Steve Whitmire (born September 24, 1959) is a puppeteer who started working for the Jim Henson Company on March 24, 1978. His career with the Muppets began on The Muppet Show, where he developed his first major character, Rizzo the Rat. Other characters puppeteered by Whitmire included Bean Bunny, Wembley Fraggle and Sprocket. When Jim Henson passed away in 1990, Whitmire was selected to take over the roles of Kermit the Frog and Ernie. Following Richard Hunt's death and Jerry Nelson's retirement, he also took over the roles of Beaker and Statler, respectively. He continued to perform as these characters until he was fired in July 2017.
Christmas specials filmography[]
| Production | Year | Character(s) |
|---|---|---|
| John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together | 1979 | Additional Muppets |
| Fraggle Rock: "The Bells of Fraggle Rock" | 1984 | Wembley Fraggle Sprocket |
| The Christmas Toy | 1986 | Mew Dauntless Dragon |
| A Muppet Family Christmas | 1987 | Rizzo the Rat Sprocket The Christmas Turkey Wembley Fraggle Lips |
| Dinosaurs: "Refrigerator Day" | 1991 | Robbie Sinclair BP Richfield |
| The Muppet Christmas Carol | 1992 | Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog) Rizzo the Rat Beaker Bean Bunny Belinda Cratchit Lips Laundress Pig businessman Inkspots Rats Whatnots |
| Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree | 1995 | Kermit the Frog Bear Owl |
| Elmo Saves Christmas | 1996 | Ernie Kermit the Frog |
| Jim Henson's Animal Show: "The Siberian Tiger and the Reindeer" | 1998 | Jake the Polar Bear |
| It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie | 2002 | Kermit the Frog Rizzo the Rat Beaker Bean Bunny Mr. Poodlepants |
| Best Ever Christmas Films | 2005 | Rizzo the Rat Beaker |
| A Sesame Street Christmas Carol | 2006 | Ernie |
| Elmo's Christmas Countdown | 2007 | |
| A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | 2008 | Kermit the Frog Rizzo the Rat Statler Beaker |
| Lady Gaga & the Muppets' Holiday Spectacular | 2013 | Kermit the Frog Rizzo the Rat Statler Beaker Lips |
| The Muppets: "Single All the Way" | 2015 | Kermit the Frog Rizzo the Rat Statler Beaker |
| Muppet Moments: "Ho Ho Ho!" | Kermit the Frog Beaker Muppet Newsman Rizzo the Rat | |
| Muppet Moments: "Christmas" | ||
| Muppet Moments: "Santa Claus" |