Matthew James Vogel (born October 6, 1970) 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 ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000 ...

'', and '' Oobi''. He has been the performer of Kermit the Frog since 2017 and the full-time performer of Big Bird since 2018.

Career

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, Floyd Pepper, Uncle Deadly, Lew Zealand,

Crazy Harry The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...

, Robin the Frog (until 2017 when Peter Linz took over to allow Kermit and Robin to still be in scenes together),

Sweetums The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...

Camilla the Chicken The Muppets are an ensemble group of comedic puppet characters originally created by Jim Henson. The Muppets have appeared in multiple television series, films, and other media appearances since the 1950s. The majority of the characters listed ...

, Dr. Julius Strangepork, Pops, '80s Robot and Constantine under his tutelage. On ''Sesame Street'', Vogel is the performer of Big Bird,

Count von Count Count von Count (known simply as the Count) is a Muppet character on the PBS/HBO children's television show ''Sesame Street.'' He is meant to parody Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Count Dracula. He first appeared on the show in the Season 4 premier ...

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. On '' Oobi'', he performed Angus. Beginning his puppeteering career at the Jim Henson Company in the 1990s, Vogel later served as the assistant puppeteer for Ernie on ''Sesame Street'', performing with Steve Whitmire. 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". Spinney remarked that "Vogel" is the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

translation for "bird". He also took over the puppetry of the ''Sesame Street'' character Count von Count, and also the voice after Nelson died in 2012. 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. Vogel performed the Muppets that were used in Kenneth's view of the world in the '' 30 Rock'' episode "

Apollo, Apollo "Apollo, Apollo" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 52nd episode of the series overall. It was written by executive producer Robert Carlock and directed by Millicent Shelton. Th ...

". In 2016, Vogel voiced the character, Wilkins in '' Alice Through the Looking Glass'' directed by

James Bobin James Bobin is a British filmmaker. He worked as a director and writer on ''Da Ali G Show'' and helped create the characters of Ali G, Borat, and Brüno. With Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement, he co-created '' Flight of the Conchords''. He di ...

. From 2017 onward, Vogel was cast as the new performer for Kermit the Frog, replacing Whitmire. His first official performance as Kermit was a "Muppets Thought of the Week" segment uploaded on the Muppets' official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel in August 2017. 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.

Personal life

Vogel is originally from Kansas City, Kansas. He was a fan of both ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'' as a boy. 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. After 1993, he moved from Kansas City to New York. Vogel has been married to his wife Kelly C. McDonnell since August 31, 1997; together they have five children.

Filmography

Other appearances

References

External links