Who Took Over Kermit After Jim Henson’s Death and Did Henson Own Sesame Street?

Jim Henson, born James Maury Henson on September 24, 1936, in Greenville, Mississippi, is renowned as one of the most influential puppeteers and filmmakers in history.

After Jim Henson’s death in 1990, Steve Whitmire took over the role of Kermit the Frog. Whitmire had been with the Muppets since 1978 and was chosen by Henson’s family to continue voicing Kermit.

He performed the character for nearly three decades until he was replaced in 2017 due to various professional disagreements with Disney and internal issues within the Muppets team.

Regarding Sesame Street, Jim Henson did not own the show. While he created and performed many characters for Sesame Street, the show is produced by the Sesame Workshop, a separate entity.

Henson’s company, The Jim Henson Company, was involved in creating characters for Sesame Street, but the rights and ownership of the show itself belong to Sesame Workshop.

Henson’s influence on the Muppets and characters like Kermit is profound, but he did not have ownership over Sesame Street as a whole.