Jim Henson never thought that he would make a name of himself in puppetry; it was merely a way of getting himself on television. The vehicle that achieved it was Sam and Friends, a late-night puppet show that was on after the 11:00 news in Washington DC. It proved to be very popular and inspired Jim to continue using puppets for his work. He made many commercials, developing the signature humor that Henson Productions is known for. A key reason for the success of his puppets is that Jim realized he didn't need to hide puppeteers behind a structure when they were in front of a camera. All he had to do was instruct the camera operators to focus on the puppets and keep the puppeteers out of the frame. This allowed the puppets to dominate the image and make them more lifelike. This work on puppets and television would lead to separate projects that had different goals. The first one was his work on the The Jimmy Dean Show with the character Rowlf the Dog, the oldest clearly identified character that Henson Productions still uses. This show provided an income that allowed Jim to work on a pet project. That project was Time Piece, a surrealistic short about time which was nominated for best live-action short Oscar. Henson shot to prominence when he was approached to use his muppets for the revolutionary educational show Sesame Street. The show was a smash hit and his characters have become staples on public television. Unforetunately, this also led to Henson being typecast as only an entertainer for children. He sought to disprove that by being part of the initial crew of SNL 25, but his style and that of the creative staff simply didn't jibe. It was this circumstance that encouraged him to develop a variety show format that had the kind of sophisticated humor that "Sesame Street" didn't work with. No American broadcaster was interested, but British producer Lew Grade was. This led to The Muppet Show. It initially struggled both in the ratings and in the search for guest stars, but in the second season it became a smash hit and would eventually become the most widely watched series in television history. Hungry for a new challenge, Henson made The Muppet Movie, defying the popular industry opinion that his characters would never work in a movie. The film became a hit and spawned a series of features which included the moody fantasy The Dark Crystal, which was a drastic and bold departure from the amiable tone of his previous work. The most successful TV work in the 1980s was Fraggle Rock, a fantasy series specifically designed to appeal to as many cultural groups as possible. During this time he also established the Creature Shop, a puppet studio that became renowned for being as brilliant with puppetry as ILM was at special effects. When he died all too soon in 1990, he was indisputably one of the geniuses of puppetry. More importantly, he was a man who achieved his phenomenal success while still retaining his social conscience and artistic integrity as his work in promoting environmentalism and his brilliant The Storyteller series respectively attest to.
Died the weekend he was going to sell his company to Disney. Attended the University of Maryland, College Park Puppeteer. Attended Northwestern High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. Named Kermit the Frog after a childhood friend from Mississippi. Shares same birthday (September 24) with Steve Whitmire, fellow muppeteer who took over Kermit the Frog after Henson's death. Father of Brian Henson, Lisa Henson, and Heather Henson. Founded the "UNIMA Citations of Excellence" in 1973 to provide a peer-judged award for the art of puppetry in North America. In 1966, Jim Henson had previously founded (with other American puppeteers) the USA chapter of the Union Internationale de la Marionette (UNIMA) - the world's oldest international theatre arts organization, and served as the USA Chapter's founding chaiman. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze was dedicated to his memory. One of the main reasons why Henson preferred to use Kermit the Frog for his signature character was that he was the lightest in weight of the regular puppets and therefore one of the most comfortable for use for extended periods of time. Created the original Kermit the Frog out of his mother's old coat and a ping-pong ball. In the beginning Kermit was not a frog, but a lizard-like character. He gradually evolved, and first appeared as Kermit The Frog in "Hey Cinderella!" and has remained so ever since. Died the same day as Sammy Davis Jr.. Had been ill with walking pneumonia for several days before his death but never told anybody, not even his family, because, true to his character, he didn't want to be a burden to anybody. By the time he finally sought medical help, it was too late to do anything. Was a good friend of George Lucas, who originally offered him the role of Yoda in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. He declined and suggested Frank Oz for the part. His funeral was attended by over 1,000 people and muppets, including Frank Oz, George Lucas, Richard Curtis, Kermit the Fog, and British producer Lew Grade. Harry Belafonte sang the much beloved song "Turn the World Around" from _The Muppet Show (1976)_ at Jim's funeral. It was reported to be his favorite. Pictured on a USA 37¢ commemorative stamp issued 28 September 2005. The stamp was issued on a single souvenir sheet honoring "Jim Henson, the man behind the Muppets". The souvenir sheet contained 10 additional 37¢ stamps featuring the following Muppet characters: Kermit the Frog; Fozzie Bear; Sam the Eagle; Miss Piggy; Statler and Waldorf; Swedish Chef, Animal; Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and Beaker; Rowlf; and The Great Gonzo and Camilla. Before his career in puppetry, he would experiment with 8mm and 16mm film, often making animation. First met Jerry Juhl at a Puppeteers Of America convention. First met David Lazer when he had been contracted to make a few short puppet films for them. Lazer worked at IBM. A Jim Henson retrospective was held from September 1990 to February 1991 at London's Museum of the Moving Image. In his early TV shows, he didn't always perform voices, but lip-synched to records of the day. His first television character was called Pierre, the French Rat. It began life as a comic strip drawn by Henson for a high-school publication in 1954. On a trip to Europe, he saw puppet theater being taken seriously by adults, he returned convinced he could create a puppet TV show which would appeal to adults. "Lydia The Tattooed Lady" was one of his all time favorite songs. The Muppet performed this song at his memorial service. Henson himself drew the tattoos on the Lydia, The Tattooed Lady muppet used in episode 2 of The Muppet Show. The Wizard of Oz was one of his favorite films. Arrived at his graduation in a Rolls Royce. His earliest Puppetry influences were "Kukla, Fran and Ollie", Bill Baird, and Edgar Bergen. Once said his earliest artistic influence was his grandmother "Dear". She taught him to value everything he saw around him and to appreciate everything. Had a hit single singing "Rubber Duckie" as Ernie. "Rubber Duckie" entered the Billboard Top 40 chart for pop/rock in August 1970 and stayed on the chart for seven weeks, peaking at number 16. The `famous' rubber-duck-squeaking solo in the original version of the song (for the very first "Sesame Street album") is squeaked by the song's writer, Jeff Moss. When the Sesame Street cast appeared in concert with the Boston Pops Orchestra, the rubber duck was considered a percussion instrument. Apparently unwilling to pay musicians to play a `second instrument,' duck squeaking was limited to the percussion section when the cast sang this song with the Pops (with Big Bird conducting). 1961: Met Frank Oz in Asilomar, California.