When did Kermit become a frog?

In the early days, the character Kermit was not a frog. The character was introduced in 1955 on the show Sam and Friends. Kermit had feet instead of flippers and no collar. As Jim Henson described: "all the characters in those days were abstract". Kermit was simply a lizard-like creature, but was not a specific species. Kermit truly became a frog in the late 1960s.

Some sources, such as Jim Henson: The Works, mention that Kermit the Frog first became a frog for the 1971 special The Frog Prince. Even Jim Henson, himself said in a 1982 interview that it was the Frog Prince where Kermit gained his froghood.

Jim Henson: ...back in those days you may have read somewhere, but I didn't call him a frog.

Judy Harris: Right, he was just Kermit the thing.

Jim Henson: Yeah, all the characters in those days were abstract because that was part of the principle that I was working under, that you wanted abstract things.

Judy Harris: He didn't turn into a frog until you did The Frog Prince for a TV special.

Jim Henson: Yeah, that's right.

Judy Harris: That was the first time he got flippers and his little pointed collar?

Jim Henson: Right.

However, Kermit was already a frog, complete with flippers, in the 1970 specials Hey, Cinderella!. He was also a frog in the first season of Sesame Street in 1969.

But even before that, in the 1968 special The Muppets On Puppets, the then flipper-less Kermit was referred to as a frog two times.

See Also

• Kermit Through The Years