He was mainly created so that Whitmire could have a character to perform in the band. His lack of character development was apparently due to Whitmire's uncertainty about performing Lips. He was less experienced as a puppeteer at the time and wanted to use a voice like Louis Armstrong but was afraid of offending African Americans. After "The Muppet Christmas Carol", he wasn't seen at all until the NBC special "Christmas in Rockefeller Center". He also appeared in the movie "The Muppets". He also appeared and spoke (albeit very briefly) in the 2014 movie "Muppets Most Wanted". He appears (and speaks on several occasions) in the new series "The Muppets" completely rebuilt as the original puppet from his "Muppet Show" days actually disintegrated on set during the filming of the 2015 music video "Kodachrome".