Steve Whitmire (Kermit the Frog and Ernie since 1990) no longer with the Muppets.

And just to bring this up to date: here are the current Muppet performers working for Sesame Street describing what it takes to perform their characters...



I was very surprised that they gave the public this much of a glance behind the scenes as to how this stuff is done. Note the emphasis on how it takes years and years and years before the character really shines through the performance.

 

That was great! I too am surprised they shared so much with the general public.

 

I find it very telling that the Ryan Dillon (the current performer of Elmo) won't say Kevin Clash's (former and most long-lasting performer) name. Clearly, the stuff that happened a few years ago is fresh enough in their minds that his name is verboten.

Ed

 

He was probably specifically told not to mention his name and I can't say I blame them under the circumstances (even though the allegations were probably false).

 

Do you mean in the video above, or in general? Because in the video there's no reason Clash would be mentioned. None of the other originators of the characters are mentioned, including Carol Spinney. If anyone should have been mentioned in that video, it's him. What is Spinney's current status, btw? Is he completely retired, doing Big Bird part time, still doing Oscar, or what? The most recent thing I can find is this article from last April which says he is not retiring, so I find it interesting he's not mentioned in the video.

I don't know enough to have a strong opinion, but there were three accusers and the lawsuits were dismissed because of statute of limitations issues rather than issues of evidence. As best I can determine, one of the accusers recanted his allegations (reportedly in exchange for a settlement) but then later recanted his recantation. Given there are multiple accusers, I'd lean towards there probably being some truth to the allegations.

 

Spinney is mentioned but, as you noted, the others are not.

 

Caroll still does Oscar (but he has an understudy in Eric Jacobson) and Big Bird (Matt Vogel is his understudy for Big Bird as you can see in the video).

Here's a video comparing Caroll's Big Bird to Matt's:



Caroll still performs both characters very regularly (which is pretty amazing considering his age).

He is very dedicated to his craft and he really seems to love what he does. I have heard from many who have met him the the is an absolute Class Act and a true gentleman.

I don't know if he has any specific plans to retire anytime soon or not but I think he'll keep going as long as he's able to.

 

That's true: Kevin Clash (the previous Elmo) was cleared of all the sex-abuse charges:

Elmo Puppeteer Kevin Clash Cleared of Sex Abuse Charges

It didn't help -- they fired the guy anyway. There are sometimes "shades of gray" in the current sex harassment trend going on in Hollywood, and it's not always a clear-cut case of abuse. Cosby and Weinstein are one thing, but some of the other cases are more of a matter of opinion.

 

It's easier to just fire the guy and bring in the understudy and let him take over the job- less potential for headache in the future and it's not like Kevin was going to be able to keep doing the character forever anyway. From a PR standpoint it makes sense to just fire him and wash your hands of the situation.

 

Eh, there's quite a few famous people losing their jobs in Hollywood, and not all of them are guilty of any crimes. Just a lot of innuendo.

 

You don't have to be guilty of a crime to be too much risk to keep around. There's no law that says you have to be convicted of anything to be fired. You can be fired just for possibly doing something that might make the company look bad. The object of firing him was to quickly distance themselves from a bad situation. Sesame Workshop has a 40 year trusted history and characters that are major important cash cows to protect. The characters will live on for decades long after the public has forgotten who Kevin Clash is or what he (allegedly) did.

I feel bad that he was accused of something he probably didn't do, but on the other hand he also allowed himself to be put in a situation (and probably did several times) where something like this could easily happen and ruin him, so it sounds like he didn't make very smart decisions in regards to his personal life even if he didn't do what he was accused of.

At the end of the day, none of the scandalous stuff takes away from the fact that he was/is an incredible talent when it comes to puppetry and that he really did put all of his talent into performing Elmo (and other characters) and did it as good as the best of them.

 

Yes, there's a reason his name would have been mentioned. Ryan goes to pains to say "under the guidance of the performer before me" rather than his name. At about 6:20, Matt Vogel specifically alludes to studying under Carroll Spinney.

Ed

 

Aha. I missed that (obviously, I guess). I wasn't paying close enough attention when I had the video on. It seems likely he's been specifically instructed by their legal department not to mention Clash by name, I would guess.

Clash was never charged with any sex abuse crimes, rather he was sued by his alleged victims. And despite what it says in the headline of that Hollywood Reporter article you linked, it's not really accurate to say he was cleared. "Cleared" should be reserved for situations in which someone is found not guilty or wins a lawsuit on merits, or in cases where an accuser recants or definitive exculpatory evidence has emerged. None of those things was the case here... instead, the three lawsuits against Clash were dismissed solely due to statute of limitations, which doesn't prove anything one way or another as far as guilt.

Given there were three accusers, I tend to think it's likely he probably did do what he was accused of. However, it's important to remember that what he was accused of (consensual sex with 17-year-olds) is not even a crime in many states. Clash just happened to be unfortunate enough to live in a state where it is illegal.

 

Caroll Spinney is still doing the voices for Big Bird and Oscar, but he's stopped doing the actual puppeteering on the show due to physical problems (he says at the 10:08 mark of the video below that he has dystonia in his left arm that has affected his whole balance - you can see how much it affects him when he's getting on and off the stage).

 

Oh wow, that's too bad! I had no idea.. Thanks for posting the video. On the plus side, he's certainly earned the right to step down at this point and Big Bird is in safe (ahem) hands with Matt's abilities.

 

All the lawsuits were dismissed and the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence and/or being filed after the statute of limitations:

Kevin Clash - Wikipedia

I think if you took every celebrity who had had sex with minors and threw them in jail, that would cover at least 50% of every actor, rock star, or filmmaker who ever lived. And to some degree I think it would apply to the very wealthy, too. There's been a few internet billionaires who've been found guilty of far more sordid crimes.

 

To the best of my knowledge, he was never charged with a crime. Lawsuits were filed by the accusers which were dismissed due to statutes of limitation. The point I was making was just that he was not cleared, since the evidence (or lack thereof) was not the basis for the dismissals, and there was never any legal ruling about his guilt or innocence. I tend to think he probably did do what he was accused of, but I agree with you that it's not something that is uncommon, and as I noted its not even illegal in many states.

 

What is this based on? How do you arrive at thinking he was guilty?

Ed

 

There's three separate accusers who do not know each other nor have any connection to each other. If there was just one accuser and no evidence besides his word, I'd be unwilling to venture an opinion one way or the other. But when there's three guys, well, it seems much more likely that one person would be lying than it does that three people would. It's not conclusive of course, which is why I'm saying that I think it's probably true rather than certainly. And I'm not trying to pillory Clash. As I've noted, the thing he's accused of is legal in many states. If not for the fact that he worked in a field aimed at children, he probably could have survived this with his career intact.

 

Poor guy..... He has always done wonderfully!!

 

Boy, this is going to take some getting used to...

 

Carroll Spinney retiring after 50 years

 

God bless Carroll for staying with it as long as he did


God speed Big bird!!!