 After the untimely death of Jim Henson (I) (qv) in 1990, Kermit  the Frog was retired from the show. Kermit appeared only in reruns  of old sketches until 1998, when he popped up to do one more Sesame  Street News Flash when Oscar the Grouchs pet worm Slimy went into  space. Kermit was voiced by Steve Whitmire (qv), who has also  assumed the role of Ernie since Hensons passing. However, as of  2000, another actor now plays Ernie, since the Jim Henson Company is  no longer involved in the production of the show.