Matt Vogel (puppeteer)
Matt Vogel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Matthew James Vogel October 6, 1970 Kansas City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse |
Kelly C. McDonnell (m. 1997) |
| Children | 5 |
| Website | www |
Matthew James Vogel (born October 6, 1970)[1] is an American puppeteer, actor and director. Vogel has worked for Sesame Workshop and The Muppets Studio. He has performed for the Muppets, Sesame Street, and Oobi. He has been the performer of Kermit the Frog since 2017 and the full-time performer of Big Bird since 2018.
Career[edit]
Vogel first auditioned for the Jim Henson Company in 1993 and joined the crew of Sesame Street in 1996 as an ensemble puppeteer. He has served as a director and puppet captain on Sesame Street since 2008. He inherited many of Jerry Nelson's Muppet character roles in 2008, when he began performing with The Muppets Studio. Since 2017, he has been the performer of Kermit the Frog.
With the Muppets, Vogel is one of the principal cast performers with the roles of Kermit,[2] Floyd Pepper, Uncle Deadly, Lew Zealand, Crazy Harry, Robin the Frog (until 2017 when Peter Linz took over to allow Kermit and Robin to still be in scenes together), Sweetums, Camilla the Chicken,[3] Dr. Julius Strangepork, Pops, '80s Robot and Constantine under his tutelage.[2] On Sesame Street, Vogel is the performer of Big Bird, Count von Count and Mr. Johnson as well as Biff, Herb the Dinosaur, Hansel, Forgetful Jones, Sherlock Hemlock and one of the Yip-Yip Martians. He also performs Alex, a Muppet whose father is in jail, for the Sesame Street in Communities initiative page on incarceration.[4] On Oobi, he performed Angus.[5]
Beginning his puppeteering career at the Jim Henson Company in the 1990s,[6] Vogel later served as the assistant puppeteer for Ernie on Sesame Street, performing with Steve Whitmire.[7] After studying the role of Big Bird under the performance of Caroll Spinney since 1996, he inherited the role in 2015, explaining "It takes a lot of physical exertion" and "I'm wearing the body of the bird".[8][9] Spinney remarked that "Vogel" is the German translation for "bird".[9] He also took over the puppetry of the Sesame Street character Count von Count, and also the voice after Nelson died in 2012.[9]
With The Muppets Studio, Vogel has been performing since 2008, and has appeared in The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted, and a short-lived primetime series.[10] Vogel performed the Muppets that were used in Kenneth's view of the world in the 30 Rock episode "Apollo, Apollo".[11] In 2016, Vogel voiced the character, Wilkins in Alice Through the Looking Glass directed by James Bobin.[2]
From 2017 onward, Vogel was cast as the new performer for Kermit the Frog, replacing Whitmire.[12] His first official performance as Kermit was a "Muppets Thought of the Week" segment uploaded on the Muppets' official YouTube channel in August 2017.[2] In 2019, Vogel performed Kermit the Frog for a special return appearance on Sesame Street's 50th anniversary special (which also featured Vogel as Big Bird and the Count).[13]
In 2021, Vogel performed Kermit the Frog when he competed on season five of The Masked Singer as "Snail" and was the first to be eliminated.[14]
Personal life[edit]
Vogel is originally from Kansas City, Kansas. He was a fan of both Sesame Street and The Muppet Show as a kid. Vogel interned at Messner Puppet Theater in his home town where he played his first role of Victor Frankenstein in Paul Mesner Puppets’ “Frankenstein” in 1993.[3] After 1993, he moved from Kansas City to New York.[3] Vogel has been married to his wife Kelly C. McDonnell since August 31, 1997; together they have five children.[15][16]
Filmography[edit]
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–present | Sesame Street | Various characters Big Bird (1998-present)[8] Count von Count (2013-present) Mr. Johnson (2014-present) |
Also director (7 episodes plus various segments and other appearances) | |
| 1994–1998 | The Puzzle Place | Skye Nuzzle |
Season 3 | |
| 1996 | Elmo Saves Christmas | Additional performer | ||
| 1996–98 | Big Bag | Ensemble puppeteer | ||
| 1998 | Elmo's World | Shade, Quongo the Monkey, Big Bird, Shelley the Turtle, Herb, Groucho Marx Muppet, etc. | ||
| 1999 | The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland | Assistant for Big Bird | ||
| 2000 | Between the Lions | Ensemble puppeteer | ||
| 2002–07 | Play with Me Sesame | Assistant for Ernie | ||
| 2003 | Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic | Big Bird | Theme park film | |
| 2003-04 | The Planet Matzah Ball | |||
| 2003–05 | Oobi | Angus | ||
| 2005–07 | Jack's Big Music Show | Leonard the Country Squirrel | ||
| 2006 | Demon Days Live | Murdoc Niccals | Puppetry only, uncredited | |
| 2006 | Blue's Room | Alphabet Puppy | ||
| 2008 | A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa | Floyd Pepper Camilla the Chicken Lew Zealand Robin the Frog Pigeon Son |
||
| 2011 | The Muppets | Floyd Pepper Camilla the Chicken Sweetums '80s Robot Lew Zealand Uncle Deadly Crazy Harry |
||
| 2013 | Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map | Fred Jones | Puppetry only | |
| 2014 | Muppets Most Wanted | Constantine Floyd Pepper Sweetums Pops Robin the Frog Lew Zealand Crazy Harry '80s Robot Camilla the Chicken Uncle Deadly |
||
| 2015–2016 | The Muppets | Uncle Deadly Floyd Pepper Sweetums Lew Zealand Crazy Harry Camilla the Chicken Robin the Frog |
||
| 2016 | Alice Through the Looking Glass | Wilkins | Voice | |
| The Furchester Hotel | Big Bird Count von Count |
|||
| Once Upon a Sesame Street Christmas | Count von Count Constable/Mr. Johnson Big Bird (puppetry only) |
Also director | ||
| 2017 | The Muppets Take the Bowl | Kermit the Frog Uncle Deadly Floyd Pepper Lew Zealand Crazy Harry Camilla the Chicken Dr. Julius Strangepork Snowth Sweetums (voice) |
Live show at the Hollywood Bowl, Sept. 8–10 | |
| 2018 | The Muppets Take the O2 | Kermit the Frog Uncle Deadly Floyd Pepper Lew Zealand Crazy Harry Camilla the Chicken Dr. Julius Strangepork Sweetums (voice) |
Live show at the O2, Jul. 13-14 | |
| 2019 | Muppet Babies Play Date | Kermit the Frog (baby) | Puppetry only | |
| Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration | Big Bird Count von Count Kermit the Frog Forgetful Jones Mr. Johnson Sherlock Hemlock |
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| 2020–2021 | The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo | Count von Count Big Bird Biff Mr. Johnson |
Also director Big Bird was a special guest in his role since Caroll Spinney's death. | |
| 2020 | Amphibia | Crumpet the Frog | Voice role, Episode: "Swamp and Sensibility" Credited as Kermit the Frog[17] | |
| Muppets Now | Kermit the Frog Uncle Deadly Floyd Pepper Camilla the Chicken Cacti |
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| 2021 | The Masked Singer | Kermit the Frog / The Snail[18] | Eliminated in first episode | |
| Muppets Haunted Mansion | Kermit the Frog Floyd Pepper Pops Crazy Harry Lew Zealand Uncle Deadly Sweetums |
|||
| Donkey Hodie | King Friday XIII | |||
| A Capitol Fourth | Kermit the Frog | Co-hosting with Vanessa Williams | ||
| 2022 | Best in Snow | Kermit the Frog[19] | Disney+ special | |
| 2023 | The Muppets Mayhem | Floyd Pepper |
Other appearances[edit]
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | The Muppets Christmas Caroling Coach[20] | Kermit the Frog Camilla the Chicken |
Voices, theme park show at Disneyland during Disney Merriest Nights |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "What You Need to Know About Matt Vogel: The New Kermit". July 13, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Petski, Denise (July 10, 2017). "Kermit the Frog Voice Actor Exiting After 27 Years". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 17, 2017.
- ^ a b c Gish, Sarah (July 2017). "KCK native Matt Vogel is the new voice of Kermit the Frog". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ The Associated Press (July 11, 2017). "Kermit the Frog gets a new voice after 27 years". CBC News. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ "Matt Vogel". TV.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ Romano, Nick (July 11, 2017). "Kermit the Frog gets new voice actor after 27 years". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ Leane, Rob (July 11, 2017). "The Muppets: Kermit actor quits the ensemble". Den of Geek. Archived from the original on July 11, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ a b Cordero, Rosy (December 8, 2019). "Sesame Street legend Caroll Spinney, who played Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, dies at 85". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c Vogel, Matt (October 13, 2016). "Matt Vogel is Big Bird". BBC. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ Caffrey, Dan (September 30, 2015). "The Muppets' flaws are justified, if still slightly jarring". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on October 1, 2015. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
- ^ Staff (January 31, 2013). "So long, 30 Rock: We bid Liz Lemon adieu with some of our favourite show moments". National Post. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
- ^ Parker, Ryan (July 10, 2017). "Longtime Kermit the Frog Voice Actor Replaced After 27 Years". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 12, 2017. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
- ^ "'Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary Celebration' HBO Review: Stream It or Skip It?". November 9, 2019.
- ^ Vogel, Matt [@welcomemattv] (March 11, 2021). "This is so sweet" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Ten Minutes With Matt Vogel". Archived from the original on February 4, 2015. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ Gish, Sarah. "KCK native Matt Vogel is the new voice of Kermit the Frog". Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
- ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (June 23, 2020). "Disney Channel Renews 'Amphibia' For Season 3; Kermit The Frog, Jenifer Lewis, George Takei And More To Guest Star On Season 2". Deadline.
- ^ Matt Vogel [@welcomemattv] (March 11, 2021). "This is so sweet, dear Stephanie! Thanks, friend" (Tweet). Retrieved April 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Disney+ Prepares for the Holidays with Trailers for "Best in Snow," "The Hip Hop Nutcracker" and More". laughingplace.com. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
- ^ "Video: The Muppet Christmas Caroling Coach Debuts at Disney Merriest Nites". laughingplace.com. November 11, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
External links[edit]
- Official site Archived April 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- Matt Vogel at IMDb
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