Kermit the Frog didn’t start out as a frog—or even green. When Jim Henson first created him in 1955, Kermit was stitched together from a turquoise spring coat that belonged to Henson’s mother, with two ping-pong ball halves for eyes. 

He appeared on a local TV show called Sam and Friends, not as a frog but as a lizard-like creature. It wasn’t until 1969, when Sesame Street debuted, that Kermit officially became a frog—and by the time The Muppet Show aired in 1976, he had evolved into the familiar green, banjo-strumming star we know today.

Jim Henson voiced and performed Kermit until his death in 1990. Though others have stepped into the role since, the frog with the turquoise origin remains a handmade icon with a deeply human touch.