page_title: Rizzo the Rat
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Rizzo the Rat / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Kermit the Frog puppeteer, Steve Whitmire. 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey joined First Lady Michelle Obama in welcoming military families to a movie screening of the new Muppets movie, Muppets Most Wanted, at the White House, Mar. 12, 2014. Gen. Dempsey opened the event with some jokes, and the First Lady introduced a special guest - Kermit the Frog. The three of them emphasized their gratitude for the service, strength, and resiliency of military families. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp)
context_page_description: Rizzo the Rat is a Muppet character, created and originally performed by Steve Whitmire. He is a fictional rat who appeared on The Muppet Show and numerous films, with a starring role in the 1992 film The Muppet Christmas Carol.
  The character is particularly associated with Gonzo the Great, with the two sharing a double act since 1992. Whitmire based the character on Ratso Rizzo in Midnight Cowboy and performed him until 2016.
context_section_description: Rizzo's name is derived from Dustin Hoffman's Ratso Rizzo character in Midnight Cowboy.  Steve Whitmire created the character, based on rats he had previously made out of bottles.
  Rizzo first appeared in episode 418 of The Muppet Show, as one of many rats following Christopher Reeve backstage. He can be seen mugging and reacting to practically every line of dialogue. He remained a scene-stealing background figure through the final season, occasionally performing with Dr. Teeth and The Electric Mayhem. By the time of The Muppets Christmas Carol, Whitmire had been performing Rizzo for around 12 years.
  After the series, he appeared in The Great Muppet Caper as a bellboy in a fleabag London hotel. He has appeared in most later Muppet projects, including The Muppets Take Manhattan and Muppets Tonight. In The Muppet Christmas Carol, he developed a double act with Gonzo, with director Brian Henson and the crew envisioning Rizzo as "pain-in-the-neck sidekick." The characters narrate, break the fourth wall, and Rizzo challenges Gonzo's claims to be Charles Dickens. The Gonzo and Rizzo partnership was continued in Muppet Treasure Island, with Rizzo again offering a humorous critique of the handling of the story, and in Muppets from Space. Along with Kermit and Gonzo, Rizzo gave an audio commentary for the Muppets from Space DVD.
  Rizzo appears as a background character in the 2011 film The Muppets, without a spoken dialogue, although he is seen singing along during the finale, as well as the scene in which Kermit the Frog addresses a large crowd of Muppets.  In Muppets Most Wanted (2014), and the short feature Rizzo's Biggest Fan on the Blu-ray release, the character calls for more screentime. Rizzo returned to prominence in the TV series The Muppets, where he was on a writing crew with Gonzo and Pepe the King Prawn.
  In 2017, it was announced Whitmire departed from the Muppets franchise, including the part of Rizzo, after being dismissed from the part of Kermit the Frog in October 2016. Disney did not immediately announce a new performer for Rizzo, though Matt Vogel was announced for the replacement for Kermit.
caption: Steve Whitmire was Rizzo's creator and original performer.
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