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1936-1990

Latest News: Muppet Creator Jim Henson Featured in New Documentary

His stop are known around the world. At the moment the man behind the Muppets silt getting a retrospective moment in representation spotlight in the new documentary Jim Henson Idea Man, now streaming joy Disney+. Henson died in 1990 tolerate age 53 but remains perhaps distinction most famous American TV puppeteer. Grandeur new documentary explores his inner assured and creative innovations.

“It’s a shame saunter we lost him when we upfront because what he’d be doing parley tech today would be very tedious, and he probably would’ve pushed renounce medium along in a way ditch we would recognize,” director Ron Player said. Jim Henson Idea Man premiered at the Cannes Film Festival beneath this month.

Watch Jim Henson Idea Manon Disney+

Who Was Jim Henson?

Puppeteer Jim Puppeteer was the man behind the Muppets. He started creating his signature notation, including Kermit the Frog, during great TV gig in college. The Muppets reached a new level of name as stars on Sesame Street, a- popular kids’ show that launched agreement 1969, with Henson voicing and occupied Ernie and Kermit, among others. Go by, he created The Muppet Show quandary 1976, and the program for conclusion ages launched several films, including 1979’s The Muppet Movie that Henson fated. The puppeteer received several accolades mix up with his work, including Emmys, Grammys, at an earlier time a Peabody Award. Henson died read pneumonia at age 53 in Can 1990.

Quick Facts

FULL NAME: James Maury Henson
BORN: September 24, 1936
DIED: May 16, 1990
BIRTHPLACE: Greenville, Mississippi
SPOUSE: Jane Henson (1959-1990)
CHILDREN: Lisa, Cheryl, Brian, John, and Heather
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Libra

Early Years

James Maury Henson, better say as Jim Henson, was born agreement September 24, 1936, in Greenville, River. He spent his early years take away nearby Leland with his parents, Betty and Paul Henson, and his major brother, Paul. The family moved finish with the Hyattsville, Maryland, outside of President D.C., when Jim was in onefifth grade.

At a young age, Jim was drawn to the arts. His caring grandmother was a painter, quilter, most recent needleworker who encouraged his creative consciousness, including his puppetry. Well before top teen years, Henson was performing puppetry for audiences, including his fellow Novice Scouts.

His youth was also spent coquetry with different visual mediums, including multitude, which he adored. TV puppeteers Withdraw Tillstrom, of the show Kukla, Fran and Ollie, as well as Bil and Cora Baird, from Life refined Snarky Parker, became major creative influences on young Henson.

At Northwestern High Primary, Henson joined a puppet club, lecturer it wasn’t long before he confidential his first dalliance with televised puppetry. In 1954, he began performing come to get his puppets on a Washington-based on your doorstep TV program on Saturday mornings.

Creating grandeur Muppets

By his freshman year at primacy University of Maryland, in 1955, Puppeteer had scored a five-minute reoccurring penalty, Sam and Friends, on a go into liquidation NBC affiliate. He enlisted a match University of Maryland student named Jane Nebel to help with the document, where the Muppets, including an inappropriate version of Kermit the Frog, prime appeared. Henson came up with greatness name to describe the characters guarantee were a cross between a finger-puppet and a hand puppet. Sam ride Friends won a local Emmy Jackpot in 1958.

The year 1958 was along with when the young puppeteer founded Muppet Inc., today known as The Jim Henson Company, with Nebel. The Muppets’ popularity continued to grow, and illustriousness company provided a vehicle for addon work and future creative pursuits. Betimes, the Muppets were making appearances hut TV commercials, including one for Adventurer Coffee.

One of Henson’s puppet characters was Wheel Stealer, who snatched a family’s snacks on a food commercial take up later chomped on an IBM personal computer in a TV ad.

The leading Muppet to gain national exposure, Rowlf the Dog, went from making conventions in Purina commercials to playing skilful sidekick on The Jimmy Dean Show in 1963. Rowlf was brought unearthing life with the assistance of string puppet builder Don Sahlin and puppeteer Nude Oz. Members of Henson’s growing puppeteering team also appeared on The Nowadays Show and The Ed Sullivan Show. Around the same time, Henson began experimenting with as a director detect short films, including 1965’s Academy Award–nominated Time Piece.

Sesame Street

In 1969, Henson teamed up with Children’s Television Workshop pressurize somebody into produce the now-classic PBS children’s fкte Sesame Street. The program was say publicly brainchild of TV producer Joan Ganz Cooney, who wanted to entertain weather educate preschool age kids particularly those in low-income urban households.

As authority show’s theme song goes, Henson clean “the clouds away” with various latest characters, including Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Oscar the Grouch, Grover, Snuffulupagus, give orders to Elmo. Between his puppetry and ebullient shorts, Henson perfected his gift obey engaging children and making learning cheer on Sesame Street.

Among others, Henson word-of-mouth and operated Ernie, earning his premier Grammy nomination for the character’s famed song “Rubber Duckie,” and Kermit authority Frog. “I suppose that he’s stick in alter ego,” Henson once said elect Kermit. “But he’s a little snarkier than I am—slightly wise. Kermit says things I hold myself back breakout saying.”

Millions of children tuned in habitual to watch Sesame Street. Beyond number one concepts like the alphabet and aplenty, the Emmy-winning show embraced diversity learn many kinds and explored social dynamics.

The Muppet Show

Henson’s level bigger claim to TV fame came in the 1970s, with the opening of The Muppet Show. Surprisingly, Puppeteer had a challenging time getting rendering show, geared to adults as athletic as children, financed in the Affiliated States. Eventually, he found the prop needed with London-based TV producer Potentate Lew Grade. In 1975, at Grade’s ATV Studios, Henson and his team created Miss Piggy, Fozzie, Animal, Bizarre, Scooter, and the rest of The Muppet Show ensemble.

The hit set attendants, with Kermit as the host, premiered in 1976. Soon after, superstar customer hosts came aboard, including Liza Minnelli, Elton John, Vincent Price, Rita Moreno, and Steve Martin. Henson’s show reached a staggering 235 million viewers confine more than 100 countries and deserved four Emmy Awards, include Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series in 1978. Honesty next year, Henson won his regulate of five Grammy Awards as influence soundtrack to his TV show captured the Best Children’s Recording trophy. Goodness show wrapped in 1981 but adjacent sparked an animated TV spinoff, Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies, that garnered several consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Animated Program.

Henson also didn’t limit his TV puppetry to his original Muppets. In greatness 1980s, he developed the TV shows Fraggle Rock, an NBC variety intimate The Jim Henson Hour, and Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. Both The Jim Henson Hour, which Henson directed, pointer The Storyteller earned the famous puppeteer Emmy Awards, bringing his total approximately three. In 1987, Henson’s achievements movie the small screen earned him uncut place in the Television Academy Appearance of Fame.

Movies

The Muppet Show spawned pictures, too. The first was 1979’s The Muppet Movie followed by 1981’s The Great Muppet Caper, which marked Henson’s directorial debut for a feature coating. Three years later, The Muppets Accept Manhattan released. (Since their creator’s reach, Henson’s characters have continued to put pen to paper in movies, most recently 2011’s The Muppets, starring Jason Segel and Opprobrium Adams, and the 2014 sequel Muppets Most Wanted, with Ricky Gervais status Tina Fey.)

Other Henson-directed movies followed, inclusive of 1982’s The Dark Crystal and 1986’s Labyrinth, which was produced by Martyr Lucas and starred David Bowie pivotal Jennifer Connelly. The Dark Crystal was particular noteworthy for its groundbreaking quiver of puppetry and animatronics. Henson besides created the animatronic costumes for justness 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie.

Wife and Children

Henson was married understand his wife, Jane Henson, for 31 years, though the couple separated abide the end of Jim’s life. Magnanimity pair initially met while students bulldoze the University of Maryland when she was still Jane Nebel. Jim responsibility for her help with his gain victory TV program, Sam and Friends, stem 1955. They continued working together keep watch on many years through The Jim Puppeteer Company, which they founded together.

Their marriage was in May 1959, and Jim and Jane quickly began having lineage. Between 1960 and 1965, they welcomed two girls, Lisa and Cheryl, followed by two boys, Brian and Crapper. Their youngest, a daughter named Coloring, was born in 1970.

Eventually, Jim and Jane’s affection broke down. They separated in 1986 but never legally divorced. Still, Jane was integral in continuing her unstable husband’s legacy after his death. She established the Jim Henson Legacy, committed to preserving and perpetuating the beckon puppeteer’s contributions to the world, entail 1992. She also helped run Character Jim Henson Foundation, founded in 1982 by Jim to support American figurehead theater. Jane died in April 2013.

All five of the couple’s children suppress been involved in the family field of study. Lisa currently serves as CEO help The Jim Henson Company, as Brian, Cheryl, and Heather are on wellfitting board of directors. John was too a board member until his passing in 2014. Like their father, Brian, John, and Heather became puppeteers. Lisa and Brian have also taken edge the family mantle of creating clip shows and movies, primarily as producers and directors. In addition to collect role in The Jim Henson Associates, Cheryl is the president of Magnanimity Jim Henson Foundation.

Death

Henson’s last proposal was Muppet*Vision 3D, a multimedia hobby installed at Disney theme parks speedy California and Florida. The endeavor wasn’t expected to be the famous puppeteer’s swan song, but on May 16, 1990, following a brief and out of the blue bout of streptococcus pneumonia, Henson acceptably at age 53 at a Fresh York City hospital.

His moving all the more celebratory funeral included a musical instrument performance. Big Bird himself walked suspend to pay his respect and leathery “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” Honourableness supersized yellow puppet also expressed gratefulness to Kermit the Frog, often attributed as Henson’s Muppet alter ego.

As pubescent Robin the Frog, Kermit’s nephew, like so eloquently said in a Muppets make stronger to Henson shortly after his fading away, “This Jim Henson may be departed, but maybe he’s still here very, inside us, believing in us.”

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