Thanks to Amy Dee Stephens for such a nice write up about my work with a certain amphibian!
Ten-year-old Lucas Ross loved watching the Muppets. His dream job was to work with Jim Henson. “So, I was pretty devastated when Henson died before I grew up,” Lucas said.
In hindsight, Lucas could never have predicted the rambling course that actually led him to become the banjo player for Kermit the Frog. His first banjo memory was of Kermit singing his famous song, “The Rainbow Connection.” Although Lucas did not take banjo lessons, he performed a talent show imitation of a banjo act by his hero, comedian and banjo player Steve Martin.
Lucas was not, however, destined to become part of Kermit’s life instantly. Instead, he spent years learning television production and live entertainment. He interned for That ’70s Show, became a familiar face on Freedom 43 and KFOR, joined The American Banjo Museum, and won seven Heartland Emmy Awards.
Is This the Sweetest Sound?
Without realizing it, a turning point came for Lucas when the late Dr. Irvin Wagner of the Oklahoma Community Orchestra asked him to play The Rainbow Connection and orchestrated additional songs for Lucas’s first of four music CDs for kids.
“That CD was heard by Matt Vogel, the current performer of Kermit,” Lucas said. “During COVID, Vogel invited me to play banjo for Kermit in a quarantine video. That led to a commercial, the 50th Anniversary of Schoolhouse Rock, and a Hallmark musical ornament. And now, I’m the Kermit banjo guy.”
Admittedly, Lucas hadn’t realized his performance career was under observation. Disney’s Muppets Studio had watched him for a long time. “I’m not the best banjo player, but I took some advice from Steve Martin, who said, ‘Be so good they can’t ignore you.’ So, I practiced. And I can play exactly like Kermit.”
The Lovers, The Dreamers and Me
Humor aside, Lucas acknowledges his many mentors along the way. He believes he is living proof that success is more than a “wish on the morning star.” Being nice, positive and easy to work with has kept the doors of opportunity open. “Do the right thing—even if you think no one is watching— because Disney might be watching!”
Ever since Kermit hopped into Lucas’s life in 2020, his career has experienced a metamorphosis. Early on, Lucas felt some imposter syndrome as he stepped into his childhood fantasy. After the pandemic, he was invited to play banjo in a Willie Nelson concert. Kermit was the star, but Lucas was behind the curtain.
“I was anxious. I couldn’t mess up Kermit’s song, but the Muppet crew was so welcoming that by showtime, I knew I was supposed to do this.”
Beyond the Rainbow
In recent years, Lucas played banjo in the movie Killers of the Flower Moon, and the upcoming Matthew McConaughey movie, The Rivals of Amziah King, loosely inspired by Lucas’s dad, a beekeeper.
In June, Lucas ended his morning shift at KFOR for the final time to pursue new adventures and spend more time with his teenage children. Lucas and his brother, Marcus, are developing the prototype for a local children’s show in the vein of Mr. Rogers, but his main focus is his expanded role at The American Banjo Museum.
Lucas feels a deep connection to the museum’s current exhibit called POP! Goes the Banjo! “It’s cool that the 1979 Muppets poster with Kermit playing the banjo is facing the banjo I played in Killers of the Flower Moon—so I’m in the same exhibit as my hero.”
“If I could have told my childhood self I would work with Kermit when I grew up—I would think I must be a superstar millionaire! I’m not,” Lucas laughed, “but it’s been a special journey.”