Kermit the Frog  Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the straight man protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably "Sesame Street" and "The Muppet Show", as well as in other television series, feature films, specials, and public service announcements through the years. Henson performed Kermit until his death in 1990; Steve Whitmire performed Kermit from that time until his dismissal in 2016. Kermit is currently performed by Matt Vogel. He 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 performed the hit singles "Bein' Green" in 1970 and "Rainbow Connection" in 1979 for "The Muppet Movie", the first feature-length film featuring the Muppets. "The Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. Kermit's iconic look and voice have been recognizable in popular culture worldwide since, and in 2006, 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 first appeared on May 9, 1955, in the premiere of WRC-TV's "Sam and Friends". This prototype Kermit was created from a discarded spring coat belonging to Henson's mother and two ping pong ball halves for eyes. Initially, Kermit was a lizard-like creature. He subsequently made a number of television appearances before his status as a frog was established. His collar was added at the time to make him seem more frog-like and to conceal the seam between his head and body. 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 on the Jim Henson Company's website:   Joy DiMenna, the only daughter of Kermit Kalman Cohen who worked as 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 Kermit Cohen's obituary, as well as DiMenna and Lenny Levin, a colleague of Mr. Cohen's at WBAL: Another common belief is that Kermit was named for Kermit Love, who worked with Henson in designing and constructing Muppets, particularly on "Sesame Street" but 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 the character.