by many of his friends who would go on to become entertainers with him (MB). Since the first mention of these “memories” was actually in a daydream of Miss Piggy’s (MTM), some have called the whole affair into question. However, a tiny bit of film evidence exists of these times (MFC), so the possibility of these stories being true cannot be completely ruled out.
At some point, young Kermit moved out of the nursery and began growing up in a frog’s natural homestead: a swamp (TMM). This particular swamp was in Florida (MWDW). He spent lots of time playing with his friends Goggles and Croaker (KSY). He enjoyed the annual Bug Fry (MWDW). At one point, a young Jim Henson approached Kermit about joining up with him and going to work in the entertainment field together. Kermit was interested, but too young to do anything about it at the time (KSY).
Some apocryphal stories exist claiming that Kermit went to school with many of his friends from the nursery (MK), but no hard evidence exists to confirm this rumor.
One day, when Kermit was of age, enjoying his life in the swamp but not really having any direction, an agent named Bernie heard Kermit playing his banjo and suggested that he move out to Hollywood, where there was a large demand at the time for musical amphibians. So Kermit hit the road and eventually found Fozzie Bear, Miss Piggy, Gonzo, the Electric Mayhem, and others (TMM). (Here is where the MB and TMM historical manuscripts disagree – by MB’s standards, this should be a reunion, but TMM insists that this was their first meeting. It’s worth noting that in TMM, Kermit says that the story is “sort of how it happened.”)
Unfortunately, Fozzie’s driving skills were less than spectacular, and soon the group found themselves in New York rather than Hollywood. They decided to attend college there with an emphasis on the arts. Kermit’s acting teacher was Mr. Dawson, from Leland, Mississippi (Episode 406: Linda Lavin, TMS). When the group graduated, they attempted to take their senior class project (a stage musical called Manhattan Melodies) to Broadway. Sadly, breaking into the industry proved harder than it first seemed, and eventually the group decided to each go their different ways until Kermit could reunite them (MTM).
Kermit finally met up again with his old friend Jim Henson, who hadn’t yet graduated college. Kermit assisted with Jim’s local TV show Sam and Friends, shot in Washington. Oddly, there were several appearances of a female frog on this series, sometimes with dark hair and sometimes with blond hair, who was otherwise a dead ringer for Kermit. Since this female frog never showed up in later projects, some have speculated that she was an identical cousin to Kermit who decided that showbiz wasn’t for her. (For further analysis into the identical twin cousin phenomenon, see D. Goelz’s and F. Oznowicz’s groundbreaking scientific study, “The Patty Duke Syndrome.”)
Jim Henson became Kermit’s permanent behind-the-scenes partner through 1990. When asked to explain their working relationship, Kermit once said, “I understand that he has his hand in a lot of things around here, but I don’t quite know what that means” (HP).
After Sam and Friends ended, Kermit became something of a freelancer. He took as many odd jobs as possible, such as hosting TV specials like The Muppet Musicians of Bremen and Emmett Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas, as well as The Christmas Toy (which, due to copyright issues, was actually broadcast many years later). Kermit took the stage himself as a supporting character in Hey Cinderella! and The Frog Prince. He also appeared in several IBM meeting films. Finally, Kermit was famous enough to make guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and The Jack Paar Show, performing “Inchworm,” a comedy sketch he had developed with a monster friend of his.
Ultimately, an old friend contacted Kermit to get in on the ground floor of an exciting new educational program. Rowlf the Dog (who had some success of his own on The Jimmy Dean Show) told Kermit all about this new show that would teach kids letters and numbers in a funny and entertaining way. Unfortunately, Rowlf and his friends hadn’t thought up a name for the show yet. Kermit came to the rescue, however, by suggesting the name “Sesame Street.” As Kermit explained, “It’s the kind of name that suggests it’s a magical place, where anything can happen.” Everyone loved the name, and soon the show was up and running. (Ironically, while Rowlf was instrumental in getting the show off the ground, he only appeared in one segment on the show before moving on to other projects, while Kermit stayed.)
Kermit often simply sat on a brick wall and tried to explain letters and numbers and other concepts to the kids in the audience, though frequently things would go wrong with the demonstration, either because the letters and numbers wouldn't cooperate, or because his well-meaning but misguided associate Grover would somehow mess up the demonstration. (Before Grover's tenure, Kermit had similar problems with Grover’s nearly-identical brown-fur cousin, Fuzzyface.) While Kermit was living on Sesame Street (a few floors above Ernie and Bert), Grover would also sometimes attempt to sell things to Kermit, without realizing that Kermit was rarely in need of the product Grover was selling (such as earmuffs).
Eventually, Kermit began a job as Sesame Street’s resident news reporter, informing the audience of urgently-breaking stories involving fairy-tale and nursery rhyme characters. For instance, he was on hand when Prince Charming attempted to save Rapunzel from the tower, and he waited – in vain, it turned out – for the mouse to run up the cuckoo clock. (SS)
As part of his reporting duties, Kermit also made several trips to report on the wildlife of Koozebane, though those segments didn't air on Sesame, but on a later TV project of Kermit’s (TMS). His top investigative skills also landed him newspaper work, during which time he and his friends were instrumental in preventing the theft of the Holiday Diamond (GMC). He later returned to Sesame Street to report on the hurricane of 2001 (SS).
Kermit had become a household name through Sesame, and he realized that now he had the level of fame to bring all his friends back together. He sent out letters to his friends, and finally they produced Manhattan Melodies, which was a smash hit (MTM). Buoyed by this success, the gang made it to Hollywood, where Lord Lew invited them to sign a “Rich and Famous” contract (TMM). As part of this deal, Lord Lew offered for Kermit and his friends to travel to England, where Kermit would produce and host a 30-minute variety program called The Muppet Show.
While The Muppet Show was set in an old-style vaudeville theater, the weekly revue was also broadcast on TV. There were cameras everywhere, even backstage, and the audience in the theater could see what was happening on those monitors, which accounts for some production numbers that occurred entirely backstage, as well as the audience applauding when a guest star would make an appearance out of his or her dressing room. (Apparently, the position of the monitors was difficult for some to see; no blueprint of the main stage clearly shows the location of the monitors. A baffled Statler and Waldorf once commented on how strange it was that there were long stretches where nothing happened onstage. Most likely, the monitors were set up by Beauregard the janitor.)
The Muppet Show was Kermit’s most visible role to date, and though he often grew frazzled at the stress of being host, he seemed to be gratified to be there as well, particularly when he popped through the “O” of the title and cheerfully announced the guest star at the beginning of every show. Indeed, his trademark “Yayyyyyy” first became well-known to audiences in this era.
The Muppet Show aired all over the world and won multiple Emmys. After five years, Kermit decided to close up shop, as (among other reasons) he was anxious to move on to different projects. These projects included several movie versions of his life story, each one slightly fictionalized to tell a stand-alone tale. After that, Kermit put his efforts into making adaptations of some of his favorite novels, including A Christmas Carol, Treasure Island, and The Wizard of Oz. He also put his newspaper skills to good use by overseeing the publication of Muppet Magazine.
After moving out of his apartment on Sesame Street, Kermit stayed in a variety of places, often living with his friends and castmates. At one point, he lived in a large boarding house with them (MFS). At another time, he lived in an apartment building with many of the same bears and pigs and chickens and whatevers also living there (LTS). Of course, there’s not nearly as much room in the apartment, so sometimes when the younger members got out of control, Kermit sent them to play in the basement instead (LMM).
Kermit then undertook the running of MuppetTelevision for his friend and co-worker Jim Henson (JHH). Though the show was innovative, it was quickly canceled, and few of the new performers he brought on board for this project ever worked with him again.
There were two exceptions, though. One was Bean Bunny, who Kermit took under his wing (flipper?) after seeing him in a special called Tales of the Bunny Picnic, which Henson produced. Seeing star potential in Bean, Kermit was sure to feature him in a lot of projects in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly in projects involving Disney World (MWDW, MV3D). Sadly, Bean’s career did not catch on as Kermit hoped it would, though Kermit is still quite active with Bean’s manager, Steve Whitmire.
Clifford, whose introduction to the viewing audience was on MuppetTelevision, fared slightly better. When Muppets Tonight premiered, Kermit gave Clifford the hosting duties, since (having been in the limelight for 40 years at that point) Kermit decided to slow down and take on less strenuous duties. (It’s also quite possible that, after losing his dear friend Jim Henson in 1990, Kermit needed time off to relax and recuperate emotionally.) Taking a break from hosting responsibilities allowed Kermit to focus on his producing duties more, as producing and hosting The Muppet Show at the same time took quite a toll on him, which was part of what forced him to end production of the show after only five years.
Kermit returned to his hosting gig quite briefly for the short-lived international production Muppet TV. Kermit and company were likely quite relieved when the production ended, as it was a considerable challenge for all of the Muppets to learn how to speak fluent French for this show.
During this time, the Muppet Theater closed down but remained in Kermit’s ownership, and was occasionally used for TV specials (MCJH). The ownership was briefly in dispute during one particular holiday season, but fortunately the building was declared a historical landmark (VMMCM). The current status of the Muppet Theater is unknown.
Today, Kermit divides his attention between a number of different projects, such as promoting Disney’s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” home-building project, announcing the release of the latest DVDs of his work, informing the public about FAO Schwarz’s “Build-a-Muppet” project, or appearing in a number of videos for YouTube and Muppets.com. For a long time, he wasn't involved with any one large Muppet project, but now he's busy filming the upcoming film The Muppets with Jason Segel.
Relationships
Kermit’s relationship with Miss Piggy is one that has been of much debate in the tabloids over the years. What is known is that, when Kermit and Miss Piggy initially met, he was quite smitten with her. However, when she quickly dropped him after getting a call from her agent, he was reluctant to take her back romantically when she returned (TMM). Though she made numerous romantic overtures, and tried to trick him into marrying her on more than one occasion, he remained steadfastly distant from her (TMS). For a while, Kermit had a flirtatious relationship with another of his performers, named Miss Mousey (TMS), but Piggy claims that Miss Mousey met an unfortunate end (TMM test film).
Finally, in a marriage scene during one of their movies, Kermit said “I do” while standing in front of a real minister (MTM). One would think that this moment would put all rumors to rest, but in fact, Kermit almost immediately went on record as denying that the event was real: “It was all just a movie. There was no marriage. [Piggy and I] don’t talk about these things.” When Piggy was asked if the wedding was real, however, she quickly replied, “You bet” (HP). At any rate, in a later production, two female pigs and two male frogs showed up as Kermit and Piggy's children—though it’s worth noting that one of the male frogs was portrayed by his nephew Robin (MCC). The fact that their progeny were both clearly either pigs or frogs only adds to the debate, as many have speculated over the years that the cross-breeding would result in “bouncing baby figs” rather than purebreds on either side (TMS).
It would not be a stretch to suggest that Kermit is best friends with Fozzie Bear, considering the closeness of their working relationship over so many years (TMS). Kermit is also well acquainted with Mickey Mouse, as he often sees Mickey at the meetings for FASA: Fictional Animal Stars of America (MWDW).
Personality
While Kermit has often been strung out (no pun intended) when dealing with the zaniness of his co-workers, or with things going wrong during a production, it’s clear that he deeply cares about his partners and friends. He comforts them as needed, such as when Gonzo thought that he was leaving the theater for another gig (Episode 411: Lola Falana, TMS), and he once said that since he shared his dreams with these friends, the group was "kind of like a family” (TMM), which makes living with them the next logical step (MFS). Thus, when Kermit occasionally does lose his temper with them (MTM), the others are quick to forgive, knowing and understanding the pressure Kermit is under.
While he often finds the zaniness hard to control, it’s clear that Kermit actually does enjoy the zaniness for its own sake. When a guest once commented that Kermit seemed to be the only one in the bunch that wasn’t crazy, Kermit replied, “Me not crazy? I’m the one that hired them!” (TMS) Indeed, were he to get his feathers ruffled as easily as Sam the Eagle (pun intended), he would not be able to lead the group the way he does, and in fact, Kermit occasionally enjoys a mild joke at Sam’s expense himself. He also has a bit of a snarky, sarcastic side that sometimes reveals itself in his replies to his co-workers. While others in the group have a strong level of charisma (such as Floyd Pepper) and the ability to work on their own without Kermit’s guidance (such as Rowlf), it’s highly unlikely that any other Muppet would be able to unite them all with the balance of leadership and affection that Kermit has.
One of Kermit’s most famous songs is “Bein’ Green,” about coming to terms with exactly who he is (SS, TMS). Thus, Kermit has for a long time been comfortable with being a frog (though he did go through a weird phase during Sam and Friends, where people weren’t sure what he was. Such a transitional phase is not uncommon for the post-college set. Notably, this period of confusion was before he sang “Bein’ Green”). When it’s suggested during one production that he could be transformed into a human in order to guide Cinderella’s carriage, Kermit explains, “I’ll be happy to drive your carriage for you, but if it’s all the same, I’ll just do it as a frog” (HC).
In addition to that, Kermit is also surprisingly comfortable with another aspect of his nature—namely, that he is a puppet. While he might have been unclear on what some of Jim Henson’s duties were, he was unafraid to let the camera pull back and reveal the puppeteers underneath the group during the “Secrets of the Muppets” special—unlike some of his peers, who were quite disturbed and alarmed by the revelation (JHH). Comfortable in all ways in who he is, sometimes stressed but often unflappable, Kermit is the amphibian at the center of the Muppet universe—and it’s beautiful, and he thinks it’s what he ought to be.