Jim Henson
Biography
James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, actor, animator, creative producer, and director who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and as the director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986), as well as creating the puppets for Sesame Street (1969). 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 (1969–present) 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. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jim Henson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Movies (117)
The Muppet Script
2025
Joan Rivers at the BBC
2024
Jim Henson Idea Man
2024
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021
Sesame Street: 50 Years and Counting
2019
In Their Own Words: Jim Henson
2015
I Am Big Bird: The Caroll Spinney Story
2015
Muppets Most Wanted
2014
The Muppets
2011
Reflections of 'The Dark Crystal'
2007
A Sesame Street Christmas Carol
2006
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004
Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Best Bites
2004
Muppets Magic from 'The Ed Sullivan Show!'
2003
Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play
2002
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3
2001
The Very Best of the Muppet Show
1999
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2
1999
The Best of Kermit on Sesame Street
1998
Sesame Street: Elmo Says BOO!
1997
Sesame Street: Quiet Time
1997
Sesame Street: Do the Alphabet
1996
Sesame Street: Imagine That!
1996
The World of Jim Henson
1994
Sesame Street | All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever!
1994
Sesame Street: 25 Wonderful Years: A Musical Celebration!
1993
Sesame Street Jam: A Musical Celebration
1993
A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show
1992
Getting Ready to Read
1992
The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson
1990
Sing! Sesame Street Remembers Joe Raposo and His Music
1990
The Muppets at Walt Disney World
1990
Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!
1990
The Earth Day Special
1990
Sesame Street: Monster Hits!
1990
50 Years of Television: A Golden Celebration
1989
An Evening with Jim Henson and Frank Oz
1989
Miss Piggy's Hollywood
1989
Dog City
1989
Free to Be... a Family
1988
Wow, You're A Cartoonist!
1988
Sesame Street: Put Down the Duckie
1988
The Best of Ernie and Bert
1988
Jim Henson: Sing-Along, Dance-Along, Do-Along
1988
Hey, You're as Funny as Fozzie Bear
1988
A Muppet Family Christmas
1987
Down at Fraggle Rock
1987
Sesame Street: Sing Along
1987
Inside the Labyrinth
1986
The Christmas Toy
1986
Labyrinth
1986
Sesame Street: Learning About Letters
1986
The Tale of the Bunny Picnic
1986
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
1986
Sesame Street: Sleepytime Songs & Stories
1986
Sesame Street: Learning About Numbers
1986
Follow That Bird
1985
Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
1985
Muppet Treasures
1985
The Muppet Revue
1985
Muppet Video: The Kermit and Piggy Story
1985
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
Into the Night
1985
Children's Songs and Stories with the Muppets
1985
The Bells of Fraggle Rock
1984
The Muppets Take Manhattan
1984
Henson's Place: The Man Behind the Muppets
1984
Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi
1983
Don't Eat the Pictures: Sesame Street at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1983
Big Bird in China
1983
Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets
1983
The World of 'The Dark Crystal'
1983
The Dark Crystal
1982
The Fantastic Miss Piggy Show
1982
I Love Liberty
1982
Of Muppets & Men
1981
Muppet Side Splitter
1981
The Great Muppet Caper
1981
The Muppets Go to the Movies
1981
John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together
1979
The Muppet Movie
1979
The Muppets Go Hollywood
1979
A Walking Tour of Sesame Street
1979
The Orson Welles Show
1979
Christmas Eve on Sesame Street
1978
Hip Hip Parade!
1978
Mickey's 50
1978
Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring
1978
Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas
1977
The Royal Variety Performance 1977
1977
Sesame Street- Do you know where Ernie lives?
1975
Julie: My Favourite Things
1975
Muppet Picker Upper
1975
The Muppet Introduction
1975
Out to Lunch
1974
The Muppet Musicians of Bremen
1972
The King of Eight
1971
Tales from Muppetland: The Frog Prince
1971
Pure Goldie
1971
The Great Santa Claus Switch
1970
The Muppets on Puppets
1970
This Way to Sesame Street
1969
Sam the Snake
1969
Sesame Street Pitch Reel
1969
Hey Cinderella!
1969
The Wizard of Id
1969
The Paperwork Explosion
1967
Limbo: The Organized Mind
1966
The Idea Man
1966
I'm Nobody
1966
Rowlf the Salesman
1966
The Reindeer
1965
Alexander the Grape
1965
Time Piece
1965
Tales of the Tinkerdee
1962
Visual Thinking
1961
Sesame Street 1986 Wrap Party
TV Shows (27)
In Their Own Words
2015
Sesame Street: Play with Me Sesame
2002
Sesame Unpaved
1999
The Jim Henson Hour
1989
Dolly
1987
Jim Henson's Little Muppet Monsters
1985
Reading Rainbow
1983
Fraggle Rock
1983
Fraggle Rock
1983
Fraggle Rock
1983
Fraggle Rock
1983
Fraggle Rock
1983
Fraggle Rock
1983
Fraggle Rock
1983
Wogan
1982
The Muppet Show
1976
Saturday Night Live
1975
Great Performances
1971
Sesame Street
1969
The Dick Cavett Show
1968
NBC Experiment in Television
1967
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
1961
Sam and Friends
1955
The Wonderful World of Disney
1954
The Oscars
1953
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1948