Actor Steve Whitmire is no longer voicing famous The Muppets‘ character Kermit The Frog.
A spokeswoman for The Muppets Studio, which is owned by Disney, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Whitmire has been replaced by Muppets performer Matt Vogel.
Puppeteer Vogel will make his Kermit debut in a “Muppets Thought of the Week” video which will be released next week (beg17Jul17).
Whitmire joined The Muppet Show in 1978 and took over the role of Kermit after Muppets co-creator Jim Henson died in 1990. He voiced the character for 27 years, with recent film appearances in 2011’s The Muppets and 2014’s Muppets Most Wanted.
Whitmore also voiced Rizzo the Rat, Statler, one half of the grumpy heckling duo Statler and Waldorf, flame-haired lab assistant Beaker and trumpet player Lips, among others.
The reason behind Whitmire’s departure has not been disclosed.
