Henson, Jim

Henson, Jim (1936-1990), American puppeteer and entertainment executive, born in Greenville, Mississippi. Henson created a form of cloth puppet that possessed great mobility. Known as Muppets, these characters were first seen in 1954, on American television. In 1969 they formed the core of the children’s programme Sesame Street, and over the years Bert and Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, and Kermit the Frog became familiar faces in every household. Henson’s prime-time television programme, The Muppet Show (1976-1981), featuring Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy along with live performers, has been seen in more than 100 countries. He also created the popular show Fraggle Rock, and produced and directed several films starring his puppets, including The Muppet Movie (1979), The Dark Crystal (1982), and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990). His many characters were also featured in books and toys as Henson rapidly built an entertainment empire. He died of pneumonia in New York just as he was about to merge his company with the Walt Disney Company.

Since Henson’s death there have been two more Muppet feature films—The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), an adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, in which Michael Caine took the part of Scrooge, and Muppet Treasure Island (1996), based on the novel by Robert Louis Stevenson—and a new television series.