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The former Kermit the Frog actor says he's not hurt he's excluded from the upcoming Jim Henson documentary ... he's hurt 'cause he thinks Jim's spirit within The Muppets is dying.

Steve Whitmire -- who took up the role in 1990 after Henson's untimely death -- tells TMZ ... producers contacted him about the forthcoming documentary "Jim Henson Idea Man" all about the iconic puppeteer a few years ago for home movies he shot dating back to 1978.

Whitmire says he happily handed over the tapes and expected the team to come back around when they were ready to interview him -- after all, he voiced the franchise's most iconic character from '90 until his firing in 2017 -- but, he says no one followed up.

El ex actor de la Rana René dice que no está dolido por haber sido excluido del próximo documental de Jim Henson, dice que está dolido porque cree que el espíritu de Jim dentro de Los Muppets se está muriendo.

Steve Whitmire, quien asumió el papel en 1990 después de la muerte prematura de Henson, le dice a TMZ que los productores se pusieron en contacto con él por el próximo documental "Jim Henson Idea Man", sobre el icónico titiritero, particularmente por unas películas caseras que filmó que se remontan a 1978.

Whitmire dice que felizmente entregó las cintas y esperaba que el equipo volviera para entrevistarlo, después de todo, dio voz al personaje más icónico de la franquicia desde el 90 hasta su despido en 2017, pero dice que nadie lo llamó.

Houston Rockets star Jalen Green welcomed a baby girl to the world earlier this year ... but the mother has zero issues with the fact he's expecting another kid with his current girlfriend, Draya Michele -- 'cause TMZ Sports is told there is absolutely no bad blood in the situation.

Our sources tell us Green is, in fact, the father of a baby born on Feb. 12. The mother is 23-year-old California student Myah Iakopo.

We're told Green and Iakopo knew each other for a while ... but they were not ever in a serious relationship. Regardless, the former 2nd overall pick has vowed to be super involved in baby Peace Moira's life ... and is financially supporting the child as needed.

If MMA promotions didn't exist, and A.J. McKee could choose any fighter in the world to scrap with, who would it be?! TMZ Sports asked the former Bellator world champion.

"My dream in mixed martial arts has always been [Max] Halloway. He's just such a technician and a stud. That's the best of the best," 29-year-old McKee told Babcock during a sitdown interview at the TMZ office this week.

Of course, barring a big shakeup, it's unlikely it'll happen. Max -- who just beat Justin Gaethje -- is signed to the UFC, while A.J.'s under contract with PFL/Bellator.

Helen Keller's remarkable collection of letters -- spanning from her childhood to adulthood -- is hitting the open market for a jaw-dropping $75,000.

Momentsintime.com got its hands on the historic pages ... which for the first time, reveal new details about the unknown relationship between Helen and her mother, Kate.

There's a truly remarkable 7-page handwritten and illustrated letter written by Helen when she was just 8 years old -- and, it provides early insight into how she'd later break barriers for people with hearing and sight impairments.

Breathe easy, Bengals fans ... Chad Johnson tells TMZ Sports he's been in touch with Tee Higgins recently, and he's confident the wide receiver's gripe with Cincinnati will get smoothed over sooner rather than later.

If you've missed it, the Bengals star wideout has been upset with his contract situation in Cincy for a while now ... after he and the team have repeatedly disagreed on the figures of his annual salary.

Reportedly, Higgins wants a deal near $25 mil a year, but the Bengals haven't been willing to pay him that. In fact, they've been so far apart, the Cincinnati franchise tagged him earlier this year -- meaning if the two sides don't reach an agreement soon, the wideout will have to play on a one-year pact worth roughly $21 million.

La extraordinaria colección de cartas de Helen Keller, que abarca desde su infancia hasta la edad adulta, se vende por 75.000 dólares.

Momentsintime.com tiene en sus manos un pedazo de historia que por primera vez revelan nuevos detalles sobre la relación desconocida entre Helen y su madre, Kate.

Hay una carta manuscrita e ilustrada de 7 páginas realmente extraordinaria, escrita por Helen cuando solo tenía 8 años, que proporciona una visión temprana de cómo más tarde rompería las barreras para las personas con discapacidades auditivas y visuales.

Jeff Beacher and Kelly Osbourne are officially bringing "Beacher's Madhouse" back ... telling a photog the variety show's returning -- but, only for a limited time.

The duo was out of Craig's in West Hollywood, along with Kelly's baby daddy Sid Wilson and their son Sidney ... and they confirmed the good news the uber-popular "high end circus" -- as it's been called -- is coming back to L.A. after almost a decade.

Unfortunately for longtime fans, the show's not coming back to H'Wood for good ... instead, Jeff and Kelly -- who now serves as creative director -- say it's coming back for just 3 nights only as part of the Netflix Is a Joke comedy festival.

Usher le dijo a todo el mundo que el espectáculo debía continuar, ya que realizó un espectáculo en Las Vegas en medio de la cancelación a último momento del festival Lovers & Friends, subiéndole el ánimo a todos los fans.

Este video obtenido por TMZ muestra a la estrella del pop en el escenario del Jewel Nightclub Aria Hotel and Casino el viernes por la noche, cantando algunas canciones con el público tras la noticia de la cancelación del festival.

Echa un vistazo al clip, Usher apareció vestido de blanco, con un vaso de bebida en la mano e inmediatamente hizo participar a la multitud, haciéndolos cantar las notas de apertura de una pista y animándolos a lo largo del concierto.

Usher said the show must go on ... pulling up to perform a show in Vegas despite the Lovers & Friends festival's last-minute cancelation -- and raising fans' spirits.

Video obtained by TMZ shows the popstar taking the stage at Jewel Nightclub Aria Hotel and Casino Friday night ... and, belting out some tunes with the audience after news of the festival's cancelation came in.

Check out the clip ... Usher arrives in an all-white get-up, drink glass in hand -- and, he immediately gets the crowd involved, making them sing the opening notes to a track and hyping up the whole joint.

6:36 AM PT -- Looks like Craig David's gonna have to wait even longer to get back on stage -- 'cause Lovers & Friends pulled the plug on its big festival less than 24 hours before doors opened.

Craig David's gone from getting it seven days a week to abstinence 365 days a year ... opening up about celibacy on "The TMZ Podcast" -- saying he's now on top of his game creatively.

Craig -- famous for writing the intimate anthem "7 Days" -- says he still is celibate ... adding he decided to do it because he wanted to "park" sex in favor of spirituality.

Craig David ha pasado de hacerlo siete días a la semana a abstenerse los 365 días al año, y el cantante y compositor se abrió sobre su celibato con "The TMZ Podcast" y nos dijo que su creatividad está en la cima en este momento.

Craig, famoso por escribir el himno íntimo "7 Days", contó que todavía es célibe y añadió que decidió hacerlo porque quería "aparcar" el sexo en favor de la espiritualidad.

Y aquí la bomba, Craig dice que no se ha echado un polvo en más de dos años, un poco sorprendente, ya que en su momento escribió una canción sobre hacer el amor prácticamente todos los días de la semana.

Will Moseley's getting some support from a fellow hunter ... claiming the "American Idol" star was totally justified to sick dogs on a hog he hunted -- he says it's just the way hunters live.

Cameron Hanes -- an author and hunter whose goal is to become the "Ultimate Predator" -- spoke with TMZ ... and, he's defending Will Moseley's hunting methods.

CH tells TMZ ... hogs are an invasive species, and hunters need to take them down. Cam adds the best way to hunt them is with dogs, so he's got no issue with Hanes using them in the vid he posted a couple years back.

Ryan García claramente no estaba preocupado de haber reprobado un test de drogas horas antes de que se diera a conocer al público porque TMZ Sports obtuvo un video suyo saliendo de fiesta en L.A. la noche del martes, aparentemente sin ninguna preocupación.

García llegó a Bootsy Bellows en West Hollywood alrededor de la medianoche, aproximadamente 20 horas antes de que se revelara que tenía Ostarine en su sistema el día antes de su gran victoria sobre Devin Haney, y estuvo bailando sobre una mesa de lo más relajado.

Una persona que estuvo ahí nos dice que García estuvo de buen humor todo el tiempo, tomando tequila e incluso tomándose algunas selfies con otras personas del club.

Ryan Garcia clearly wasn't sweating his flunked drug test in the hours before it became known to the public ... 'cause TMZ Sports has obtained video of him partying hard at an L.A. hotspot on Tuesday night -- seemingly without a care in the world.

Garcia hit up Bootsy Bellows in West Hollywood at around midnight -- roughly 20 hours before it was revealed he had Ostarine in his system the day before his huge upset win over Devin Haney -- and he danced at his table with no signs of worry.

We're told by one person in attendance that Garcia appeared to be in great spirits the entire time he was there -- sippin' on tequila ... and even taking selfies with other clubgoers.

The Garcia Twins haven’t entered the squared-circle in years, but they aren't ready to hang up their boots ... telling TMZ Sports they aren't ruling out an in-ring return in the future -- they're just waiting for the right moment.

We chopped it up with the former WWE duo on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs on FS1) this week ... and asked them about the possibility of stepping back into the ring after some time away.

The sisters admitted they miss being in on the action ... but there has been some more important business to attend to lately -- motherhood.