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Jim Henson

Jim Henson

Birthday: 1936-09-24 | Place of Birth: Greenville, Mississippi, USA

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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2024
Jim Henson Idea Man

as    Self (archive footage)

2021
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street

as    Self (archive footage)

2021
Gumby II: Dead by Dawn

as    Wilkins (archive footage)

2019
DefunctTV: Jim Henson

as    Archival

2015
In Their Own Words: Jim Henson

as    Self (archive footage)

2007
2006
A Sesame Street Christmas Carol

as    Ernie (voice) (archive footage)

2004
Sesame Street: Cookie Monster's Best Bites

as    Guy Smiley (voice, archive footage)

2003
Muppets Magic from 'The Ed Sullivan Show!'

as    Muppet Performer

2002
Sesame Street: Bert & Ernie's Word Play

as    Kermit the Frog / Bip Bippadotta / Lavender Anything Muppet in Fat Cat (voice) (archive footage)

2001
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 3

as    Kermit the Frog / Waldorf / Rowlf / Link Hogthrob

1999
The Very Best of the Muppet Show

as    Kermit the Frog / Waldorf / Rowlf / The Swedish Chef

1999
The Very Best of the Muppet Show: Volume 2

as    Kermit the Frog / Waldorf / Rowlf / The Swedish Chef

1997
Sesame Street: Elmo Says BOO!

as    Ernie / Harvey Monster (voice) (archive footage)

1996
Sesame Street: Imagine That!

as    Ernie (voice) (archive footage)

1994
The World of Jim Henson

as    Self / Kermit the Frog / Rowlf (archive footage)

1992
Getting Ready to Read

as    Kermit / Ernie / Bip Bippadotta (voice)

1992
A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show

as    Kermit the Frog (voice)

1991
Muppet*Vision 3D

as    Kermit The Frog

1991
Muppet*Vision 3-D

as    Kermit The Frog, Waldorf, The Swedish Chef

1991
Muppet*Vision 3D

as    Kermit the Frog / Swedish Chef / Waldorf (voice)

1991
Muppet*Vision 3D

as    Waldorf (voice only) / Kermit the Frog / Swedish Chef (voice only) / Doll