Jim Henson

American puppeteer

Photo by: Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer · Public Domain · Wikimedia Commons

Born:September 24, 1936

Died:May 16, 1990

Age at death:53

Manner of death:Natural Causes

Cause of death:Toxic Shock Syndrome

Zodiac Sign:Libra

Height:1.90 m (6′3″)

Born in:Greenville, United States

Languages:English

Actor Animator Film Producer Director Composer Screenwriter Television Director Film Director Voice Actor Marionetteist Television Producer

Links

Wikipedia IMDb

Famous For

Notable Work

Sesame StreetThe MuppetsLabyrinthThe Dark CrystalFraggle Rock

Movies & TV

Sesame StreetThe Muppet ShowThe Muppet MovieFraggle RockThe Muppets Take Manhattan

Books

The Sesame Street Dictionary

Songs & Albums

Rainbow ConnectionRubber DuckieFraggle Rockin': A Collection

Awards

Disney Legends (2011)star on Hollywood Walk of Fame (1991)Hollywood Walk of Fame (1991)Inkpot Award (1990)Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series (1989)

Jim Henson

American puppeteer

Biography

James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and directing The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986), as well as creating the Muppets for Sesame Street (1969–present). Born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in both Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland, Henson began developing puppets in high school. He created Sam and Friends (1955–1961), a short-form comedy television program on WRC-TV, while he was a freshman at the University of Maryland, College Park, in collaboration with fellow student Jane Nebel. Henson and Nebel co-founded Muppets, Inc. – now The Jim Henson Company – in 1958, and married less than a year later in 1959. Henson graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in home economics. In 1969, Henson joined the children's television program Sesame Street, where he helped to develop Muppet characters for the series. He and his creative team also appeared on the first season of the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (1975–present). He produced the sketch comedy television series The Muppet Show (1976–1981) during this period. Henson revolutionized the way puppetry is captured and presented in video media, and he won fame for his characters – particularly Kermit the Frog, Rowlf the Dog, and the characters on Sesame Street. During the later years of his life, he founded the Jim Henson Foundation and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. He won the Emmy Award twice for his involvement in The Storyteller (1987–1988) and The Jim Henson Hour (1989). Henson died in New York City from toxic shock syndrome caused by Streptococcus pyogenes. At the time of his death, he was in negotiations to sell his company to The Walt Disney Company, but talks fell through after his death. He was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991, and was named a Disney Legend in 2011.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Jim Henson”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Quotes

“I suppose that he's an alter ego. But he's a little snarkier than I am - slightly wise. Kermit says things I hold myself back from saying.”

— Blau, Eleanor (May 17, 1990). "Jim Henson, Puppeteer, Dies; The Muppets' Creator Was 53". The New York Times. Retrieved on October 24, 2015.

“As children, we all live in a world of imagination, of fantasy, and for some of us that world of make-believe continues into adulthood.”

— It's Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider (Hyperion, 2005).; Cf. Wisdom from It's Not Easy Being Green: And Other Things to Consider (White Plains, N. Y.: Peter Pauper Press, Inc., 2007), p. 49.

“There must be a lot of shy actor in puppeteering. His work is the puppeteer's statement. It's his outlet. If I had to face the audience myself, as Jim Henson, I'm sure I'd be just a bit shy. But when it's your puppets that face the audience, it's different. That I can do very easily.”

— In response to Don Freeman's question: "Is the puppeteer a shy actor?"

Quotes sourced from the Wikiquote article "Jim Henson", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Title: Jim Henson, creator, The Muppets Creator(s): Gotfryd, Bernard, photographer Date Created/Published: [1979] Medium: 1 photograph : color transparency ; 35mm (slide format) Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-gtfy-01610 (digital file from original) Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication. For information see "Bernard Gotfryd," (https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/res.592.gotf) Access Advisory: Please use digital image: original slide is kept in cold storage for preservation. Call Number: LC-GB05- 1610 [P&P] Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA Notes: Title from slide mount or other caption information provided by the photographer. Photo agency: Newsweek; NW/FILE. Date on slide mount: "1979? 80?" Gift; Bernard Gotfryd; 2004; (DLC/PP-2004:032). Subjects: Personalities Muppets Format: Slides--Color--1970-1980. Part of: Bernard Gotfryd photograph collection (Library of Congress) Bookmark This Record: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2020731151/

Photo of puppeteer Jim Henson at the 41st Emmy Awards.

part of the pitch for The Muppet Show

A display case about Jim Henson, creator of "The Muppets", at the Jim Henson School of Arts, Media, and Communications at Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, MD, USA. Henson graduated from Northwestern in 1954.

Microphone assembly used by Jim Henson when performing Kermit, on display in the Museum of the Moving Image

Jim Henson at the 41st Emmy Awards on September 17, 1989.

Photo of puppeteer Jim Henson at the 41st Emmy Awards.

Jim Henson, the American puppeteer, collaborated with Ken Williams, the game programmer and founder of Sierra On-Line, to create "The Dark Crystal" computer game. This graphic adventure game is based on Henson's 1982 fantasy film of the same name.