Kermit the Frog
Kermit aka Kermit the Frog is a muppet character and one of puppeteer Jim Henson's most famous creations. Kermit was voiced by Henson until his death in 1990 and has been voiced by puppeteer Steve Whitmire since then.
An early version of Kermit appeared in 1955, in a five minute puppet show for WRC-TV Sam and Friends. The early Kermit was a sort of lizardy thing; Kermit's first appearance as a frog was in the television special Hey Cinderella in 1969, and he's been a frog ever since.
Kermit had his break in 1971, with frequent appearances on Sesame Street as a news reporter interviewing nursery rhyme characters. One of his most memorable works was the song, "It's not easy being green". Kermit's song "Rainbow connection" was also a big hit from The Muppet Movie.
In The Muppet Show television series, Kermit was frontman and the long-suffering stage manager of the fictional theatre show. He continually struggled to produce a quality program, for a sparse and disaffected audience. Kermit also appeared in several Muppet movies and spin-off series, including Muppets Tonight.
As a running joke in the shows, Kermit was pursued by leading lady Miss Piggy. He is close friends with Fozzie Bear and has a nephew, Robin.
He continued to make appearances long after The Muppet Show had been cancelled in 1981.
In 1996, he gave a commencement speech at Southampton College in which he came out as an environmentalist. In 2001 he appeared in the TV show Hollywood Squares.
Such was his popularity across the pond that in 2000 he hosted the "1976" episode of the BBC's nostalgia series I Love 1970s (amongst other things, he recalled the phenomenon of punk rock and, naturally, The Muppet Show) and even joined fellow American Ruby Wax for a couple of between-band links at the Queen's Golden Jubilee concert in 2002.
There has been rumor spread that Kermit was named after the original Sesame Street Muppet designer, Kermit Love. Of course, based on the fact Jim Henson had worked on Kermit the Frog since grade 8, this proves impossible.